> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.retainful.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automations overview

> Always-on workflows that respond to customer behavior — cart recovery, welcome series, win-backs, and more.

An automation is a workflow that runs by itself. You set it up once; from then on, whenever a customer does something — abandons a cart, places a first order, joins a list — the automation responds with the right message at the right time.

Campaigns are something you *send*; automations are something you *switch on*.

## How an automation works

Every automation has three parts:

1. **A trigger** — the event that starts the flow for a contact, like "checkout started but not completed" or "subscribed to list". See [Triggers](/automations/triggers).
2. **Steps** — what happens next: send an email, wait two days, check a condition, generate a coupon. See [Steps](/automations/steps).
3. **Exit and re-entry rules** — when a contact should leave the flow early (for example, they completed their purchase) and whether they can enter it again later.

You build all of this on a visual canvas — boxes connected by arrows, no code.

## Start from a template

The fastest way to get value is the template gallery (**Automations → Templates**). Each template is a complete, proven flow with pre-written emails:

| Template category             | What it does                                                       |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Recover lost sales**        | Abandoned cart recovery — the highest-ROI automation in ecommerce. |
| **Nurture subscribers**       | Welcome series for new signups, with an optional welcome discount. |
| **Encourage repeat purchase** | Post-purchase thank-you and cross-sell flows, next-order coupons.  |
| **Win back customers**        | Re-engage people who haven't bought in a while.                    |

Templates list their **prerequisites** (like a connected store for cart recovery) and show whether each is fulfilled before you publish.

Not sure which to run? The [Use cases](/automations/use-cases/overview) library walks through the most popular, highest-ROI automations — what each is for and the sequence that works.

## Draft, publish, pause

* **Draft** — you're editing; nothing runs.
* **Published (Active)** — live; new trigger events enter the flow.
* **Paused** — no new contacts enter.

## Guides in this section

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Create an automation" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/automations/create-an-automation">
    Build a flow on the visual canvas, step by step.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Triggers" icon="bolt" href="/automations/triggers">
    Every event that can start a flow, plus filters and re-entry rules.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Steps" icon="shoe-prints" href="/automations/steps">
    Emails, WhatsApp, coupons, delays, branches, webhooks, and list updates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use cases" icon="grid-2" href="/automations/use-cases/overview">
    A library of proven, high-ROI automations — cart recovery, welcome, win-back, and more.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Coupons" icon="ticket" href="/automations/coupons">
    Generate unique, single-use discount codes inside your flows.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automation analytics" icon="chart-line" href="/automations/analytics">
    Measure each flow's engagement and revenue.
  </Card>
</Columns>