Triggers & Actions

Introduction

Every workflow has two parts: a trigger (the event that starts the automation) and actions (what happens after). Understanding how they fit together helps you build automations that catch the right moment and execute the right next step, every time.

Key Terms

• Trigger: The event that starts a workflow; it answers "when should this run?"

• Action: A task the workflow performs after the trigger fires

• Workflow: A complete automation made up of a trigger plus one or more actions working in sequence

• Node: An individual building block in a workflow—either a trigger or an action

• Integration: A connection between AskElephant and another tool you use, like HubSpot, Slack, or Notion

Triggers: When Your Workflow Wakes Up

Every workflow starts with a trigger. The trigger is your automation's alarm clock—it tells the workflow exactly when to run.

Imagine you hire someone and tell them to "send a follow-up email." They need to know when to send it. Your trigger answers that question. Without a clear trigger, even the best instructions won't work.

Common Trigger Types

• New meeting: Fires when a meeting is added to AskElephant or completed

• Meeting updated: Activates when meeting details change

• Scheduled time: Runs at a specific time or on a recurring schedule

• External event: Triggers based on activity in connected tools (like a deal update in HubSpot)

Most triggers in AskElephant are based on events happening in the platform or your connected integrations, which makes them reliable and straightforward to set up.

Why Triggers Matter

A poorly chosen trigger causes problems:

• Too broad a trigger fires constantly and wastes resources

• Too narrow a trigger might never fire at all

• A missing trigger means the workflow never runs

The best triggers are specific enough to run only when needed, and broad enough to catch every case you care about.

Actions: What Your Workflow Does

Once a trigger fires, actions take over. Actions are the actual tasks your workflow performs. They transform raw information into useful outputs or push data to the tools you already use.

Types of Actions

Thinking and processing actions

• Summarize meetings or conversations

• Run custom prompts to analyze information

• Filter or sort data based on conditions

• Search for related information

Integration actions

• Update or create records in HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar CRMs

• Create tasks or pages in Notion

• Send messages in Slack

• Write information to other connected tools

Communication actions

• Send emails with summaries or insights

• Post notifications to Slack or other channels

• Trigger webhooks to external systems

How Actions Work Together

Actions run in sequence—one after another. The output of one action often becomes the input for the next. That's how you build sophisticated automations.

Simple example:

1. Trigger: New meeting ends

2. Action 1: Summarize the meeting

3. Action 2: Send that summary via email

More complex example:

1. Trigger: New meeting ends

2. Action 1: Search for past meetings with the same people

3. Action 2: Create a conversation with AI and attach all meetings

4. Action 3: Ask AI to identify key customer health signals

5. Action 4: Filter results to only include at-risk signals

6. Action 5: Send the filtered insights to Slack

The more actions you chain together, the more powerful your automation becomes—and the more complex to troubleshoot. Start simple and add complexity as needed.

Putting It Together: A Real Workflow

Scenario: automatically log external meetings in HubSpot and notify your team in Slack.

1. Trigger: A new external meeting ends

2. Action 1: Pull meeting details (attendees, topics, outcome)

3. Action 2: Create an activity record in HubSpot

4. Action 3: Send a summary to Slack for your team

Without the trigger, nothing happens. Without the actions, the trigger fires but accomplishes nothing. Together, they create a full automation.

Key Takeaways

• Triggers answer "when": they determine what event starts your workflow

• Actions answer "what": they determine what tasks the workflow performs

• Order matters: actions run in sequence, so arrangement affects the final result

• Start small: begin with simple trigger plus action combinations before building complex workflows

Next Steps

1. Identify a repetitive task in your work that takes manual effort

2. Choose a trigger that reliably identifies when that task should run

3. Add one or two actions to handle the work

4. Test it: run the workflow and verify the trigger fires and actions execute correctly

5. Iterate: once it works, tighten the trigger or add another action to expand what it does

Need Additional Help?

If you have questions or need further assistance, the AskElephant support team is here to help!

You can reach our support team in several ways:

• click the chat button in the bottom right corner of your screen,

• email us at [email protected],

• or use @askelephant support in your dedicated Slack channel.

We're committed to getting you the answers you need as quickly as possible.