Triggers and schedules

Agents do not have to wait for you. There are two ways work starts on its own: at a time you choose, or when something happens in a connected account.

Both produce an ordinary chat, so every automated run is something you can read back.

Schedules

A schedule runs an agent at a set time. Add one under Schedules in the agent's settings.

• How often — once, daily, weekly or monthly.
• When — a time of day in the timezone you choose, plus which weekdays or which day of the month.
• First message — the message that starts each run. This is what the agent is asked to do, for example "Email me today's meetings with attendees and Meet links."

Schedules can be switched off without deleting them, and a one-time schedule turns itself off after it fires.

Triggers

A trigger runs an agent when something happens in a connected account — a new email, a new file. Add one from the agent's Integrations, on the integration's Triggers tab.

A trigger belongs to one agent and one integration, and has filters so it fires only on what you care about. Which triggers exist depends on the connector; each connector's page lists them with their filters. See the connector reference.

Only triggers whose permissions you granted are available. If a trigger appears unavailable, reauthorize the integration and grant the missing permission.

What happens when one fires

The agent starts a new chat and works through the task on its own, using the tools you allowed it. The chat appears in the agent's list marked with the icon of whatever started it.

A few things are worth knowing:

• The same event never fires twice. Runs are deduplicated, so one email cannot start two runs.
• Runs are skipped when the trigger or its integration is inactive — for example if the account was disconnected.
• Runs are skipped when your credit balance is empty. See billing.
• Tools that require approval still require it. An unattended run will pause and wait for you rather than act without permission.

Choosing between them

Use a schedule when the timing is yours — a Monday briefing, a month-end report. Use a trigger when the timing belongs to someone else — a customer emailing you, a document being dropped in a folder.