Trigger types
| Trigger | When it fires |
|---|---|
| Keyword | A contact sends a message containing a specific word or phrase |
| First inbound | A contact messages your number for the very first time |
| Manual | An agent triggers the flow manually from within a conversation |
Keyword trigger
Keyword triggers match against the contact’s message text. Four match modes are available:| Mode | How it matches |
|---|---|
| Exact | The message is exactly the keyword (case-insensitive) |
| Contains | The message contains the keyword anywhere |
| Fuzzy | The message approximately matches (handles typos) |
| Regex | Full regular expression match |
pricing (contains) fires when a contact sends “What’s your pricing?” or “Can you share pricing info?”.
First inbound trigger
Fires once per contact — the first time they ever message your number. Use it to send an automatic welcome message and set expectations about response times.Manual trigger
Agents can trigger a flow from within a conversation. Use this for structured workflows like sending a multi-step onboarding sequence or a feedback survey.Flow statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Being built — not active |
| Published | Active and running |
| Inactive | Was published but manually paused |
Common use cases
- Welcome message — greet new contacts automatically with a first inbound trigger
- FAQ auto-reply — answer common questions like “What are your hours?” with a keyword trigger
- Lead qualification — send a sequence of questions to gather information before routing to an agent
- Out-of-hours notice — reply automatically outside business hours to set expectations