> This page is part of the [Customer.io documentation](https://docs.customer.io). For the complete index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.customer.io/llms.txt). > Last updated: July 15, 2026 # Automations, broadcasts, and transactional messages We support a range of automations, broadcasts, and transactional messages to help you automate interactions with your audience at the right time. If you’re just getting started, checkout [Start sending automations and workflows](/get-started/send-messages/) for a high-level overview. ## Automations Automations offer the most robust options for messaging automation. They offer the most flexible and specific options for triggering an automation as well as the ability to automate messages over time, as opposed to sending messages all at once. Your automation trigger determines who enters your automation and when. Most triggers are based around profiles, like when they match certain criteria. Typically, these profiles are the subject of your automation—you’ll send them messages, set their attributes, and so on. [![The automation trigger has a left hand column with a list of trigger categories including All Triggers, Profiles, Object Types indicated by their names, Dates, and Webhooks. All Triggers is selected and shows a list of Profiles triggers: segment change, event, and form submission.](https://docs.customer.io/images/campaign-triggers-2025-all.png)](#fae3c7f1928efba00b8bfd68e4868265-lightbox) ### Trigger options **Attribute or Segment** *Attribute or Segment* lets you trigger automations based on profileThe representation of a person or group in Customer.io. People and custom objects both have their own profiles, but we bill based on the total number of profiles in your account. attributes, [segmentsA segment is a group of people in your workspace. Use segments to trigger automations, track membership over time, or fine-tune your audience. There are two types of segments: data-driven and manual. Data-driven segments automatically update when people start or stop matching criteria. Manual segments are static.](/journeys/segmentation/segments/), or both. Use segments if you want to track profiles that match this criteria over time or reuse the criteria as a trigger for other automations. You can set segment criteria based on your audience’s attributes, events, etc. Use attributes alongside segments or to quickly target specific profile attributes without creating or finding a segment. This trigger is best for automations like recurring NPS surveys, onboarding drip automations, and inactivity reminders. **Event** An [eventSomething that a person in your workspace did. Events can trigger automations, add people to segments, etc, and you can use properties from events to personalize messages.](/journeys/people/events/)\-triggered automation helps you respond to a profile’s activity in your app or website. For instance, you could trigger an automation based on a user abandoning their cart, viewing a specific page on your app, or completing an order. **Form submission** *Form submission* lets you take advantage of [formConnected Forms in Customer.io allow you to automatically trigger automations, send data to other services, and add or update people when they submit forms on your website or in your app.](/integrations/data-in/connections/forms/connected-forms/) responses to trigger automations. You can [connect a form to your workspace](/integrations/data-in/connections/forms/connected-forms/) or [integrate with Facebook Lead Ads](/integrations/data-in/connections/forms/facebook-lead-ads/). Use this type of automation to send messages to nurture new leads or respond to support requests. **Object updated** Use *Object updated* when you want profiles to enter the automation *every time* an [objectAn object is a non-person entity that you can associate with one or more people—like a company, account, or online course.](/journeys/objects-data/objects/) is updated in your workspace. For instance, if you were tracking accounts as objects and updated the name of one, you could notify everyone that managed the account that the account went through a rebrand. Keep in mind, only profiles enter into journeys, not objects. You’ll see this as “*Object\_type\_name* updated” in your trigger list. In the image above, “Course updated” is an example. When you use objects to trigger automations, you can choose who enters into the automation. The audience could be: * every profile in the object * certain profiles related to the object **Relationship added or changed** A relationship is the association between an [objectAn object is a non-person entity that you can associate with one or more people—like a company, account, or online course.](/journeys/objects-data/objects/) and a profile. Use this trigger type when you want profiles to enter an automation after their relationship to an object has changed. For instance, if you track accounts as objects, this could mean they joined an account (profile added), or they are now a manager (relationship changed). You’ll see this as “Profile added” or “Relationship changed” in your trigger list. In the image above, “Profile added to Course” and “Relationship changes with Course” are examples. When you use relationships to trigger automations, you can choose who enters into the automation. That is, the recipient of the message in this kind of automation doesn’t have to be the profile in the relationship that triggered it. The audience could be: * the profile whose relationship to the object is updated (default) * every profile in the object * certain profiles related to the object **Important date** An *important date* triggers automations on a specific or relative date based on an [attributeA key-value pair that you associate with a person or an object—like a person’s name, the date they were created in your workspace, or a company’s billing date etc. Use attributes to target people and personalize messages.](/journeys/people/manage/attributes/) that profiles in your audience have. You can trigger based on any customer attributes that are properly [formatted dates](/messaging/send/automations/triggers/#date-trigger). This is useful for recurring automations like birthdays, anniversaries, subscription renewals, and payment reminders. **Webhook** A *webhook* triggers a [automation](/messaging/send/automations/data-workflows/webhook-triggered-automations) based on data from an external service. The purpose of your automation is to manipulate this data and associate it with profiles, much like you can with Zapier or Segment, but entirely within an automation. Because data, not profiles, is the subject of your automation, webhook-triggered automations don’t typically send messages directly; rather, they let you associate data with profiles, which can trigger subsequent automations. Webhook automations help you perform one-to-many interactions with your audience, like notifying a group of profiles when you post a job or a product becomes available that a cohort of your audience is interested in. Here are some examples of automations: * [Onboarding users](/messaging/send/recipes/onboarding-automation/) who just signed up for your app * [Abandoned cart reminders](/messaging/send/recipes/cart-abandonment/) ## Broadcasts ### One-time sends One-time sends in Customer.io are a form of broadcast—a single message sent once. You might send one for a special feature announcement for your power users or a simple Terms of Service update. [![Broadcasts is selected in the left hand navigation. The image is from the first step of broadcast creation where you select the type of broadcast to make. The option Newsletter is selected. The name of the newsletter is ToS Updated Announcement.](https://docs.customer.io/images/newsletter.png)](#05f7941e5ca2e23441482a7fd7eace2c-lightbox) **Use one-time sends if…** you want to send a single email to a particular subset of customers. ### API-triggered broadcasts In an API-triggered broadcast, you craft a workflow to send messages and perform actions like updating users’ attributes, much like an automation. However, the entire workflow happens once you trigger it, whereas in an automation, you can modify the timeline with delays. With an API-triggered broadcast, you control when the broadcast is sent; you can trigger it manually in the UI or through our API. You might send one to announce a new product, share a new coupon, or encourage users to take action like a buy a ticket before a certain date. [![Broadcasts is selected in the left hand navigation. The image is from the first step of broadcast creation where you select the type of broadcast to make. The option Messages triggered by API is selected. The name of the broadcast is New Product Announcement.](https://docs.customer.io/images/broadcast-apitb.png)](#d729dda1429d89ed5a9c28bbba9f2c8d-lightbox) **Use API-triggered broadcasts if…** you want to regularly trigger a specific message to many profiles and take advantage of Customer.io’s different message types. ## Transactional messages Transactional messages are one-to-one interactions with your audience, where the “trigger” represents an individual audience action in your app like a password reset request. Because your audience does something to trigger a transactional response, you can send transactional emails to unsubscribed customers, too. [![Transactional is selected in the left hand navigation. The image is from the first step of creating a transactional message. The name is Password Reset Request.](https://docs.customer.io/images/transactional-message.png)](#15c15a8743501f8a1f75a96239248228-lightbox) **Use transactional messages if…** you need to respond directly to customer interactions with your app or service, like password reset info, receipts, shipping notifications, etc. * * [Automations](#automations) * [Broadcasts](#broadcasts) * [One-time sends](#one-time-sends) * [API-triggered broadcasts](#api-triggered-broadcasts) * [Transactional messages](#transactional-messages) Training Courses * [Build customer journeys](https://academy.customer.io/paths/01985d3a-fabb-7fe7-9ede-f4dce3087927) Copy page Copy page [Download .md](/messaging/send/types-of-automations-and-broadcasts.md) Is this page helpful? ![](https://docs.customer.io/images/export-success.png) ![](https://docs.customer.io/images/export-failure.png) # How can we make it better? Close Do you need help from Customer.io support? No Yes What part of Customer.io do you need help with? 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