Automation triggers reference
Every trigger that can start an automation — messages, keywords, button replies, tags, assignment, schedules and HubSpot events — with their settings.
| Trigger | Fires when | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| New Message Received | Any incoming message | — |
| First Message from Contact | The first time a contact ever messages you. Works for contacts you added manually too. | — |
| Keyword Match | An incoming message matches your keywords | Keywords (comma-separated), Match type |
| Button / List Reply | The customer taps a button or list row whose id matches | Reply IDs (comma-separated, exact) |
| New Contact Created | A contact is created automatically from an incoming message | — |
| Conversation Assigned | A conversation is assigned to an agent | — |
| Tag Added | A tag is added to a contact | Tag |
| Time-Based | On a schedule | Schedule, time zone |
| HubSpot Event | Something happens in your connected HubSpot account | Event type |
Keyword match types
| Match type | “help” matches | Doesn’t match |
|---|---|---|
| Contains | “help”, “helpline”, “I need help” | — |
| Whole word | “help”, “I need help!” | “helpline” |
| Exact | “help” (the whole message, any case) | “help me” |
Use Whole word for short keywords — so a keyword like “k” doesn’t fire on “thanks”. Use Contains for languages written without spaces between words.
Button / List Reply
Interactive buttons and list rows carry an id as well as a label. The customer sees the label; WhatsApp sends back the id. Enter the ids to match, for example yes, no, more_info. Use the same ids you set on a Send Buttons or Send List step. This lets you chain menus across automations.
Time-Based schedules
Time-based automations have no contact of their own. Use them with a Send to a List or Tag step that brings its own audience.
Supported schedule formats:
| Write | Runs |
|---|---|
09:00 |
Every day at 09:00 |
every 30 minutes |
Every 30 minutes |
every 2 hours |
Every 2 hours |
*/15 * * * * |
Every 15 minutes (cron) |
0 9 * * * |
Every day at 09:00 (cron) |
Daily times use the time zone you choose on the trigger (UTC if none). Other cron patterns, such as specific weekdays, aren’t supported — to skip weekends, use working days (Mon–Fri) on the Send to a List or Tag step.
HubSpot events
After you connect HubSpot, choose one of:
- Contact created
- Contact property changed
- Deal created
- Deal property changed (e.g. stage)
- Meeting booked
- Meeting rescheduled or completed
The HubSpot contact needs a phone number. Events for contacts without one are ignored. See HubSpot triggers.