Triggers: AI automation that starts the moment something happens

What Triggers are and who they are for

Triggers in MyChatBot start work on an event, not on a clock. Unlike a schedule, a trigger fires only when there is something to act on: a website form is submitted, your CRM sends a webhook, someone comments a keyword under an Instagram post, or a payment lands in Stripe.

Triggers live in two places in the product:

• Automations in the Sales Platform capture leads and start conversations. Each automation attaches to one agent: it fires on a form email, a webhook call, a Meta lead form or an Instagram comment, and the agent takes the conversation from there.
• Triggers in the Agents Platform start a routine or a single agent when a secret link is called or when something happens in a connected app such as Gmail, HubSpot or Stripe.

They suit businesses that collect leads through forms and ads, teams whose CRM or online store should send order updates and reminders through messengers, and anyone who wants back-office work to start when a tool reports a change.

How a trigger works, step by step

1. The event arrives. Your system POSTs JSON to a unique webhook URL, a form notification lands in the connected mailbox, a Meta Lead Gen form is submitted, or a monitored post gets a keyword comment.
2. The lead is captured. MyChatBot creates the lead or updates the existing one. Contacts are matched by phone number or email, so a repeat event lands in the same chat instead of creating a duplicate.
3. The agent acts. In capture-only mode (Capture only, or Collect leads only for form emails) the lead is saved without a message, optionally at a default pipeline stage. In outreach mode the agent sends the first message on the channel you picked, written from your Agent instruction or as a Custom message with {name} and {context} placeholders.
4. The conversation continues. When the client replies, the agent handles the chat like any other: answers questions and sets statuses and labels, which follow-ups later use for targeting.
5. You see the outcome. The Automation status card shows the state, such as Pending, Processing, Finished or Error, and counts queued, processed, failed and skipped items.

In the Agents Platform, each trigger keeps its own conversation, and every run starts with the data the event carried.

Key capabilities

• Trigger Outreach. Up to 20 named triggers, each with its own webhook URL: one per CRM event, order status or reminder type. The context you send is handed to the agent, so the message can mention an order number or a visit time.
• Lead Form Instant Outreach. Watches the mailbox that receives your website form notifications. An AI step reads the name, phone, email and Telegram username from the letter, with no fixed template. Up to 5 lead sources per agent.
• Lead Forms. Facebook and Instagram Lead Ads submissions are always saved to Contacts; enable a form to route its leads to a chosen agent.
• Instagram Keyword Responder. Monitors up to 100 posts, matches keywords regardless of case, and posts a short public reply under the comment and/or sends a private DM.
• Delay and throttling. Send Delay, Interval Seconds between sends, Timezone and a Sending Window, so messages outside the window wait until it opens.
• Status updates by webhook. A set_status call moves an existing lead to a status from its pipeline, such as Paid. The change lands in the chat timeline, re-arms follow-ups for the new status and can end a Telegram funnel for that person.
• Call result callback. When a trigger uses the Calls channel, the agent POSTs a JSON result with the fields you define to your https URL after each call, so you can update your CRM.

Channels and integrations involved

The first message can go out on cold-start channels: Personal WhatsApp, Telegram account, E-Chat Viber, E-Chat Telegram, Gmail, Calls, Calls Ringostat and SMS. Trigger Outreach and Lead Forms also list WhatsApp, Telegram bot, Viber bot, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok and OLX, but those deliver only when the client already has a chat on that channel.

On the event side, any system that can call a URL can fire a trigger: CRMs, online stores, form builders and payment tools. App-event triggers in the Agents Platform watch connected apps directly: 57 events across 21 apps, including Gmail, Google Sheets, Slack, Stripe, HubSpot, ClickUp, Jira, Trello and Zendesk, with plain-language filters. Some events are instant; others are checked periodically, with up to about 15 minutes of delay.

The full list is on the integrations page. For two-way chat with your own app rather than one-off events, use the Webhooks API channel.

When a human takes over, and the limits

Your team can step in at any point. Handoff Control switches a chat to operator mode on a stop word or, in implicit mode, on any operator message, and Silent handoff keeps the switch invisible to the client. Flight Control links a Telegram group to the agent so the team can ask it for information and give it tasks. More on the human handoff page.

Limits to know before you go live:

• The webhook URL is the credential, with no extra signature. Treat it like a password; if it leaks, delete the trigger and create a new one.
• Failed items are not retried automatically; re-send the event, and the existing lead is updated. In outreach mode every accepted POST composes a new message, so a CRM that fires twice messages the client twice.
• Agents Platform triggers: up to 10 per account and 12 fires per trigger per hour. A trigger that fails several times in a row turns itself off. Routines do not pause for approval, so rehearse with a dry run first.
• A new Sales chat, a customer reply, a lead-stage change or a Sales order does not start an Agents routine today. To re-engage clients who go quiet at a given status or label, use Follow-ups.

How to set it up

1. Connect the channels you will send from on the Channels page for your agent.
2. Open Automations, pick the agent at the top right and choose a template.
3. Set the mode, channels, message and delays, then click Create automation.
4. For Trigger Outreach, save to generate the Webhook URL and paste it into your CRM or store. Send a POST with phone_number (or email), name and context.
5. Test with your own number: a 200 reply means the event was accepted; check delivery on the status card and in the chat.

For a routine, click its Edit button, go to Automations, then Triggers, click + Add trigger and choose a custom webhook or a connected app. You can also ask your Personal Assistant to create one in chat. Triggered runs draw from your agents balance like any other run; see pricing.