Marketing Studio · Automation Flows

Lay it out once. It follows up with every lead.

Send a text, wait two hours, tag them if they answer. You draw the steps on a canvas and the flow runs itself for every contact that enters it. Seventeen step types in five groups, versions you can roll back, and nothing sends until you publish.

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Step types
17 in 5 groups
Starts on
New lead · SMS · Email
Publishing
Versioned, roll back any time
Included with
Lead Engine add-on
One step, up close

Everything a step needs is on the card.

No side panel, no hidden settings. A step shows what it does, who it goes to and what it says, and every way out of it is labelled at its own dot.

  • 1
    The colour is the group

    Left border, icon and header tint carry one of five hues. Every green card starts a flow, every blue card sends something, every amber card is timing or logic.

  • 2
    Settings live on the step

    Who receives it and what it says are filled in right here. A step that cannot run yet says what is missing on the card itself.

12345
chatSend SMSclose

Send an SMS message

Send to
Contactexpand_more
Message
Hi {{contact.first_name}}, it's {{agent.first_name}} from Northstar Realty. {{ai.reply}}
Insert value…expand_more

Consent checked before send

OK
FAILED
TIMEOUT
  • 3
    Every way out has a name

    OK, FAILED and TIMEOUT each get their own dot, so you always know which path a run took. Wait for Reply reads REPLIED and TIMEOUT; a business-hours check reads OPEN and CLOSED.

  • 4
    Consent checked before send

    A contact without SMS consent takes the FAILED path instead of getting a text. The card says so, because it is what will actually happen.

  • 5
    One Insert picker everywhere

    The same merge values as Templates and the Inbox: the contact's name, the agent's name, the property they asked about, or the reply the AI just drafted.

Seventeen steps

Five groups. A trigger never looks like a message.

Colour is carried by the group, which is what makes a canvas readable at a glance. Drag a step from the library, connect it, and a step that cannot run yet carries a note saying what is missing.

Triggers

Start a flow. Every flow needs one.

  • bolt
    New LeadStarts on a new lead, when it is assigned to an agent or as soon as it arrives.
  • sms
    Inbound SMSStarts when an SMS arrives.
  • mail
    Inbound EmailStarts when an email arrives.

Messages

Do the sending.

  • chat
    Send SMSSend an SMS message. Consent is checked before send.
  • outgoing_mail
    Send EmailSend an email message, with a subject and a body.
  • home_work
    Search ListingsFind listings matching what the lead asked for and put them into a message.

AI

Write and read. All three need an active AI key.

  • auto_awesome
    Generate ReplyUse AI to draft a personalized reply from your material.
  • category
    Classify MessageSort a message into one of your categories.
  • data_object
    Extract DetailsPull structured details out of a message.

Contacts

Change the record.

  • label
    Add TagAdd or remove a contact tag.
  • person_edit
    Update ContactChange fields on the contact record.
  • save
    Save ValueStore a value on a custom field for later steps.

Timing & logic

Control the shape of the flow.

  • schedule
    DelayWait for a set amount of time, or until you open.
  • hourglass_top
    Wait for ReplyPause until the contact sends another message.
  • alt_route
    ConditionBranch on a field or on business hours.
  • forum
    When the message says…Branch on what the person wrote. Keywords, no field to type.
  • stop_circle
    StopEnd this flow for that person.
One lead, start to finish

What the flow above does on a Tuesday morning.

A buyer asks about a listing through your site. Nine minutes later she has an answer, a tag, and an agent in the conversation. Nobody at the brokerage typed the first message.

  1. New lead assigned Trigger

    Maya Chen asks about 41 Hastings Ave. Jordan Lee is assigned, so the New Lead trigger fires and a run of version 3 starts.

  2. Business hours: OPEN Condition

    Tuesday, 10:15 in America/Toronto, inside the brokerage preset. The OPEN path continues at once. At night the CLOSED path would wait until you open.

  3. Generate Reply AI

    Drafted from the Buyer services guide in your Knowledge base: two showing times, 41 words. Saved as ai.reply for the next step.

  4. Send SMS Message

    Consent verified, then sent from the brokerage number, +1 416 555 0184, with Maya's name and Jordan's name merged in.

  5. Reply received REPLIED

    Wait for Reply was set to two hours. Maya answers in four minutes, so the REPLIED path runs and TIMEOUT never fires.

  6. Add Tag: Hot lead Contact

    The tag lands on Maya's record, and the segment "Hot buyer leads" includes her from this moment. Run finished: 5 steps.

  7. Jordan takes over Inbox

    He replies from the same number in the Communications Inbox. The automation is paused for Maya alone; everyone else in the flow carries on.

+1 416 555 0184Northstar Realty
Tuesday 10:16
Automated · New buyer lead follow-upHi Maya, it's Jordan from Northstar Realty. 41 Hastings Ave is available to view Thursday at 6:00 pm or Saturday at 11:00 am. Which works for you?SMS · 10:16
Saturday works. Can you email me the listing and anything similar nearby?SMS · 10:20
Sent by Jordan LeeSent to your inbox just now, with two more on the same street. Saturday 11:00 it is. See you there.SMS · 10:24
ContactFlowOutcomeStarted
Maya ChenNew buyer lead follow-upFinished · 5 steps10:15
Priya SharmaSeller enquiry follow-upRunning · Wait for Reply09:58
Daniel OkaforNew buyer lead follow-upStopped · human takeoverYesterday
Jordan LeeTestNew buyer lead follow-upFinished · 5 stepsYesterday
Versions, tests and the publish gate

Nothing sends until you publish.

Editing a live flow does not change what is running. Your changes are a draft until you publish, publishing creates a version, and a flow that cannot run is refused rather than published broken.

New buyer lead follow-up · Version history
Version history
Version 3 · livePublished · 2 Sep 2026
Published
Version 2Published · 14 Aug 2026
Roll back
Version 1Draft · 3 Aug 2026
Draft

Draft, publish, roll back

Publish makes the draft live and creates a version. Contacts already partway through carry on with the version they started on, so somebody halfway through the old flow is never moved onto a half-finished new one.

  • The version list shows what was live and when, so a change can be traced to a date.
  • Roll back republishes an earlier version in one step.
Automation Flows · Runs
New buyer lead follow-upFinishedTesta1f2c9 · New Lead · 5 steps · you, 2 min ago
New buyer lead follow-upFinished7e04b1 · New Lead · 5 steps · Maya Chen, 10:15
Seller enquiry follow-upRunningc39d58 · New Lead · waiting for a reply · Priya Sharma, 09:58
Hi Jordan, it's Jordan from Northstar Realty. 41 Hastings Ave is available to view Thursday at 6:00 pm or Saturday at 11:00 am…Test · to your own phone

Test it on yourself

Run the flow against your own number or address instead of a contact, and read every message in the order and wording it will really have. Test runs are marked as tests and never appear in your campaign figures.

  • Delays run as written: a two-day wait takes two days to test end to end. Shorten it, test, then set it back.
  • Every run, test or real, is listed with its outcome and step count.
New buyer lead follow-up · Draft
error3 things to fix before publishing — show me which steps
No business hours are set Send Email: no mailbox connected for this flow Generate Reply: no AI provider key is active
check_circleReady to publish · All required settings complete
Publish

Refused, not published broken

Publish stays disabled while anything is blocking. A step missing its key, or a flow with no way to send, is refused at publish. Steps you have not touched stay quiet until you ask to see what is wrong.

  • Warnings are advisory and never block Publish. They flag graphs that are legal but probably unintended.
  • The same checks run again on the server when you publish.
phone_iphone
A way to send

At least one mailbox or phone number connected under Communications Settings. Managed numbers, or your own Twilio account.

schedule
Business hours

Set once for the brokerage, adjusted per agent. Without them a flow can message somebody in the middle of the night.

key
An active AI key for the three AI steps

Your own provider key, or the one that comes with Dominance AI or the AI Assistant add-on. A key that exists but is switched off counts as none, and the step says so.

Where it lives

The engine inside the Lead Engine.

Automation Flows come with the Automated AI Lead Engine, the add-on that switches on the whole texting and email side of Marketing Studio for your brokerage. The Lead Engine page shows what a buyer experiences; this is the canvas that makes it happen. Agents build flows in their own portal; admins see every flow and every run.

See pricing Talk to us first
Automated AI Lead Engine · add-on
CAD $299 a month, per brokerage

Added to Growth or Dominance AI. Switched on or off at any time, billed pro rata alongside your plan.

  • checkAutomation Flows, versions and runs
  • checkCommunications Inbox for SMS and email
  • checkMass SMS with consent checks
  • checkTemplates, Quick Replies, Tags, Segments
  • checkManaged numbers or your own Twilio
  • checkBusiness hours, holidays, spend limits

The three AI steps need an active AI key: your own provider key, or the one included with Dominance AI or the AI Assistant add-on. Message usage is billed at cost and capped by the spend limits you set.

Questions

Before you build your first flow.

If I edit a flow that is live, does it change for people already in it?

No. Your edits are a draft until you publish, and publishing creates a new version. Contacts already partway through carry on with the version they started on. Only contacts who enter after you publish take the new one.

Can a flow text somebody in the middle of the night?

Not if you have business hours set. A Condition on business hours sends daytime leads straight on and holds night-time ones on a Delay until you open, and Communications Settings keeps one preset for the brokerage that every flow reads. Without hours set, the step tells you so on the card.

What does "Wait for Reply" actually wait for?

Another message from that contact, on the channel you choose, for up to the number of minutes you set. Steps after REPLIED do not run for the message that started the flow. If nothing arrives in time, the TIMEOUT path runs instead.

Which steps need an AI key?

Generate Reply, Classify Message and Extract Details. They use your own provider key or the one that comes with Dominance AI or the AI Assistant add-on. A key that exists but is switched off counts as none, and the step carries a note until one is active.

What happens when two flows could answer the same text?

Every flow has a priority. Lower numbers run first and win the auto-reply lock, so one inbound message gets one automated answer, not three.

Can I stop a flow for one person without pausing it for everyone?

Yes. Taking over a conversation in the Communications Inbox pauses the automation for that contact alone. Everyone else in the flow carries on, and the run shows as stopped with the reason.

Ready when you are

Your first flow can be live today.

Add the Lead Engine to a Growth or Dominance AI site, connect a number, and publish a starter flow before lunch. Our team will build the first one with you if you like.

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