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Elementum’s Automation System is an event-driven framework that responds to activities within your system. Automations monitor system events and execute predefined actions when specific conditions are met.
App Requirement: Automations must be created within an App. Before building automations, you need to have an App to serve as the container for your automations.

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How Automations Work

Every automation follows a listen-think-act pattern:
  1. Listen (Triggers) - Monitor for specific events happening in your system
  2. Think (Conditions & AI) - Evaluate the event and determine what should happen
  3. Act (Actions) - Execute the appropriate response automatically

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Manual vs. Automated: Customer Support

Manual process: Customer emails support → Email sits in inbox → Agent reads email → Agent searches for customer → Agent creates ticket → Agent assigns ticket → Agent sends confirmation Automated process: Customer emails support → Email Received trigger fires → AI analyzes email content → Search Records finds customer → Create Record generates ticket → AI Classification determines priority → Make Assignment routes to appropriate agent → Send Email Notification confirms receipt

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Triggers: Understanding Events

Events represent activities within your system. Every interaction, data change, or scheduled occurrence can trigger an automation. Record Events
  • Record is Created: New data enters your system
  • Record is Updated: Existing data changes
  • Approval Process Status Updated: Approval workflows advance
Content Events
  • Attachment is Added: Files uploaded to records
  • Comment Added: Team members communicate on records
Data Events
  • Data Mine: Scheduled data collection from external sources
  • Email Received: Incoming emails that need processing
Time Events
  • Time-Based: Scheduled executions (daily, weekly, monthly)
  • Survey: Responses submitted through forms
Workflow Events
  • On-Demand Trigger: Custom triggers with inputs/outputs for complex workflows
  • Agent Conversation Ended: AI agent interactions complete with context
For complete trigger details and configuration options, see the Automation Triggers Reference.

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AI Integration

AI actions process information and make decisions within your automation workflows. Each action receives data through variables and produces structured outputs.
  • AI Classification - Categorizes unstructured data into predefined groups (e.g., routing support tickets by type)
  • AI Summarization - Condenses lengthy content into key insights (e.g., generating executive summaries from customer feedback)
  • AI File Analysis - Extracts structured information from documents (e.g., pulling vendor, amount, and due date from invoice PDFs)
  • Transform Data with AI - Cleans, normalizes, and enhances data (e.g., standardizing addresses and phone numbers)
Variables control what information AI actions receive and what they return. For example: 
Customer Data (variable) → AI Classification → Determines Customer Tier
Contract Document (variable) → AI File Analysis → Key Terms Extracted

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Build Your First Automation

1

Choose your trigger

Select the event that starts the automation. For a customer support workflow, use Email Received to capture incoming requests. See the Triggers Reference for all available triggers and configuration options.
2

Add AI actions

AI Classification: Analyze the email content and categorize it (Bug, Feature Request, General Support) — output stored as email_categoryAI Summarization: Create a brief summary of the customer issue — output stored as issue_summary
3

Add response actions

Search Records: Find the existing customer using their email address — output stored as customer_recordCreate Record: Generate a support ticket using the customer record, category, and summary — output stored as support_ticketMake Assignment: Route to the appropriate team based on email category — output stored as assigned_agentSend Email Notification: Confirm receipt to the customer with the ticket number and assigned agentSee the Actions Reference for all available actions and configuration options.
4

Review the complete flow

Email Received → AI Classification → AI Summarization → Search Records → Create Record → Make Assignment → Send Email Notification

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Automation Patterns

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Decision Tree

Use IF conditions to create branching logic based on record data: 
Record is Updated → IF customer tier = "Enterprise"
  → Send Message to Teams (priority channel)
  → Make Assignment (senior agent)
OTHERWISE IF customer tier = "Standard"
  → Send Email Notification (standard response)
  → Make Assignment (general queue)

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Data Processing Pipeline

Chain multiple AI actions for complex data transformation: 
File Uploaded → AI File Analysis → Transform Data with AI → AI Classification → Create Record → Send Email Notification

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Approval Workflow

Combine AI with human decision-making: 
Record is Created → AI Classification → IF amount > $10,000
  → Start Approval Process (CFO approval)
  → Send Message to Teams (finance team)
OTHERWISE
  → Update Record Fields (auto-approved)

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Variables

Variables carry information between automation actions, connecting outputs from one step to inputs of the next. Trigger variables come from the initiating event:
  • trigger.record_id - ID of the record that triggered the event
  • trigger.user_email - Email of the user who caused the event
  • trigger.timestamp - When the event occurred
Action variables are outputs from executed actions:
  • search_result.customer_name - Customer name from Search Records
  • ai_classification.category - Category from AI Classification
  • new_record.record_id - ID of newly created record
Use descriptive variable names (customer_priority_level rather than priority), and use IF conditions to validate variable values before passing them to downstream actions.

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Actions

Automations support a broad set of built-in actions across several categories. For complete details, examples, and configuration options, see the Automation Actions Reference.

Logic Actions

Use IF conditions to branch behavior and Repeat for Each to loop over collections.

Record Actions

Create, update, search, and relate records. Manage approvals, assignments, and field locking.

Communication Actions

Send email notifications, post Microsoft Teams messages, and add comments to records.

File Actions

Read files, extract structured data with AI analysis, and process ZIP archives.

Data Actions

Run calculations, set variables, classify content, summarize text, and transform data with AI.

External Actions

Call external APIs and execute custom functions for specialized integrations.

Agent Actions

Run autonomous agent tasks and initiate outbound phone calls.

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Monitoring and Debugging

Access execution history for each automation to track:
  • Execution Status: Success or failure
  • Timestamp: When the automation ran
  • Actions Executed: Steps completed
  • Variables Used: Data passed between actions
  • Error Messages: Detailed failure information
Use Post Comment actions to log progress at key points in your automation — this makes it easier to trace execution and verify that variables contain expected values at each step. Access automation history through the main interface or App Health.

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Common Use Cases

Scenario: Automatically extract and route invoices uploaded as PDF attachmentsTrigger: Attachment is Added (invoice PDF)Flow:
PDF Uploaded → AI File Analysis → Create Invoice Record → IF amount > $5,000
  → Start Approval Process
OTHERWISE
  → Update Record Fields (auto-approved) → Send Email Notification
Scenario: Welcome new customers and set up their accounts automaticallyTrigger: Record is Created (new customer)Flow:
New Customer Created → AI Classification → Generate Report (welcome packet) → Send Email Notification → Create Record (project) → Make Assignment (account manager)
Scenario: Score and route inbound leads based on fit and qualityTrigger: Record is Created (lead form submission)Flow:
Lead Form Submitted → AI Classification → Update Record Fields (lead score) → IF score > 80
  → Make Assignment (senior sales rep) → Send Email Notification (immediate follow-up)
OTHERWISE
  → Make Assignment (lead nurturing queue)
Scenario: Alert stakeholders when a project status changes, with escalation for at-risk projectsTrigger: Record is Updated (project status change)Flow:
Project Status Updated → AI Summarization → Generate Report → Send Message to Teams → IF status = "At Risk"
  → Send Email Notification (escalation)
For design principles, performance strategies, and proven patterns, see Automation Best Practices. For complete action details and examples, see the Automation Actions Reference. For trigger configuration and use cases, see the Automation Triggers Reference.