Triggers

Triggers determine how and when your agent starts working. You can set up your agent to respond to user requests or run automatically on a schedule.

User Initiated

This is the default trigger that lets customers manually start conversations or tasks with your agent. Perfect for chat-based agents where users come with questions or need help with something specific.

Most agents use this trigger since it allows for natural back-and-forth conversations whenever users need assistance.

Recurring Schedule

Set your agent to run automatically at regular intervals - perfect for ongoing tasks like monitoring, reporting, or routine maintenance.

Use Case Example: A news summarization agent that runs every morning to compile and send daily industry updates.

Schedule Options

• Date & Time: Choose when to start the recurring schedule
• Frequency: Daily, weekly, or monthly execution
• Timezone: Automatically uses your account timezone (MDT shown in example)

HTTP/Webhook

Let external tools and automations trigger your agent by sending an HTTP POST request. Perfect for connecting your agent to workflows in other tools, or custom scripts — so your agent can kick off automatically when something happens in another system.

Use Case Example: A lead qualification agent that runs automatically whenever a new contact is added to your CRM.

Webhook Options

• Default Task: Set a fallback instruction for your agent when no task is included in the request body. Each subscriber can override this in their own requests.
• Webhook URL: Each subscriber gets their own unique URL, found in their agent preferences. You’ll also get a testing URL in the Triggers panel after saving and publishing.
• Test Trigger: Send a test request to verify your webhook is working.
• Rotate Token: Subscribers can regenerate their webhook URL if needed for security.

Email Triggers

Email triggers are temporarily unavailable. We plan to have these available again soon.

Turn any email into an agent activation. When someone sends an email to your agent’s unique address, it automatically triggers a new execution using the email content as input.

Email Address: AppyAI generates a unique email address for your agent (like [e-mail]). You can share this with clients or use it in automated workflows.

Use Case Example: A content summarization agent that automatically processes and responds to articles or documents sent via email.

Combining Triggers

You can enable multiple triggers for the same agent. For example, a reporting agent might run automatically every week but also allow users to manually request reports when needed.

Configure with Violet (Chat)

Ask Violet to set up your triggers in natural conversation:

• “I want my agent to send a daily report every morning at 8am”
• “Enable user chat and also run a weekly summary on Mondays”
• “Change my daily schedule to 6am instead of 8am”

Violet handles the configuration automatically and confirms changes with you.

Configure Manually

Access trigger settings directly through Triggers:

1. Toggle desired trigger types on/off
2. For recurring schedules, set date, time, and frequency
3. Copy email addresses for email triggers (when available)
4. Save your changes

Getting Started

1. Most agents start with User Initiated for basic chat functionality
2. Add Recurring Schedule for routine tasks that need to happen regularly
3. Test with Preview to verify trigger behavior works as expected

Choose the triggers that match how your customers want to interact with your expertise!