Automation workflows send messages automatically when a specific event occurs—like an order placed or a contact subscribing via a signup form. Triggers define when the workflow starts, and trigger filters control who qualifies.
Before You Begin
Automation workflows are available on all Omnisend plans.
Each automation can include email, SMS, and push notification channels. Learn more about channels.
How Automation Triggers Work
Each trigger consists of four stages. Contacts must pass all stages in sequence to enter the automation:
Trigger & Trigger Filters – Does the event match your trigger rules?
Audience Filters – Does the contact meet your profile or segment criteria?
Frequency – Has the contact triggered this automation recently?
Exit Conditions – Did a cancellation event fire?
If a contact fails at any stage, they won't enter the workflow. Use the Trigger Preview Tool to identify which stage blocked entry.
Use the Trigger Preview Tool
Before enabling your automation, test trigger conditions using the Trigger Preview Tool:
Go to Automations → open your workflow → click Trigger block → click Test trigger
Review the last 10 trigger events:
Green checkmark = contact met all conditions and entered
Red X = contact didn't meet a filter and was skipped
Click any contact to see which filters passed or failed.
Why this helps: Identifies setup issues before going live.
Trigger Filters
Trigger filters refine who qualifies for the automation based on event details (order status, product title, form name, etc.).
When you need trigger filters:
Required for some triggers: Contact enters a segment, Viewed page
Optional for others: Placed Order, Abandoned Checkout, Subscribed to marketing
Trigger filters appear after you select the trigger. You can add up to 5 trigger filters per workflow.
⚠️ Use profile-based audience filters (tags, country, custom fields) instead of segment-based filters whenever possible. Segment-based filters may cause contacts to exit before segments update. If you must use segments, add a 1–2 minute delay before the first message block.
Event-Based Automation Workflows
Event-based triggers (Placed Order, Started Checkout, Added Product to Cart) carry event-specific data you can use in trigger filters, split conditions, and message personalization.
Example: Order-based event data
Order-based triggers (Placed Order, Paid for Order) include:
Order Data | Shipping Address | Billing Address |
Order ID | First name | First name |
⚠️ Event data only exists within the automation triggered by that event. If you need Order ID or billing address in your message, use an event-based trigger (Placed Order, Paid for Order) – not a segment-based trigger.
You can add event data as personalized text or as content blocks (Order Summary, Abandoned Products).
Order Summary block for Order-based Automation:
Abandoned Products block for Abandoned Cart Automation:
We also update your contact profile based on event data:
Profile data (first name, last name, country) can be used to segment contacts and inserted into messages via personalization → Contact
Order-specific data (order date, purchased products) can be used to segment contacts and inserted via personalization → Event (Order, Abandoned Cart, Custom Event, etc.)
Order Events
You can use six separate order event triggers:
Which trigger should I use?
Placed Order or Paid for Order for most workflows (includes order data, billing/shipping details)
Ordered Product only when filtering by individual product properties (does not include order or billing data)
Each trigger has filters specific to its nature. For example:
Ordered Product → Product Description, Price, Weight, etc.
Order Fulfilled → Fulfillment status
Order Canceled → Cancellation reason
All order data comes from API. Follow our API documentation unless your platform (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce) passes data automatically.
Opened & Clicked Message Events
Trigger follow-up communications based on how contacts interact with previous campaigns or automation messages.
To set up: Go to Automations → Create custom workflow → select Trigger: Clicked on a message or Opened message
Available trigger filters:
Client app name (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.)
Client app language
Message channel (email, SMS, push)
Clicked URL (for Clicked on message trigger)
Device type (desktop, mobile, etc.)
Message ID
Message title
Marketing activity name (automation or campaign name)
Marketing activity type (automation flow, campaign)
Operating system (Android, Windows, macOS, etc.)
⚠️ Always set Frequency to at least 1 day for Opened & Clicked triggers to prevent sending too many messages if a contact opens or clicks multiple times.
Custom Triggers
Message Sent Trigger
Target contacts who received a message through a specific channel, campaign, or automation. Use this for follow-up communications.
Available trigger filters:
Filter | Description |
Channel | Select one of the possible channels:
|
Email Domain | Everything that goes after the @ symbol of your recipient's email address. Note: This only works for email channel messages. |
Message Title | For the Email and Push Notification channels, you can add the title of the campaign message or the automation message. |
Message ID | Message ID is different depending on which message type and channel it is. You can check IDs in reports of Campaigns and Automations. |
Phone number country code | Two-letter country codes according to the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 standard. Note: This only works for SMS channel messages. |
Marketing Activity ID |
|
Send Cost | The SMS credits that were used for sending your message.
Note: This only works for the SMS channel. |
Marketing Activity Name | The marketing activity name is different depending on which message type it is.
|
Marketing Activity Type | Depends on which message type it is. It can be either:
|
Message Format | Message type:
Note: This only works for the SMS channel. |
Message Delivery Failed Trigger
Use this trigger to resend messages or tag contacts who didn't receive a message due to delivery failure.
Marked Message as Spam Trigger
Contacts who mark emails as spam are automatically unsubscribed and cannot receive emails. Use this trigger to tag contacts who marked your email as spam.
⚠️ There's no history of events for deleted contacts.
Available trigger filters:
Filter | Description |
Channel | Select one of the possible channels:
|
Email Domain | Everything that goes after the @ symbol. Note: This only works for email channel messages. |
Message Title |
|
Message ID | Message ID is different depending on which message type and channel it is. You can check IDs in reports of Campaigns and Automations. |
Marketing Activity ID |
|
Marketing Activity Name | The marketing activity name is different depending on which message type it is.
|
Marketing Activity Type | Depends on which message type it is. It can be either:
|
Segment-Based Trigger
Trigger workflows every time a contact enters a segment. Since segmentation options are extensive, you can trigger workflows based on profile data, engagement with campaigns, and purchase behavior.
⚠️ A 'contact enters/exits a segment' trigger doesn't carry order information (order number, billing address, etc.). If you need order details in your message, use an event-based trigger (Placed Order, Paid for Order) instead.
FAQ
Why isn't my automation triggering?
Check these 4 areas in order:
Trigger filters – Use the Trigger Preview Tool (in trigger block, click Test trigger). A red X shows which filter failed.
Audience filters – If using segment-based filters, add a 1–2 minute delay before the first message. Use profile-based filters (tags, country, custom fields) for better reliability.
Frequency setting – Open your trigger block and scroll to Frequency. If set to "At any time in the past" or "In the last X days," contacts may be blocked from re-entry. Disable Frequency for unlimited re-entry.
Exit conditions – Check if an exit condition is canceling the workflow (e.g., "Order placed").
What is the Trigger Preview Tool and how do I use it?
The Trigger Preview Tool helps you test whether contacts qualify for your automation before you enable it.
To use it:
Go to Automations → open your workflow → click Trigger block
Click Test trigger in the top-right corner
Review the last 10 trigger events:
Green checkmark = contact met all conditions and entered
Red X = contact didn't meet a filter and was skipped
Click on any contact to see which filters passed or failed
Should I use segment-based or profile-based audience filters?
Use profile-based filters (country, tags, gender, custom fields) whenever possible. Profile-based filters evaluate instantly when the trigger fires.
Segment-based filters can cause issues because segments update after the trigger event. This delay may prevent contacts from entering the automation.
If you must use segment-based filters, add a 1–2 minute delay before your first message block to allow time for the segment to update.
Alternatively, use "Contact enters a segment" as your trigger instead of adding segment-based audience filters.
Why are fewer contacts entering my automation than expected?
Check:
Audience filters – Narrow filters may exclude contacts. Use the Trigger Preview Tool to see which contacts are filtered out.
Frequency settings – If Frequency is enabled (e.g., "At any time" or "In the last X days"), contacts who already triggered the automation won't enter again.
Workflow Channel Settings – These control who receives messages based on subscription status, not who enters the workflow. If contacts enter but don't receive messages, check Workflow Channel Settings.
Trigger filters – Overly specific trigger filters (e.g., "Form is X" with AND logic) may exclude contacts unintentionally.
What does "Skipped" mean in automation reports?
"Skipped" means a contact entered the automation but didn't receive a specific message because they're not opted in to that channel. For example, if a contact isn't subscribed to email, they'll skip the email block.
To prevent contacts from skipping blocks, ensure they're subscribed to the channel you're sending on (email, SMS, or push). In your message block settings, you can also enable "Pass non-opted-in contacts to the next step" so they continue through the workflow instead of exiting. "Skipped" is different from "Exited", which means the contact left the entire workflow (due to unsubscribe, exit condition, etc.).
How do I control how often customers can re-enter the same automation?
Use the Frequency setting in your automation trigger:
Go to Automations → open your workflow → click Trigger block
Scroll to Frequency and enable the toggle
Choose:
"At any time in the past" → Contacts can only enter once, ever
"In the last X hours/days/weeks" → Contacts can't re-enter within your chosen timeframe
Frequency disabled → Contacts can re-enter unlimited times
By default, most automations allow unlimited re-entry. Browsing behavior automations (Browse/Product Abandonment) default to 1 day to prevent spam.
Can I trigger automation based on order tags in Shopify?
Yes, you can trigger automations based on order tags in Shopify stores. However, the order tag must be added at the time the order is placed. You cannot trigger automations based on order tags if the tag is added after the order is created (e.g., if you edit or modify order tags). This is due to the order tag sync process that occurs when the order is initially placed.
Have any additional questions? Talk to us at [email protected] or via in-app chat. We're here for you 24/7.