Routines and automations

RelayHub has two ways to do work again without a new request from you: a routine of a bot and an automation. Both can start on a schedule or on an event in one of your apps. The difference is what does the work. A bot does the work of a routine with its AI model. An automation runs a fixed flow of steps.

Routines

A routine is work that a bot does on a schedule or when an event arrives in one of your apps. For example: “Every weekday at 9 AM, read the new invoices and tell me what is late.” Each run of a routine is a task of the bot. The bot reads the instruction of the routine and decides the steps itself. It uses its AI model, its tools, its computer, its connections and its memory. When the situation changes, the bot changes its steps. You add a routine on the bot page: click Details, then Routines. You can also ask the bot in the chat, for example “make this a routine every weekday at 8”. The bot can also propose a routine on a card. To use Bots, you need the Agents permission. See Routines, groups and helpers.

Automations

An automation is a flow of fixed steps. In the sidebar, open the Automate group and click Automations. A flow starts with a trigger, for example a webhook, a schedule or a request from the chat. Then it runs its steps in order, for example a Slack message, a Salesforce update or a RelayHub skill. Each run of a flow does the same steps. A step can use AI, but the flow does not choose its own steps. You build a flow in the visual editor, or you describe it in plain words to the Automation Wizard. Access to Automations is on by default. An administrator can turn it off for one user. See Automations.

Differences between routines and automations

In RelayHub, a bot does the work of a routine, and a flow does the work of an automation. This table shows the differences.

	Routine	Automation
What it is	Work that a bot does again, as a task of the bot	A flow of fixed steps that connects a trigger to actions
Who creates it	The owner of the bot, in the Routines tab or in the chat with the bot. The bot can propose a routine.	A user with access to Automations, in the visual editor or with the Automation Wizard
What starts it	A schedule in plain words, for example “Every weekday at 9 AM”, or one event in a connected app, for example a new Gmail message	The trigger of the flow, for example a webhook, a schedule or a request from the chat. The Schedules screen can also start a flow.
What does the work	The bot. It reads the instruction, plans the steps, uses its tools and its computer, and writes a report.	The steps of the flow, in a fixed order. The flow does not plan or change its steps.
Where you see the runs	On the bot page: the Now tab and Earlier tasks. The report reaches you by the delivery that you chose for the routine.	In the run history of the flow, in the visual editor. A schedule on the Schedules screen also keeps its own run history.
Cost	Each run uses the AI model of the bot. The cost counts toward the monthly spend limit of the bot, $50 by default.	A flow does not use the spend limit of a bot. An AI step or a skill step in the flow uses an AI model.
Approvals	The bot obeys its Permissions. It asks you first before a risky action, for example a payment or an email to another person.	A flow shows no approval cards. After you publish a flow and turn it on, each run does its steps without a question.

When to use a routine

Use a routine when the work needs judgment. Examples:

The bot must read, compare or summarize, and tell you only what is important.
The steps can be different from one run to the next.
The work uses websites or desktop apps on the computer of the bot.
You want the report in the chat of the bot, with its memory of earlier runs.

When to use an automation

Use an automation when the steps are always the same. Examples:

You move data from one app to another app, for example from a form to a CRM.
Another system calls a webhook, and the flow must do the same steps each time.
You want the same result on each run, with no decision by an AI model.

When you ask a bot for recurring work, the bot makes a routine. It builds an automation only when you ask for an automation by name.