Building an automation

You never write an automation by hand. You describe it, the builder agent asks what it needs, and the result is a plan you can read step by step.

Start in chat

Press New automation on the Automations page, or choose it in ⌘K. A chat opens pre-filled with "Create a new automation that". Finish the sentence. Say what comes in, what should happen, what should come out, and which apps are involved. Attach an example if you have one.

The builder may ask a few questions, then creates the automation with its brief, inputs, trigger and a first plan. It can also create the tools the plan needs, for example a script that looks up prices in a spreadsheet you attached.

Read the plan

Open the automation and go to Steps. Each numbered step shows its title, the agent that takes it, the apps it uses and, for model steps, the model. If the plan is wrong, press Update in chat: it reopens the original builder conversation, so the agent has the full history and changes only what you ask.

Connect the apps

On the Settings tab under Connections, press Add to pick the connected accounts this automation may act in and, per connection, which actions it may use. An app that is not connected yet can be connected from the same picker. See Connected apps.

Set the team

Under Team, pick the orchestrator and, per step, the agent that should take it. Steps without an agent run under the orchestrator.

Choose the model

The brief section has a model picker. It applies to every agent step in the plan unless a step's agent pins its own model.

Configure the overview

Under Overview, choose the item noun ("Order", "Post", "Lead"), the quick-add composer's placeholder, and which input its text box fills. The title template and the columns are set by the builder; ask for changes in Update in chat. See Runs and the overview.

Reachable and escalation

The last section on Settings opens the automation to the outside and decides where questions go:

• AI agents: expose it on the workspace MCP server as a typed tool, with Copy MCP setup for your AI.
• Chat channels: message the workspace bot to run it.
• When a run needs a human: In-app only (push notification and a form in the run view), Slack (a card with buttons in a channel you name), or WhatsApp (a phone number). A free-text contact label such as "Finance department" tells the agent who it is asking.

Run it

Press Run in the header. A chat opens with the automation attached; it asks for any input it still needs, and the run streams there. The Steps tab follows along with a progress ring, a start time and duration, and "3 / 8" as steps complete. The result lands on the Overview tab.

Files and scripts

The Files and scripts card on the Steps tab lists the script tools the plan uses, their entry point and bundled files. Text files open in a viewer; binaries do not.

Export, import and templates

The header menu has Export, which writes the automation and its script tools to a file. Import on the Automations page reads it back into any workspace. Explore templates offers ready-made automations to start from.

Delete

Delete in the header menu permanently removes the automation and all its run history. For a channel-backed automation, archive the channel instead; see Channels.