# Automations

Send messages automatically in response to what your contacts do — an event triggers a sequence of one to five messages with waits in between. This page explains what an automation is, how Sequences and Flows differ, and where to go next.

**Language:** en
**Audience:** platform
**Translation key:** platform.automations.overview
**Search keywords:** automation, automations, sequence, sequences, flow, flows, flow builder, branching, branching automation, branches, split, conditional, canvas, visual canvas, workflow, workflows, trigger, triggers, trigger event, automated message, automated messages, journey, journeys, customer journey, journey builder, drip, drip campaign, welcome sequence, abandoned cart, post purchase, event-driven, cancellation event, wait, delay
**Related pages:** /platform/es/automations, /platform/en/automations/sequences, /platform/en/automations/flows, /platform/en/automations/managing, /platform/en/automations/analytics, /platform/en/campaigns, /platform/en/audience/segments
**Docs index (every page):** https://docs.instasent.com/llms.txt
**This zone's index:** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/llms.txt
**This page:** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/automations/ (HTML) · https://docs.instasent.com/platform/en/automations.md (Markdown)
**Other language (es):** https://docs.instasent.com/platform/es/automations.md

An automation sends messages on its own, triggered by something a contact does —
an order is placed, a cart is abandoned, a contact joins a segment. Each
automation listens for a **trigger event** and, when it fires, enrols the contact
and sends a short series of messages with waits in between. This page is the map
of the collection: what an automation is, the two shapes it comes in, and where
each part is documented.

## What an automation is

An automation is built around a simple shape:

- A **trigger event** starts it — when the event happens for a contact, that
  contact is enrolled.
- A **sequence of one to five messages** is sent, each with an editable **wait**
  before it (the first wait is measured from the trigger, the rest from the
  previous message).
- An optional **cancellation event** stops the sequence early — for example, a
  contact who completes a purchase leaves an abandoned-cart sequence.

Unlike a campaign, which is a one-time send you launch by hand, an automation
runs continuously in the background: once it's active, every contact who triggers
the event flows through it.

> **Note**: Looking for a single, one-time send to a chosen audience instead? That's a
> [campaign](/platform/en/campaigns), not an automation.

### Channel

Automations send over **SMS** and **RCS**. The channel is fixed when you create
the automation. **WhatsApp** is coming soon for automations — it's available for
[campaigns](/platform/en/campaigns) today, but not yet here.

## Sequences and Flows

Automations are built with **two tools**. Neither replaces the other: they solve
different problems and you pick the one that fits. Only **Sequences** is available
today; **Flows** is coming soon.

|               | What it is                                                                                                                              | Status    |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- |
| **Sequences** | A **linear** series: trigger → messages with waits → optional cancellation. The same path for every enrolled contact.                   | Available |
| **Flows**     | A builder on a **visual canvas**: each contact follows their own path through sends, waits and branches, with several possible endings. | (Soon)    |

Use a **Sequence** whenever the same set of messages should go to everyone the
trigger enrols — a welcome series, an abandoned-cart reminder, a post-purchase
follow-up. Use a **Flow** when the path itself has to change with what each contact
does. Until Flows ships, a Sequence with a **cancellation event** already covers
the most common branch — "stop if they convert".

## Explore the collection

- [Sequences](/platform/en/automations/sequences) - Build a linear automation: trigger, messages with waits, audience and senders.
- [Flows](/platform/en/automations/flows) - The branching automation builder — coming soon.
- [Managing automations](/platform/en/automations/managing) - Activate, pause, resume, archive, clone and delete.
- [Analytics](/platform/en/automations/analytics) - Delivery, clicks, conversions and revenue per automation — read-only, available once it's active.

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This is one page of the Instasent documentation. For the complete machine-readable index of every guide and API reference, fetch https://docs.instasent.com/llms.txt — start there for full context.