Automations Overview

What Is an Automation?

An Automation is a workflow made up of three parts: a trigger, optional conditions, and one or more outcomes.

• Trigger — the event that starts the automation (e.g., "An order is created," "A contact is enrolled," "A reward is approved")
• Conditions — optional filters that let you narrow down when the automation fires (e.g., only for contacts in a specific segment, only for orders above a certain value, only when a specific deal stage is set)
• Outcomes — the actions Ambassador takes when the trigger fires and conditions are met (e.g., send an email, approve a reward, fulfill a reward, update a journey stage, trigger a webhook)

Global vs. Campaign Automations

Automations in Ambassador can be either global or campaign-specific.

Campaign Automations — When a campaign is assigned to an automation (either by selecting a campaign in the Automation settings or by selecting an automation when configuring a campaign), the automation will only trigger if the contact is enrolled in that campaign or if the segment involved is part of that campaign. This keeps campaign-specific workflows scoped properly.

Global Automations — Automations without a campaign assignment can fire for any contact, regardless of campaign enrollment, as long as the trigger and conditions are met.

As a general rule: if a reward or communication is campaign-specific, assign the campaign to the automation. If it's a program-wide behavior, leave it global.

Common Automation Use Cases

Automations can handle almost any workflow you need to automate. Some of the most common examples:

Reward workflows:

• Create a pending reward when an order is created
• Approve a reward when a deal stage changes to "Closed Won"
• Fulfill an approved reward with Direct Payment, Storefront, or another method
• Deny a reward when an order is cancelled or refunded

Communications:

• Send a referral notification email when a referral attribution is created
• Send a reward notification when a reward is approved or fulfilled
• Send a welcome SMS when an advocate enrolls

Journey updates:

• Move a contact to the next journey stage when their deal stage changes
• Advance a contact through a loyalty journey when they complete a task

Other:

• Trigger a webhook to notify an external system when a reward is fulfilled
• Enroll a referred contact as an advocate when a specific event occurs
• Create an order when a deal is created or updated in HubSpot

Automation Templates

Ambassador includes a library of pre-built Automation Templates to help you get started quickly. Templates cover the most common referral, loyalty, and reward scenarios and can be used as-is or customized to fit your program.

To access templates, go to Automations and look for Create from Template option.

How to Create an Automation

1. Navigate to Automations in your main navigation
2. Click New Automation (or start from a template)
3. Give your automation a descriptive name
4. Select a Trigger from the available options
5. Add any Conditions (If/Else filters) to narrow when it fires
6. Add one or more Outcomes — the actions to take when it fires
7. Optionally assign a Campaign if this automation is campaign-specific
8. Click Save, then Enable to activate it

Good to Know

• Automations don't run retroactively — they only fire for events that happen after the automation is enabled. If you need to process past events, you may need to do so manually or via a CSV bulk update.
• You can have multiple outcomes in a single automation (e.g., "Approve Reward" + "Send Email" in one workflow).
• Test your automations in a controlled way before enabling for your full program — for example, by using test contacts or a test campaign.
• Keep automation names descriptive — it makes troubleshooting much easier as your program scales.
• Related articles: Automations FAQ, Automation Template Library, Fulfillment Methods Overview, Journeys Overview, Communication Channels Overview