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The Automation Wizard is a chat helper on the Automations screen. You tell it in plain English what an automation must do, and it builds the automation for you. You do not have to open the visual editor or know how the steps connect. The Wizard does two jobs. It builds a new automation, and it finds and changes an automation that you have.

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Open the Wizard

In the sidebar, open the Automate group and click Automations. Then click the Automation Wizard tab at the top of the screen. The other tab, My automations, is the list of your flows.
The Wizard uses the same permission as Automations. The permission is on by default, but an administrator can turn it off for a user. If you do not see the tab, contact your administrator.
The Wizard has two sides:
  • On the left: a chat where you describe what you want.
  • On the right: a preview of the automation that updates while the Wizard builds it. The preview has a Publish button.

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Build a new automation

Say what must happen. Be specific about when the automation runs and what it does. For example:
  • “Every weekday at 9am, post ‘Daily standup starting’ to our Slack channel.”
  • “When a new file lands in a Google Drive folder, summarize it and email me the summary.”
  • “Every Friday at 4pm, remind me in Slack to submit my timesheet.”
The Wizard reads your request, finds the correct integrations and starts the build. If a part is not clear, it asks a short question first, for example “Which email provider should I use, Gmail or Outlook?” or “Should that go to a channel or a direct message?” Answer in plain language, and the Wizard continues. When it finishes, the right pane shows a draft of your automation: the trigger that starts it, the steps that it runs and the integrations that it uses.
A draft is not live. Nothing runs before you publish it. After you publish it, it stays off until you turn it on. Before you publish, you can ask the Wizard to change the draft.

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Review and publish

When the draft looks right, click Publish. Publish saves your automation, but the automation stays off. Nothing runs yet. You can then connect the accounts that it needs before it starts. The preview lists the integrations that the automation uses, for example Slack or Gmail. To turn the automation on:
1

Publish the draft

In the preview, click Publish. A message tells you that the automation is published and turned off.
2

Open it in the editor

Click Open in editor. The automation opens in the visual editor.
3

Connect the accounts

In the editor, connect the accounts that the automation needs, for example your Slack workspace or Gmail. The Wizard never asks for passwords in chat.
4

Turn it on

In the editor, enable the automation. It is now live. It runs each time its trigger starts it.

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Change an automation

You do not need an ID. Give the name of the automation and say what to change. For example:
  • “Change my ‘Weekday 9am standup’ reminder to run at 8am instead.”
  • “Add a step to my new-lead automation that also emails the sales team.”
The Wizard finds the automation by its name. If more than one automation has a matching name, the Wizard asks which one you mean. It makes your change as a new draft and shows the draft in the preview. Review the draft and click Publish, as for a new automation.

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The Wizard and the editor

  • Use the Wizard to build or change an automation quickly from a description. It finds the correct steps and connects them.
  • Use the visual editor for the account connections, to turn an automation on or off, and to adjust the details.
You can go from one to the other at any time. The Open in editor and Edit buttons in the preview open the editor.

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Tips

  • Say when the automation runs (a schedule, a new file, an incoming message) and what it does. A clear request gives a better first draft.
  • You can build in steps. Start with a simple request, look at the draft, then ask for changes, for example “also post it to the #general channel” or “only summarize PDFs.”
  • If the Wizard says that an integration needs a connection, publish the draft. Then connect the account in the editor and turn the automation on.

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Next steps