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What automation does

Automation is how you talk to customers without waiting for them to come to you. Beyond the inbox (which is reactive), HaloAgents lets you send proactive emails, drip sequences, banners, and in-app messages. All four types live under Automation in the sidebar (/dashboard/automation).

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Choose your automation

You want to…Use a…Why
Send one email to a target audienceBroadcastOne-shot, audience snapshot at send time, watch the rollout live
Send a multi-step email sequence over days or weeksSeriesMulti-step, with delays, conditions, branches, and exit rules
Show a banner across your productBannerPersistent, dismissible, targeted by audience
Show a modal or inline message in your productIn-App MessageHigher-friction, contextual, in-product
Have AI plan and draft a multi-step series for youAI BuilderChat-based; plan, build, and edit in minutes
A useful rule of thumb: broadcast for one-off announcements, series for lifecycle, in-app for in-product UX.

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The four types at a glance

TypeBest forLengthTrigger
BroadcastAnnouncements, feedback requests, one-time campaigns1 emailManual or scheduled
SeriesWelcome, onboarding, re-engagement, trial conversion, churn save2 to 50+ emails over timeManual activation, user signs up, triggers an event, or matches the audience filter
In-App MessageOnboarding nudges, re-engagement modals, beta invitesSingle content surfaceAudience match (active users see it)
BannerDunning, maintenance, feature launches, urgency cuesSingle bannerAudience match
Each automation has the same lifecycle: draft → active → completed → archived, with paused as an in-between state you can use any time.

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Two ways to build a series

When you create a series, you pick how to build it:
OptionWhen to use
AI BuilderDescribe what you want; Halo plans the series, drafts every email in parallel, lays it out for you. Best for first drafts. See AI Builder.
Manual BuilderA canvas where you drag and drop nodes (email, wait, condition, end). Best for fine control, complex branching, and editing existing series.
You can switch between the two while a series is in draft. After activation, the manual builder is the only place to edit (and most edits are locked while the series is live). See Series.

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Quick starters

The New Automation button has prebuilt templates to get going:
  • Welcome series (series): multi-step onboarding for new users
  • Feature announcement (broadcast): single email about a new release
  • Re-engagement (series): bring back inactive users
  • Feedback request (broadcast): single email asking for feedback
Templates pre-fill the trigger, audience pattern, and a sensible step count. You still write the copy (or have the AI Builder do it for you).

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Audience targeting

Every automation needs an audience. Three audience types:
TypeWhat it means
allEvery end user with an email
segmentFilter by user/company traits, custom fields, Stripe data, conversation activity
subscriptionSend to users subscribed to a specific subscription list, with consent rules
The recipient count updates in real time as you change filters; click View Audience to see exactly who will receive the send before you activate. For consent management with subscription lists, see Subscription Lists.

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Triggers

Series automations can fire four ways. The in-app labels and the underlying entry_trigger value:
In-app labelentry_trigger valueWhen it fires
Manual activationmanualYou activate it; everyone in the audience is enqueued at once
User signs upuser_createdWhenever Halo first inserts a contact (any first identify, lead capture, or dashboard add). Not keyed on the signed_up_at trait.
Triggers an eventeventWhen a specific event_type fires from the SDK or API
Matches the audience filtersegment_matchWhen a contact starts matching the audience filter (existing matches enroll immediately on activate)
See Triggers & Conditions for the full breakdown of each trigger, audience options, exit rules, and goal tracking.

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Conditions and branching

Series can branch based on what users do:
  • Email opened: branch on whether they opened a previous step
  • Link clicked: branch on whether they clicked
  • User property: branch on a custom field value
  • Event fired: branch on whether they triggered an event
See Triggers & Conditions.

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Send windows and business days

Series can be scheduled to respect:
  • Send window: only send between certain hours (e.g. 9 AM to 5 PM)
  • Business days only: skip weekends
  • Per-user timezone: when known, sends respect the recipient’s timezone
When a send falls outside the window, it’s deferred to the next valid time, never dropped.

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API access

Programmatic enrollment is available via the Series API: 
curl -X POST https://api.haloagents.ai/api/sdk/series \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ab_live_..." \
  -d '{ "action": "enroll", "user_id": "user_123", "series_id": "uuid" }'
Use this to enroll users from your backend on signup, integration connection, plan upgrade, and any other custom event.

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A starter checklist

If you’re new to automation, ship in this order:
  1. A welcome series (4 emails over 7 days, trigger: user_created). Most teams don’t have this, and it’s the highest-leverage thing you can build.
  2. A trial conversion series if you have a trial. Trigger on the trial_started event with an exit rule for plan_upgraded.
  3. A re-engagement series for users who haven’t logged in in 30 days. Segment-match trigger.
  4. A feedback request broadcast at month 1 of a customer’s lifecycle.
  5. A feature announcement broadcast template you can re-use for every launch.
That’s enough to cover the lifecycle. Add a churn-save series and a post-purchase series later as your motion matures.

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Where to go next

Broadcasts

One-shot emails with audience targeting, recipes, and best practices.

Series

Multi-step sequences with conditions, waits, and recipe templates.

AI Builder

Describe a series in plain English; Halo plans, drafts, and lays it out.

Triggers & Conditions

How series start and how they branch.

In-App Messages

Banner and modal messages inside your product.

Subscription Lists

Consent management for marketing emails.

Troubleshooting

0 matched, missing traits on identify, and other audience issues.