# Triggers

Pick the event that starts a workflow, set its options, and know what each trigger hands to the steps after it.

Updated Oct 28, 2026. Source: https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/workflows/triggers

## What this does

Every workflow in Small Business Chatbot begins with one trigger. The app calls it the **Start Event**. When that event happens, every published workflow with that trigger starts a run.

The trigger also hands the event's details to the steps after it. A step reads them as variables, such as `{{trigger.phone}}` or `{{trigger.contact.email}}`. Each trigger's reference page lists what it carries.

## Pick a trigger

1. **Open the workflow**

   In the app, open **Workflows** and pick the workflow from the menu at the top left. The **Editor** shows its canvas.

2. **Click Start Event**

   In a new workflow, click the **Start Event** card. **Select a start event** lists every trigger. Click one, and its window opens.

3. **Set its options**

   Four triggers have options: **Appointment booked** (**Booking source**), **Contact tag added** (**Tag to watch**), **Cron** (**Run every**) and **Inbound Webhook** (its URL and mapping rules). The others show "No settings for this node yet." Click **Close**.

4. **Change it later**

   Click the trigger on the canvas. Under **Node type**, pick another trigger. Its settings go back to their defaults. Click **Close**, then **Save workflow**.

   ![A trigger step's Node type list showing every workflow trigger](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/triggers-node-type-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Workflows › Editor, October 2026*

## The triggers

| Trigger, as the app names it | Starts a run when |
|---|---|
| [Chat Widget Conversation Ended](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/chat-ended) | A website chat with the AI chatbot ends, about a minute after the visitor closes it |
| [Inbound voice call ended](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/call-ended) | A call the AI receptionist answered ends and its summary is saved |
| [Inbound text conversation ended](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/text-conversation-ended) | A customer stops texting your business number for 5 minutes, or texts "bye" |
| [Appointment booked](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/appointment-events) | Someone books through your booking page or with the chatbot in a website chat |
| [Appointment rescheduled](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/appointment-events) | That booking is moved |
| [Appointment cancelled](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/appointment-events) | That booking is cancelled |
| [Contact created](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/contact-events) | A new CRM contact is saved |
| [Contact tag added](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/contact-events) | You add a tag to an existing contact in the CRM |
| [Company created, Opportunity created, Opportunity updated, CRM note created, CRM task created, CRM task updated](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/crm-changes) | That CRM record is created or changed |
| [Inbound Webhook](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/inbound-webhook) | Another system sends a POST to the trigger's URL |
| [Cron](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/schedule) | Every N minutes, hours or days, in the workflow's time zone |

## How runs start

- Only published workflows start runs. A draft ignores its trigger.
- Two published workflows with the same trigger each start their own run. Both send.
- To prevent loops, records a workflow step creates or changes start no other workflow.
- To start a workflow for contacts you already have, such as past customers or a CSV import, add a tag to them in **CRM › Contacts**. Each one starts any published workflow with **Contact tag added**.
- The trigger's details are saved with the run. Steps that run days later read the values from when it started. The one exception: when an appointment is rescheduled, its running **Appointment booked** runs get the new time.

> **Careful:** If two published workflows share a trigger, the visitor gets the messages from both. Check the workflow menu for other **Published** workflows before you publish a new one.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The event happened, but no run appears under **Executions** | The workflow is a draft, or the change wasn't saved | Switch **Status** to **Published** and click **Save workflow**. |
| A **Contact tag added** workflow didn't start | The tag was on the contact when it was created, or came from an import or a workflow step | Add the tag to the existing contact in **CRM › Contacts**. |
| Steps read empty values | The trigger doesn't carry that variable | Check the trigger's reference page for the exact `{{trigger.…}}` names. |