Triggers & Automation

Overview

Triggers & Automation enables your Utari workers to execute automatically based on schedules or real-world events. This powerful capability transforms agents from on-demand assistants into autonomous workers that monitor, respond, and act without manual intervention—creating sophisticated automation workflows that run 24/7.

Trigger Types

Scheduled Triggers

Run agents automatically at specified times using flexible cron expressions

Event Triggers

Execute agents in response to real-world events from connected applications

Triggers can be combined with template variables to create reusable automation workflows that adapt to different contexts and use cases.

Trigger Capabilities

Scheduled Trigger Management

Create Scheduled Trigger

Set up automatic execution at specific times using cron expressions.Features:

Flexible scheduling with cron syntax
Template variables for reusable prompts
Custom execution instructions
Multiple triggers per agent

Example:

    Create a scheduled trigger to run daily at 9 AM:
    - Monitor {{company_name}} brand mentions
    - Analyze sentiment
    - Generate daily report

Get Scheduled Triggers

View all scheduled triggers for the current agent.Information Shown:

Trigger schedule (cron expression)
Execution instructions
Enabled/disabled status
Last run time
Next scheduled run

Example:

    Show me all scheduled triggers for this agent

Toggle Scheduled Trigger

Enable or disable triggers without deleting them.Use Cases:

Temporarily pause automation
Seasonal adjustments
Testing and maintenance
Resource management

Example:

    Disable the weekend reporting trigger
    Pause all triggers during holiday period

Delete Scheduled Trigger

Permanently remove scheduled triggers.Important: Deleted triggers cannot be recovered. Consider disabling instead if you might need them again.Example:

    Delete the outdated quarterly report trigger

Event Trigger Management

List Event Trigger Apps

Discover which applications support event-based triggers.Information Provided:

App name and slug
App logo
Available integrations
Event capabilities

Example:

    Show me all apps that support event triggers
    What applications can trigger automation?

List App Event Triggers

View available triggers for a specific application.Information Provided:

Trigger slug and name
Description and type
Configuration options
Payload schema
Setup instructions

Example:

    What event triggers are available for Slack?
    Show me Gmail event trigger options

Create Event Trigger

Set up automation that responds to real-world events.Process:

Choose application
Select event type
Configure trigger settings
Define agent response
Use template variables for reusability

Example:

    Create a trigger that:
    - Monitors new emails in Gmail
    - From {{client_name}}
    - Automatically drafts response
    - Saves to drafts for review

Template Variables

Template variables make triggers reusable across different contexts:

Using Template Variables

Define Variables in Prompts

Use {{variable_name}} syntax in trigger instructions:

    Monitor {{company_name}} brand mentions on social media
    Track {{competitor_name}} product launches
    Alert on {{keyword}} discussions in {{industry}}

Users Provide Values

When installing or using the trigger, users provide their specific values:

    company_name: "Acme Corp"
    competitor_name: "TechRival Inc"
    keyword: "artificial intelligence"
    industry: "healthcare"

Dynamic Execution

The trigger executes with user-specific context:

    Result: Monitor Acme Corp brand mentions on social media

Common Template Variables

{{company_name}} - Your company name
{{brand_name}} - Brand being monitored
{{competitor_name}} - Competitor to track
{{product_name}} - Product being analyzed

{{client_name}} - Client or customer name
{{contact_email}} - Email address
{{team_member}} - Team member name
{{department}} - Department or division

{{keyword}} - Monitoring keyword
{{topic}} - Subject area
{{hashtag}} - Social media hashtag
{{category}} - Content category

{{location}} - Geographic area
{{region}} - Business region
{{timezone}} - Time zone
{{market}} - Target market

Best Practice: Use descriptive variable names that make it obvious what value should be provided. {{primary_competitor}} is clearer than {{comp1}}.

Scheduled Trigger Examples

Using Cron Expressions

Cron expressions provide flexible scheduling:

Common Schedules
Advanced Schedules
Cron Format

    Every minute:
    * * * * *
    
    Every 5 minutes:
    */5 * * * *
    
    Every hour:
    0 * * * *
    
    Daily at 9 AM:
    0 9 * * *
    
    Daily at 6 PM:
    0 18 * * *
    
    Every weekday at 8 AM:
    0 8 * * 1-5
    
    Every Monday at 9 AM:
    0 9 * * 1
    
    First day of month at midnight:
    0 0 1 * *
    
    Every Sunday at 10 AM:
    0 10 * * 0

    Every 15 minutes during business hours (9 AM - 5 PM):
    */15 9-17 * * *
    
    Twice daily (morning and evening):
    0 9,18 * * *
    
    Every weekday at noon:
    0 12 * * 1-5
    
    Every quarter (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) on 1st at 9 AM:
    0 9 1 1,4,7,10 *
    
    Every 2 hours between 8 AM and 8 PM:
    0 8-20/2 * * *
    
    Every weekday at 9 AM and 5 PM:
    0 9,17 * * 1-5
    
    Last day of month at midnight:
    0 0 28-31 * *

    Format: minute hour day month weekday
    
    minute: 0-59
    hour: 0-23
    day: 1-31
    month: 1-12
    weekday: 0-6 (0 = Sunday)
    
    Special characters:
    * = any value
    */n = every n units
    a-b = range from a to b
    a,b,c = specific values

Daily Automation Examples

Schedule: 0 7 * * 1-5 (Weekdays at 7 AM)

Trigger Instructions:
Search for overnight news about {{industry}}
Summarize top 5 developments
Check {{company_name}} stock performance
Compile into morning briefing document
Save to "Daily Briefs/{{date}}"
Send via Slack to #team-updates

Schedule: 0 18 * * * (Daily at 6 PM)

Trigger Instructions:
Retrieve today's metrics from {{analytics_platform}}
Compare to yesterday and last week
Calculate key performance indicators
Generate daily dashboard report
Save to "Reports/Daily/{{date}}.pdf"
Email to {{manager_email}}

Schedule: 0 */4 * * * (Every 4 hours)

Trigger Instructions:
Monitor {{brand_name}} mentions on Twitter
Track sentiment and engagement
Flag unusual patterns or viral posts
Update monitoring spreadsheet
Alert if negative sentiment spike detected

Schedule: 0 9 * * 1 (Mondays at 9 AM)

Trigger Instructions:
Visit {{competitor_name}} website
Capture homepage screenshot
Check for pricing changes
Monitor new blog posts
Compare to our offerings
Generate weekly competitive report

Weekly & Monthly Automation

Schedule: 0 9 * * 1 (Mondays at 9 AM)

Trigger Instructions:
Review last week's completed tasks from {{project_tool}}
Identify blockers and risks
Compile team accomplishments
Generate weekly status report
Post to {{team_channel}}
Schedule follow-ups for open items

Schedule: 0 9 1 * * (First day of month at 9 AM)

Trigger Instructions:
Gather previous month's data from all sources
Calculate month-over-month trends
Generate performance visualizations
Create executive summary with insights
Save to "Reports/Monthly/{{month}}-{{year}}.pdf"
Send to leadership team

Schedule: 0 10 1 1,4,7,10 * (Quarterly on 1st at 10 AM)

Trigger Instructions:
Review previous quarter performance
Analyze market trends for {{industry}}
Research competitive landscape
Generate strategic recommendations
Create quarterly planning document
Schedule planning meetings

Event Trigger Examples

Email-Based Automation

Client Email Response

Trigger: New email from Configuration:

App: Gmail
Event: New email received
Filter: From domain matches

Agent Response:

  Read email content and context
  Draft personalized response based on:
  - Email subject and content
  - Previous conversation history
  - {{client_name}} relationship notes
  Save draft to Gmail for review
  Add task to follow-up list if needed

Calendar-Based Automation

Meeting Preparation

Trigger: Meeting scheduled with in titleConfiguration:

App: Google Calendar
Event: New event created
Filter: Title contains

Agent Response:

  Extract meeting attendees and topic
  Research attendee backgrounds on LinkedIn
  Gather relevant {{company_name}} materials
  Create meeting prep document with:
  - Attendee profiles
  - Discussion topics
  - Company background
  - Previous interactions
  Save to "Meeting Prep/{{date}}-{{title}}"

Task Management Automation

High-Priority Task Alert

Trigger: High-priority task assignedConfiguration:

App: Asana/Trello
Event: Task assigned to you
Filter: Priority = High

Agent Response:

  Extract task details and deadline
  Assess current workload
  Check for conflicting priorities
  Generate prioritization recommendation
  Send Slack notification with context
  Add to daily planning document

Brand Mention Alert

Trigger: mentioned on TwitterConfiguration:

App: Twitter
Event: New mention
Filter: Contains

Agent Response:

  Capture tweet and context
  Analyze sentiment (positive/negative/neutral)
  Assess urgency and required response
  Draft response if needed
  Log to brand monitoring spreadsheet
  Alert team if negative or high-engagement

Sales & CRM Automation

New Lead Processing

Trigger: New lead created in Configuration:

App: Salesforce/HubSpot
Event: New lead added
Filter: Source =

Agent Response:

  Extract lead information
  Research company on LinkedIn and web
  Enrich lead data with:
  - Company size and industry
  - Decision makers
  - Recent news
  - Competitive intel
  Update CRM with enriched data
  Generate personalized outreach template
  Assign to appropriate sales rep

Complex Automation Workflows

Multi-Stage Triggered Workflow

Stage 1: Morning Data Collection

Scheduled Trigger: Daily at 6 AM

    Collect overnight data from:
    - Yahoo Finance ({{stock_symbols}})
    - Twitter trends in {{industry}}
    - News about {{company_name}} and {{competitors}}
    Save raw data to "Data/Daily/{{date}}/"

Stage 2: Analysis & Processing

Scheduled Trigger: Daily at 7 AM

    Analyze collected data:
    - Calculate market sentiment
    - Identify emerging trends
    - Flag unusual patterns
    Generate analysis report
    Save to "Analysis/Daily/{{date}}.pdf"

Stage 3: Distribution

Scheduled Trigger: Daily at 8 AM

    Read analysis report
    Create executive summary
    Generate visualizations
    Send via email to {{distribution_list}}
    Post summary to {{team_channel}}
    Archive in {{document_storage}}

Stage 4: Event Response

Event Trigger: Significant market movement

    If {{stock_symbol}} moves >5%:
    - Generate immediate alert
    - Analyze cause and context
    - Send urgent notification
    - Create deep-dive report

Adaptive Automation

Create triggers that adapt based on context:

Scheduled Trigger: Every 4 hours

Instructions:
Check current day and time
If weekday during business hours:
  - Monitor {{business_channels}}
  - Track urgent items
  - Send notifications for high-priority
If weekend or off-hours:
  - Monitor critical alerts only
  - Batch non-urgent items
  - Send summary once daily

Adjust monitoring intensity based on:
- {{season}} (busy vs. slow periods)
- {{event_status}} (during campaigns vs. normal)
- Recent alert volume (scale up if busy)

Combining Triggers with Other Tools

+ Agent Configuration

Create triggers that configure other agents dynamically based on events

+ Data Providers

Schedule regular data collection from LinkedIn, Yahoo Finance, Amazon, etc.

+ Web Search

Automatically research topics on schedule or when events occur

+ Files and Folder

Organize triggered outputs in structured, dated folders

+ Document Creator

Generate reports automatically on schedule

+ Integrations

Respond to events from connected apps like Slack, Gmail, Calendar

Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with basic scheduled triggers before creating complex event-based automation

Use Template Variables

Make triggers reusable with instead of hardcoding values

Test Thoroughly

Test triggers manually before setting to automatic execution

Monitor Initially

Watch first few executions closely to catch issues early

Disable vs. Delete

Disable triggers temporarily rather than deleting if you might need them again

Document Triggers

Keep clear documentation of what each trigger does and why it exists

Batch When Possible

Group related checks into single triggers rather than many separate ones

Handle Failures

Include error handling and fallback instructions in trigger prompts

Managing Triggers

Viewing All Triggers

Show me all scheduled triggers for this agent

List all active automation for my Marketing Agent

What triggers are configured for the Research Assistant?

Enabling and Disabling

Disable the weekend reporting trigger temporarily

Pause all triggers during the holiday period

Re-enable the daily monitoring trigger

Turn off event triggers while we're in maintenance mode

Updating Triggers

Update the daily brief trigger to:
- Run at 8 AM instead of 7 AM
- Add {{new_competitor}} to monitoring list
- Include pricing analysis

Modify the email response trigger to:
- Only respond to priority clients
- Use updated response template
- CC {{manager_email}} on all responses

Organizing Triggers

By Purpose
By Frequency
By Agent

    Monitoring Triggers:
    - Brand mention monitoring
    - Competitor tracking
    - Market surveillance
    
    Reporting Triggers:
    - Daily briefs
    - Weekly summaries
    - Monthly analytics
    
    Response Triggers:
    - Email auto-response
    - Social media engagement
    - Lead processing

    High Frequency (Hourly):
    - Critical alert monitoring
    - Time-sensitive responses
    
    Medium Frequency (Daily):
    - Regular reporting
    - Standard monitoring
    
    Low Frequency (Weekly/Monthly):
    - Periodic analysis
    - Strategic reviews

    Research Agent:
    - Daily industry news scan
    - Weekly competitor analysis
    
    Content Agent:
    - Daily social media posting
    - Weekly blog generation
    
    Sales Agent:
    - New lead processing (event)
    - Daily outreach follow-ups

Troubleshooting

Trigger not executing as scheduled

Check:

Trigger is enabled (not disabled)
Cron expression is correct
Timezone settings are accurate
Agent has necessary tools enabled
No conflicting triggers
View trigger execution history for errors

Event trigger not firing

Verify:

Event source app is properly connected
Event filter configuration is correct
App permissions allow event monitoring
Event type is supported
Profile ID and trigger config are valid
Test with manual event if possible

Trigger executes but produces errors

Review:

Agent has all required tools and integrations
Instructions are clear and executable
External services are accessible
Template variables have values
Check execution logs for specific errors
Test instructions manually first

Template variables not substituting

Ensure:

Using correct syntax
Variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)
Values provided during trigger setup
No typos in variable names
Variables used in supported fields

Too many trigger executions

Optimize:

Increase time between scheduled runs
Combine multiple triggers into one
Add filtering to event triggers
Use batch processing instead of real-time
Disable redundant triggers

Triggers running at wrong time

Check:

Cron expression matches intended schedule
Timezone is set correctly
Daylight saving time considerations
Server time vs. local time
Use online cron calculator to verify

Summary

You’ve successfully learned how to:

Create scheduled triggers with flexible cron expressions

Set up event-based triggers that respond to real-world changes

Use template variables to create reusable automation

Manage, enable, disable, and delete triggers

Build complex multi-stage automation workflows

Apply best practices for reliable automation

Troubleshoot common trigger issues

Combine triggers with other Utari tools for powerful workflows

Triggers & Automation transforms your Utari workers from on-demand assistants into autonomous agents that work continuously, monitoring conditions, responding to events, and executing tasks automatically—creating truly intelligent automation that adapts to your business needs.

Next Steps

Agent Configuration

Configure agents optimized for automated execution

Data Providers

Automate data collection with scheduled triggers

Integrations

Connect apps for event-based automation

Files and Folder

Organize automated workflow outputs

​Overview

​Trigger Types

Scheduled Triggers

Event Triggers

​Trigger Capabilities

​Scheduled Trigger Management

​Event Trigger Management

​Template Variables

​Using Template Variables

​Common Template Variables

​Scheduled Trigger Examples

​Using Cron Expressions

​Daily Automation Examples

​Weekly & Monthly Automation

​Event Trigger Examples

​Email-Based Automation

Client Email Response

​Calendar-Based Automation

Meeting Preparation

​Task Management Automation

High-Priority Task Alert

​Social Media Monitoring

Brand Mention Alert

​Sales & CRM Automation

New Lead Processing

​Complex Automation Workflows

​Multi-Stage Triggered Workflow

​Adaptive Automation

​Combining Triggers with Other Tools

+ Agent Configuration

+ Data Providers

+ Web Search

+ Files and Folder

+ Document Creator

+ Integrations

​Best Practices

Start Simple

Use Template Variables

Test Thoroughly

Monitor Initially

Disable vs. Delete

Document Triggers

Batch When Possible

Handle Failures

​Managing Triggers

​Viewing All Triggers

​Enabling and Disabling

​Updating Triggers

​Organizing Triggers

​Troubleshooting

​Summary

​Next Steps

Agent Configuration

Data Providers

Integrations

Files and Folder

Overview

Trigger Types

Trigger Capabilities

Scheduled Trigger Management

Event Trigger Management

Template Variables

Using Template Variables

Common Template Variables

Scheduled Trigger Examples

Using Cron Expressions

Daily Automation Examples

Weekly & Monthly Automation

Event Trigger Examples

Email-Based Automation

Calendar-Based Automation

Task Management Automation

Social Media Monitoring

Sales & CRM Automation

Complex Automation Workflows

Multi-Stage Triggered Workflow

Adaptive Automation

Combining Triggers with Other Tools

Best Practices

Managing Triggers

Viewing All Triggers

Enabling and Disabling

Updating Triggers

Organizing Triggers

Troubleshooting

Summary

Next Steps