Overview
TOB-E can set up workflow automation rules for you from a sentence in chat, and explain the automation rules you already have.
Describe the follow-up you want, and TOB-E proposes a complete automation rule, including the message, for you to review.
TOB-E creates nothing until you confirm in chat.
Every automation rule TOB-E creates starts switched off. Nothing sends until you tell TOB-E to turn the rule on, or you turn it on yourself on the Automation Rules page.
You can also ask TOB-E what your automation rules do and why a rule is not sending.
Before You Start
You need TOB-E access, which an account owner turns on for each office user.
Building automation rules with TOB-E requires an admin role with the Settings permission, the same permission needed to set up automation rules by hand. When someone without the Settings permission asks TOB-E to build an automation rule, TOB-E replies that they do not have access to automation settings and that an admin at their company can grant it.
Ask TOB-E About Your Automation Rules
TOB-E answers questions about your workflow automation rules in plain language, based on each rule's saved settings.
Click the TOB-E icon in the top header. The TOB-E panel opens.
Ask about your automation rules. For example, "What automations do we have?", "What does our new lead rule do?", or "Why isn't my estimate follow-up sending?"
Press Enter. TOB-E replies in the chat.
What TOB-E can tell you about your automation rules:
A list of your company's automation rules, with each rule's trigger and whether it is on or off.
What one automation rule sends, when it fires, and who it applies to.
What an automation rule setting means, in plain language.
What automation rules can and cannot do.
If your company has no automation rules, TOB-E says so and offers to set up the first one.
Why is my automation rule not sending?
When you ask TOB-E why an automation rule is not sending, TOB-E checks two things:
The rule is switched off. TOB-E says the rule is off and links to the page where you can turn the rule on.
A rule above it stops later rules. TOB-E names the rule above it that has If this rule runs, don't process subsequent rules turned on. When that rule runs on a record, the rules after it on the same trigger do not run for that record.
Build an Automation Rule with TOB-E
To build a workflow automation rule with TOB-E, describe the follow-up in a sentence and review the proposal card TOB-E shows in the chat.
Click the TOB-E icon in the top header. The TOB-E panel opens.
Describe the follow-up you want, and press Enter. For example, "Email new leads 2 hours after they come in." TOB-E replies with a proposal card in the chat.
Review the proposal card. The TOB-E proposal card shows the trigger, conditions, actions, and the message that will send. The card reads Not created yet, and nothing is created. Under the card, TOB-E offers the buttons Create it, Change the wording, and Not yet.
To change anything, click Change the wording or tell TOB-E what to adjust in the chat. TOB-E shows a revised proposal card and still creates nothing.
When the proposal looks right, click Create it, or confirm in the chat. TOB-E creates the automation rule switched off. The card status changes to Off, the Created section lists the rule and any template TOB-E wrote, and the card says nothing sends yet.
Click Review it on the settings page → to open the Automation Rules page.
To turn the rule on, click Turn it on, or give TOB-E an explicit yes in the chat. TOB-E turns on the automation rule, the card status changes to On, and What changed reads Enabled: From chat, on your say-so.
The rule starts with the next matching record. Nothing goes out for records that already happened. To keep the rule off, click Leave it off for now.
Note: If you do not give TOB-E an explicit yes, the automation rule stays off and nothing sends. To turn off a rule TOB-E created, ask TOB-E to switch it off. TOB-E switches the rule off and confirms in the chat.
What the TOB-E proposal card shows
Assumed values. When TOB-E fills in a detail you did not give, like timing or audience, the card shows that value with (assumed) next to it. For an audience TOB-E assumed, the card adds "You can narrow this to a branch or service type later."
The message. When one of your sales templates fits, TOB-E uses that template and says why. An existing template shows (existing) next to its name. When none fits, TOB-E writes the message: the template name shows (I will write this), the full text appears on the card, and the text is labeled TOB-E wrote this. A message TOB-E writes is saved as a sales template, and the created card shows it as (new).
Text message details. Customers who opted out of texts do not receive the message.
Warnings. The TOB-E proposal card shows a warning box when an existing rule on the same trigger would stop the automation rule from running.
Build a Multi-Step Follow-Up with TOB-E
TOB-E can build a series of follow-ups, such as an email, then a text, then a second email, as a set of automation rules.
In TOB-E chat, describe the ongoing follow-up you want, and press Enter. For example, "Follow up on estimates for a week until the customer replies." TOB-E replies with a proposal card in the chat.
Review the proposal card. The card shows every touch with its own timing and channel.
To change the series, ask TOB-E for fewer, later, or different touches. TOB-E revises the card before creating anything.
Click Create it, or confirm in the chat. TOB-E creates each touch as its own automation rule, all switched off, named as a set, for example "Post-Estimate Interstate Follow-Up (1 of 3)". The card lists every rule created and any message TOB-E wrote.
Click Turn it on, or give TOB-E an explicit yes, to turn on the set. TOB-E turns on every automation rule in the set together and confirms on the card.
Where to Start Building Automations with TOB-E
Besides asking in TOB-E chat, you can start building an automation rule with TOB-E from these places:
Automation Rules page. Go to Settings > Workflow Automation > Automation Rules. Next to Need help? under the page header, click Use TOB-E to write your automation. The TOB-E panel opens, sends "Help me write an automation", and TOB-E asks what you want to set up. Pick one of the four choices (email new leads that have not heard back, text customers the day before their move, send a thank-you after the job wraps, or keep following up until a lead replies), or describe the follow-up in your own words.
Announcement in TOB-E chat. When you open TOB-E chat, an announcement at the top of the panel describes building automations with TOB-E. Click the Dismiss icon to close it. The announcement stays closed in that browser.
Offers during a conversation. When you ask TOB-E for a one-off task that an automation rule could handle, TOB-E completes the task and may offer to automate it in the same reply. When you accept, TOB-E shows a proposal card, and you review and confirm it in the chat.
Key Details
These details describe how building automation rules with TOB-E works.
Every automation rule TOB-E creates starts switched off. A person turns it on, either by clicking Turn it on or giving TOB-E an explicit yes in chat, or in the Enable column on the Automation Rules page.
Deleting automation rules, changing rule order, and editing a rule that is switched on all happen on the Automation Rules page. TOB-E can switch a rule on or off when you ask.
Stopped rules. When an existing rule on the same trigger has If this rule runs, don't process subsequent rules turned on and applies to every record, TOB-E warns you before creating anything and names that existing rule.
To let both rules run, turn off If this rule runs, don't process subsequent rules on the existing rule on the Automation Rules page. TOB-E does not change a rule that is switched on.
Sales template limit. Your company has a limit on how many sales templates it can have. A message TOB-E writes is saved as a sales template and counts toward that limit.
Built with TOB-E mark. Automation rules TOB-E created show Built with TOB-E beside the rule name on the Automation Rules page. The mark stays after you edit the rule. A rule your team copies with duplicate does not show the mark.
Hover over the Built with TOB-E mark to see the rule's status. A rule that is on reads "Created with TOB-E, reviewed and enabled by your team". A rule that is off reads "Created with TOB-E, off until your team reviews and turns it on".
Automation offers. TOB-E makes at most one automation offer per conversation. When someone declines an offer, TOB-E completes the original task and does not make that offer to anyone at your company for 30 days. To build the automation sooner, ask TOB-E to automate the task, for example, "Automate my lead follow-up."
When your company already has an automation rule switched on for the same task, TOB-E points to that existing rule and makes no offer.
Automation rules run from triggers on leads and jobs. When you ask for a clock-based task or a one-time bulk campaign, TOB-E replies that it cannot automate the request. For a scheduled report, TOB-E points you to Scheduled Exports on the Reports page. To set one up, click the Schedule Exports calendar icon on the Smart Insights report list. The Scheduled Reports panel opens.
Best Practices
Describe the follow-up with the timing and audience you want, so the TOB-E proposal card has fewer (assumed) values.
Read the full message on the TOB-E proposal card before you confirm. A message TOB-E writes is saved as a sales template your team can reuse.
Check the rule order on the Automation Rules page after TOB-E creates an automation rule, so the right rule runs first.
Troubleshooting
I confirmed the rule in TOB-E, but no messages are going out.
Automation rules that TOB-E creates start switched off. Click Turn it on on the TOB-E card, or give TOB-E an explicit yes, or turn it on in the Enable column on the Automation Rules page.
TOB-E says my new automation rule would never run.
An existing rule on the same trigger has If this rule runs, don't process subsequent rules turned on, which stops the rules after it. On the Automation Rules page, turn off that setting on the existing rule, or move the TOB-E rule above it.
TOB-E will not create a message for my automation rule.
Your company has reached its sales template limit. Retire a sales template you no longer use, or ask TOB-E to use one of your existing sales templates.
I do not see the Use TOB-E to write your automation link.
The Use TOB-E to write your automation link on the Automation Rules page appears when TOB-E is turned on for your user and TOB-E automation building is available for your company. Ask your account owner to turn on TOB-E for you.
TOB-E will not change an automation rule that is switched on.
TOB-E does not edit an automation rule that is on, because that rule is already sending to customers. Edit the rule on the Automation Rules page, or ask TOB-E to switch it off first.