Triggers & nodes

This is the complete reference for what can start an automation and what can happen inside one. A flow is a trigger plus a sequence of nodes you connect on the canvas.

Triggers: what enters a contact

A trigger defines the event that drops a contact into the flow. EmailFlow AI supports these triggers:

• Welcome new subscriber — when someone joins a list.
• Say goodbye — when a contact unsubscribes.
• Happy birthday — on a contact's birthday.
• Subscriber added on a date — based on when a contact was added.
• Specific date — a one-time scheduled date.
• Weekly recurring and Monthly recurring — on a repeating schedule.
• Tag added and Tag removed — when a contact's tags change.
• Attribute update — when a custom field value changes.
• API — triggered programmatically from your own systems.
• WooCommerce abandoned cart — when a shopper leaves items behind.

Nodes: what happens next

Once a contact enters, they move through the nodes you connect:

• Send — deliver an email.
• Wait — pause for a duration (minutes, hours, or days).
• Wait until — hold until a specific time or condition.
• Condition — branch on whether the contact opened or clicked, into Yes and No paths.
• Operation — modify the contact (see below).
• Webhook — send data to an external URL.

Operations

Operation nodes act on the contact without sending an email. You can tag or remove a tag, copy or move the contact to another list, or update a custom field. These are perfect for organizing your audience as they progress — for example, tagging everyone who clicks so you can segment them later.

Putting it together

A typical welcome flow: trigger on new subscriber, send a welcome email, wait two days, branch on whether they opened it, then send a tailored follow-up to each path and tag the engaged group. Build it visually in the flow editor or describe it to AI automation chat.