How to Use Automations in Commslayer

Automations let you build rules that automatically take action on conversations — so your team spends less time on repetitive tasks and more time on customers who need real help.

What Are Automations?

Automations are event-driven rules that run in the background. When something happens in Commslayer (an event), the system checks your conditions, and if they match, it performs the actions you've defined — all without any manual effort.

Every automation has three parts:

• Event — What triggers the rule (e.g., a conversation is created)
• Conditions — Filters that must be true for the rule to run (e.g., the inbox is "Support")
• Actions — What happens when conditions are met (e.g., assign to a team, add a label)

Getting Started

1. Open Automations

Go to Settings → Automations from your Commslayer dashboard.

2. Create a New Rule

Click New Automation and give your rule a descriptive name so it's easy to identify later.

3. Choose an Event

Select the event that will trigger your rule. There are four available events:

Understanding the Key Events

Conversation Created This fires the moment a brand new conversation comes in — for example, when a customer sends their very first message through your chat widget, email, or social channel. Use this event for rules that should run at the start of every new interaction, like auto-assigning to a team or adding a label.

Conversation Updated This fires whenever something about an existing conversation changes — such as its status, assignee, label, or other attributes. It does not fire for new messages alone; it's specifically about changes to the conversation's properties. Use this for rules like "when a conversation is reassigned, notify the new agent" or "when a label is added, change the status."

Conversation Opened This fires when a conversation is moved to Open status — either for the first time, or when it's reopened after being resolved or snoozed. This is useful for rules that should trigger whenever a conversation becomes active again, such as re-assigning it to a team or removing a "Resolved" label.

Message Created This fires every time a new message arrives in a conversation. Use this for keyword-based rules, like tagging conversations that mention "refund" or "order", or triggering a response when a specific phrase is detected.

Quick comparison:

• Conversation Created = brand new conversation just came in
• Conversation Opened = conversation became (or became again) active/open
• Conversation Updated = something about the conversation changed
• Message Created = a new message was received in an existing conversation

4. Add Conditions (Optional)

Conditions narrow down which conversations the rule applies to. You can filter by:

• Inbox — Only run for a specific channel (e.g., your Instagram or email inbox)
• Label — Target conversations with a specific tag
• Assignee — Check who the conversation is assigned to
• Status — Filter by open, pending, or resolved
• Message Content — Match keywords in the message body

You can combine multiple conditions using AND (all must match) or OR (any must match).

Tip: Leaving conditions empty means the rule will apply to all conversations that match the event.

5. Add Actions

Choose what should happen when the rule fires. Available actions include:

• Assign to an agent or team
• Add or remove a label
• Change conversation status (open, pending, resolved, snoozed)
• Send an email or message
• Mute the conversation

You can stack multiple actions in a single rule.

6. Save and Enable

Click Save. Your automation will be active immediately. You can toggle it on or off at any time from the Automations list.

Managing Your Automations

From Settings → Automations, you can:

• Toggle a rule on or off without deleting it
• Edit any rule to update its event, conditions, or actions
• Duplicate a rule as a starting point for a similar one
• Delete rules you no longer need

Tips & Best Practices

• Name rules clearly — Use a format like [Event] - [What it does] (e.g., "Conversation Created - Assign to Support Team") so the list stays readable.
• Order matters — Automations run in the order they appear. Place more specific rules above broader ones.
• Test before going live — Create a test conversation to confirm your rule fires as expected before relying on it in production.
• Avoid conflicts — If two rules assign the same conversation to different teams, the last one to run wins. Review your rules regularly to avoid overlap.

Need Help?

If your automation isn't firing as expected, check that:

1. The correct event is selected
2. Your conditions aren't too restrictive
3. The rule is enabled (toggled on)

Reach out to our support team if you need a hand setting things up.