Automations

An automation is a trigger and a tree of steps. When the trigger fires, the steps run for that contact.

Who can do this

• Owner
• Admin
• Agent

Shopify triggers need a connected Shopify store, which only owners and admins can set up.

What can trigger an automation

Two families are live today.

Shopify commerce events

Available once a Shopify store is connected.

Trigger	Fires when
Order placed	A customer places an order
Order paid	Payment is captured
Order fulfilled	The whole order is marked fulfilled
Order partially fulfilled	Part of the order ships
Order edited	The order's contents change
Order cancelled	The order is cancelled
Order refunded	A refund is issued
Shipment created	A shipment is created and tracking added
Shipment updated	Carrier status changes. Can be scoped to out for delivery or delivered.
Abandoned checkout	A checkout is started but not completed

WhatsApp inbox

Trigger	Fires when
Button / list reply	A customer taps a button or picks from a list. Can be scoped to one template, or left unscoped to catch every tap.

Shown but not available yet

The trigger picker also lists New message received, First message from a contact, Keyword match, Conversation assigned, New contact created, Tag added and On a schedule, each marked Soon. They are visible so you can see what is coming; they cannot be selected.

Build one

Automations → New automation. With no automations yet, you get starter templates instead: Order confirmation, Payment received, Shipping update, Abandoned checkout, Refund notice, and Start from scratch. A starter pre-fills the name and trigger.

1. Name it. Something you will recognise in a list.

2. Choose a source, then an event. The event field only appears after you pick a source. If Shopify is not connected the builder tells you to connect it from Settings›Integrations first.

3. Scope the trigger where it applies:

   • Shipment updated can be limited to a single carrier status.
   • Button / list reply can be limited to one template's buttons, or left as Any template.

4. Add steps on the canvas. Full list: automation steps.

5. Set the run state: Off, Test or Live. See testing automations.

6. Save.

The builder warns before you leave with unsaved changes.

Activation checks

Saving an automation as Test or Live runs validation. If something is wrong the save is refused, the broken step is marked on the canvas, and the message tells you how many steps need attention.

Common refusals:

• A Send template step with no template selected, or pointing at a template that is not approved.
• A Wait for reply with no Send template before it.
• A Wait for reply nested inside another Wait for reply's branches.
• A Wait for reply with no steps on any branch.
• A wait that is the last step, so it delays nothing. (A Wait for reply at the end is fine, because its branches carry the work.)
• A trigger scope left over from a different event.

The automations list

Each row shows a coloured left edge and a state label:

State	Meaning
Off	Never fires
Test	Fires on real events, but only sends to your test contacts
Live	Fires and sends to real customers

Plus the trigger, how many times it has run, and when it last ran. Per row: Logs, Edit, Duplicate and Delete.

Deleting an automation removes its run history permanently.

Variables in automation messages

Shopify triggers carry a payload, so a Send template step can map template placeholders to real order data: customer first name, order number, total, tracking link and so on. Each field shows a sample value so you can see what it becomes.

Full catalogue: Shopify events and variables.

Related

Automation steps

Every step type and what it does.

Testing automations and run logs

Test mode, test contacts, and reading the logs.

Connect Shopify

Required before any commerce trigger will fire.