--- title: "Automations" description: "Automations control where Fuely AI talks to your customers and how it behaves in each place." canonical_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/automations markdown_url: https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/automations.md last_updated: 2026-09-08 lang: en site: https://chatfuel.com/docs llms_txt: https://chatfuel.com/llms.txt --- # Automations Automations control where Fuely AI talks to your customers and how it behaves in each place. Automations control where [Fuely AI](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/what-is-fuely-ai) talks to your customers and how it behaves in each place. Every channel and every traffic source — Instagram DMs, comments under a specific post, Facebook Messenger, leads from a WhatsApp ad, your website widget — has its own automation with its own settings. You can keep one shared behavior everywhere or fine-tune each source separately. You manage automations in two equal ways: in the **Automations** section of the dashboard, or by asking the [AI Co-Worker](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/what-the-ai-co-worker-can-do-for-you) in chat. Both do the same thing — use whichever is faster for you. ## Where to find Automations [#where-to-find-automations] 1. Go to **Fuely AI** → **Automations**. 2. You'll see **Main bot** at the top and an automation for every source below it, grouped by channel. Or ask the AI Co-Worker: *"Show me my automations"* — it will list what you have and can open the page for you. ## How automations are organized [#how-automations-are-organized] Automations follow your traffic: * **Main bot** — the top level. Its settings are the defaults for everything, and its toggle is the master switch: turn Main bot off and Fuely AI stops replying everywhere. * **Channels and their sources** — each channel breaks down into the places a conversation can start: * **Instagram** — direct messages, post & reel comments, ad comments, story replies, ig.me links, ads that click to Instagram * **Facebook** — [incoming messages in Messenger, comments under Page posts, m.me links, ads that click to Messenger](https://chatfuel.com/docs/facebook/facebook-tasks) * **WhatsApp** — direct messages, ads that click to WhatsApp, posts that click to WhatsApp * **TikTok** — direct messages, comments, ads that click to TikTok * **Website** — the [chat widget](https://chatfuel.com/docs/website/set-up-chat-widget-for-website) Each source has a **base automation** — it's always there, and it can't be renamed or deleted. Main bot is on by default; every other base automation starts off, so [turning AI on for a channel](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/can-i-enable-ai-for-one-channel-but-not-another) means enabling that source's automation. On comment, ad, story, and link sources you can also add [custom automations](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-create-a-custom-automation) — named rules that react only to specific content: certain keywords, particular posts or ads, selected stories, or an ig.me link. When several automations could answer the same message, [a priority order decides which one replies](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/which-automation-replies-to-a-message-or-comment). ## What you can configure on each automation [#what-you-can-configure-on-each-automation] Every automation carries the same set of settings: * **Incoming messages** — whether the AI replies here, and the **Additional instructions** that shape how it talks (tone, language, greeting, rules). This is [where the AI's persona lives](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-fuely-ai-profile). * **When AI replies** — always, or only [outside your working hours](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-configure-working-hours). * **Message delays** — a [natural typing pause](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-add-a-pause-between-messages) before replies. * **Catalog images** — [how many product photos the AI sends and when](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-configure-photo-sending-settings). * **Booking rules** — [how autonomously the AI books appointments](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/ai-autonomy-levels). * **Switch to human** — [when the AI hands a chat to your team](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-chat-assignment-rules). * **Follow-ups** — whether the AI [re-engages customers who go quiet](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-follow-ups). * **Collect contact info** — which [customer details the AI saves](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-collect-contact-info) to the contact card. Custom automations on comment sources add reply controls on top: a **Public reply** (the answer under the comment) and a **Private reply** (the DM that follows), plus targeting like keywords and lists of posts or ads. > **Note:** Business facts — your company info, FAQ, catalog, working hours — live in the [Knowledge Base](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-knowledge-base). Automations decide *where and how* the AI behaves; the Knowledge Base decides *what it knows*. ## Inheritance: set once, override where needed [#inheritance-set-once-override-where-needed] Every setting on an automation is either **inherited** from Main bot or **overridden** locally. Out of the box everything inherits, so changing a setting on Main bot changes it everywhere at once. When one source needs different behavior — say, [follow-ups only in Instagram DMs](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-set-up-follow-ups), or a different tone for ad leads — override just that setting on that automation. Everything you don't override keeps following Main bot. Custom automations work the same way: they inherit from their source's base automation until you override a setting. ## Testing [#testing] Every automation has a **Test chat** — a sidebar that simulates a conversation with exactly that source's settings, so you can [check how the AI will answer before going live](https://chatfuel.com/docs/ai-features/how-to-test-your-automation). ## If a channel isn't connected yet [#if-a-channel-isnt-connected-yet] You can configure everything before connecting the channel — the setup is saved and goes live the moment the channel is connected. This is handy when you want to [prepare WhatsApp automations before migrating your number](https://chatfuel.com/docs/whatsapp/can-i-test-before-connecting-whatsapp-number).