Automations

Automations are in open beta.

An automation is a set of AI steps that runs on its own when a trigger fires or a schedule comes due. You describe the outcome in chat, for example “when a meeting signals a real deal, open an opportunity on the right account,” and the agent builds the automation’s name, trigger and steps for you.

Each step is carried out by the agent using the data its Runs as identity can access, plus your team’s Skills and Knowledge. In the example above, one step reads the meeting transcript, decides whether there’s buying intent, finds the account, checks for an existing opportunity, and creates one with an Amount and Stage.

Who can use it

Automations are on the Pro, Growth and Enterprise plans.

On Starter, you can still ask the agent in chat to do the same work, such as updating records or drafting a follow-up, each time you need it. An automation runs that work for you on a trigger or schedule. To get automations, an admin changes the plan in Settings → Billing, or you contact Lightfield.

Owners and admins see Automations in the sidebar, and only they can create, edit, test, run, activate or delete an automation. Members don’t see Automations, but they approve the drafts an automation sends them in For review.

Earlier plans can differ. Check your workspace’s available features.

How an automation goes live

1. Build in chat. Describe the outcome and the agent saves a Draft. Nothing runs on its triggers yet.
2. Test. Review the requested permissions before granting them. Test on a record you can safely change: test runs have real effects, including email sends if you grant automatic sending.
3. Activate. Click Activate or ask in chat. Complete the permissions approval card in the automation’s chat; clicking Activate alone does not finish activation. Check that Status shows Active. Triggers can then start runs, subject to the run limits.

Build an automation walks through each stage, the six kinds of trigger, and who a run acts as. Runs and held runs covers what happens after a trigger fires.

When a step shouldn’t act on its own, such as sending an email, it drafts the change for a person to approve in For review.

Automation statuses

The automation’s page shows its status under Status.

Status	What it means
Draft	Being built or edited with the agent. Its triggers don’t start runs.
Active	Published and running on its triggers. Edits you publish are saved as a new version.
Paused	Its triggers don’t start runs. Events that happen while it’s paused are never replayed.

Each time you publish, Lightfield saves that version. A run always uses the version that was live when it started, so publishing an edit never changes a run that’s already going.

Pause, resume or delete an automation

Pausing stops new runs. Runs already in progress keep going, and events that happen while the automation is paused aren’t replayed when you resume it. Deleting an automation can’t be undone, so pause it instead if you might want it back.

1. Open Automations in the sidebar and select the automation.
2. Open the options menu and choose Pause automation, Resume automation or Delete automation.

You can also ask the agent, for example “pause the weekly pipeline digest.” A draft that has never been published can’t be paused.

You can’t resume an automation whose Runs as member has been deactivated. Choose an active member for it, or reactivate that member first.

Choose how to do the work

• Use chat for a task you need done once.
• Save a skill when you want to reuse instructions for a task you start yourself.
• Use an automation when a process should run on a schedule or when something changes in your CRM.
• Use a sequence for timed, multi-step outreach to one contact at a time.
• Workflows are built step by step in a visual builder. Build new processes as automations instead, since the agent designs, tests and fixes them with you.

For recurring work, start with one test and check its result and usage before activating a schedule. See Runs and held runs.

Common questions

Can an automation send emails on its own? Not by default. It drafts the email, and the sender approves it in For review before it goes out. It sends without review only if you ask the agent for automatic sending and grant the Send emails and create drafts permission.

Who can create automations? Owners and admins. Members can still approve the drafts an automation sends them in For review.

What’s the difference between a draft and an active automation? A draft is still being built and its triggers don’t start runs. An active automation can start runs from its triggers. Run limits can hold them before they start.

Does editing an active automation change runs already in progress? No. Each run keeps the version it started with, and new runs use the version you publish.