Automations on Kajabi use When, Then, and Only if logic to help you streamline processes and automate basic admin actions.
Your Kajabi plan determines which you get: the Basic Plan includes Basic Automations, and Growth and Pro Plans include Advanced Automations.
Note: Growth and Pro Plans have access to create any Automation within the Marketing tab. Basic Plans only have access to create Automations in various other areas of Kajabi.
Which Automations experience you have
Kajabi has two versions of Automations, and the steps you follow depend on which one your account is using.
The original Automations experience builds one When trigger and one Then action at a time, from a panel inside the Editor you are working in. This page documents that version.
The upgraded Automations experience builds Automations visually on a canvas, with multiple actions, branching logic, and multiple triggers in a single Automation.
Upgrading is your choice. When you open Automations, a banner invites you to move to the upgraded experience. Click Upgrade on the banner, then click Upgrade automations to confirm. The upgrade takes a few minutes. Your Automations keep running, but you cannot create or edit them until it finishes.
Warning: Upgrading fully replaces the original experience for your account and cannot be rolled back.
If your Automations open on a visual canvas rather than a panel, you are already on the upgraded experience, and the steps below will not match what you see. Explore the upgraded Automations experience covers what changed, and Understand Automation components lists every trigger, action, and filter available in it.
Where to add an Automation
You can add custom Automations in numerous places on Kajabi:
Funnels - When someone submits a Form to opt into your email list, then subscribe them to a welcome Email Sequence as the next step of your Funnel
Email Campaigns - When an Email Broadcast is opened, then add an opened email Tag to the Contact record of the person who opened it
Events - When someone registers for an Event, then send them an email with Event info
Forms - When someone submits a Form to sign up for your free lead magnet product, then grant them the Offer for that product
Offers - When someone purchases an Offer for your Course, then add a paid student Tag to the Contact record for that person
Course Lessons - When a Lesson is completed, then send an email congratulating the person on their progress
Quizzes - When a Quiz is passed, then add a passed quiz Tag to the Contact record for that person
Certificates of Completion - When a Quiz is passed, then send a Certificate of Completion to that person
Tip: Look for the Automations section toward the bottom of whichever Editor you are working in.
Create an Automation in the original experience
Wherever you are adding it from, the Automation itself is built the same way:
Click + Add Automation.
Select a When action as an event trigger.
Choose a Then action as a response event.
Add a condition if desired (optional and only available with Advanced Automations).
Click Save to keep your changes.
On the upgraded experience you build the Automation on a canvas instead, where one trigger can lead to several actions. Explore the upgraded Automations experience
Tip: On the upgraded experience, you can ask Cofounder to build or edit an Automation for you. Learn more about Cofounder.
Conditionals in Automations
Conditionals in Automations allow you to add an Only if condition to your Automation.
This feature is only available with Advanced Automations.
For example, you want to add a Tag to all contacts who submitted a Form, but only if they answered a question on that Form with a specific answer.
Note: The conditional filter matches the collected data and your specified value based on "contains" rather than an "exact match."
Example scenario
You're creating a customer color survey to find out what the most common favorite color is among your customers.
Create a Form with a custom field asking "What is your favorite color?"
Add specific answers to choose from, or leave it open-ended.
Add the Automation either directly from the Form Editor, or from the Automations Dashboard under the Marketing tab.
If you just created a Form or added a Form field, click Save at the upper right of the Form Editor to save and apply your changes.
Click + Add Automation.
The When action is already selected if you are creating the Automation from the Form editing page (i.e. "When form is submitted"). Choose your Then action. In this example, select the Add a tag action.
Add your condition. Here, you only want to tag users with the "Blue" tag if they chose blue as their favorite color (navigate to the end of the dropdown menu under Custom Field Filters).
Click Apply, and then Save.
Note: This same Automation can be created and configured in the Automations Dashboard under the Marketing tab.
Add an Automation from each location
Add an Automation to a Funnel
Open the Marketing tab from your Dashboard.
Click Funnels to view your Funnels.
Create a new Funnel or edit an existing Funnel.
Click the + icon to add an Automation to the Funnel.
Create your Automation: define the trigger, actions, and any conditions as needed.
Click Save once you're done to apply the Automation to the Funnel.
Note: You can add multiple Automations to a single funnel to run different actions for different triggers.
Make sure to click Save after editing so your Automation is activated.
Add an Automation to an Email Campaign
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Click Email Campaigns.
Create a new Email Campaign or edit an existing one.
Email Broadcast
Click + Add Automation in the Content Editor:
Email Sequence
Click + Add Automation for the email you wish to edit or create a Subscribe/Unsubscribe trigger:
Add an Automation to an Event
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Select Events.
Create a new Event or edit an existing one.
Click + Add Automation.
Create your Automation as desired.
Add an Automation to a Form
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Select Forms.
Create a new Form or edit an existing one.
Click + Add Automation.
Create your Automation as desired.
Add an Automation to an Offer
From the Dashboard, open the Sales tab.
Select Pricing.
Create a new Offer or edit an existing one.
Click the Purchase flow tab.
Click + Add Automation.
Create your Automation as desired.
Add an Automation to a Course Lesson
From the Dashboard, open the Products tab.
Select Courses.
Create a new Course or edit a Lesson in an existing Course.
Click + Add Automation.
Create your Automation as desired.
Add an Automation to a Quiz
From the Dashboard, open the Products tab.
Select Courses.
Create a new Course or edit a Quiz in an existing Course.
Inside the Quiz Editor, select Settings.
Click + Add Automation.
Create your Automation as desired.
Add an Automation to a Certificate of Completion
From the Dashboard, open the Products tab.
Select Courses.
Create a new Course or edit a Certificate in an existing Course.
From the Course Outline, select Certificates.
If you haven't yet, create and save your Certificate of Completion (you won't see the Automations settings until after you've saved the Certificate).
Click Add An Automation.
Create your Automation as desired.
Filter Automations
Narrow a long list of Automations using the filters above your Automations tab. Each one opens a dropdown, and a filter you apply stays on screen showing what you picked, so you can always see what is active.
Note: Automation filtering is rolling out gradually. If you do not see the filters on your Automations tab, it is not available on your account yet.
Filter by trigger or action
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Click Automations.
Click Trigger to filter by what starts an Automation, or Action to filter by what it does.
Choose a trigger or action type, then use the optional fields to narrow it to a specific item.
Click Apply.
What you picked takes the place of Trigger or Action in the filter row. Click it again to change it, then click Apply, or click Clear filter to remove it.
Filter by status
Click Status and choose Published, Draft, or Paused. Status applies as soon as you choose it, and the filter then reads Status: Published so you can see which one is active. Only one status applies at a time, and Clear status removes it.
Paused appears only where pausing an Automation is available.
Add and clear filters
Once a filter is applied, two more options appear:
More filters adds another trigger or action filter on top of the ones already applied
Clear all removes every filter at once
Block automation sends on specific dates
Blackout dates stop your Automations from sending emails on the days you choose, like a holiday, a company closure, or a longer break. A blackout can be a single day or a window of several days in a row. While a blackout is active, each Automation holds it's sending steps and sends them on a first day after the blackout ends, at the same time of day they were originally scheduled.
For example, if you set a blackout from December 21 to December 25, an email scheduled for 9:00 AM on December 25 sends at 9:00 AM on December 26.
Blackout dates hold these steps: Send Email, Send Coupon, Send Offer, and Send Certificate. Other steps run as usual. For a range of several days, the held step sends on the first day after the range ends. Days follow the Default time zone in your Marketing Settings.
Note: Blackout dates are available in the upgraded Automations experience and are rolling out gradually. If you do not see the Blackout dates button on your Automations page, it is not available on your account yet.
Add a blackout date
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Click Automations.
Click Blackout dates.
Enter a Name for the blackout date.
Choose a Start date.
Choose an End date. For a single day, use the same date as the start date.
Click Add date.
The date saves right away and appears in the list. Dates that have passed move under Show passed.
Edit or remove a blackout date
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Click Automations, then click Blackout dates.
Click the edit icon next to a date to change its name or dates, then click Save. Or click the remove icon next to a date, then click Remove to confirm.
Emails already moved keep their new send date. After you remove a date, future sends stop being held.
Exempt an Automation from a blackout date
Every Automation observes every blackout date by default. To let one Automation keep sending on a specific date:
From the Dashboard, open the Marketing tab.
Click Automations, then open the Automation you want to change.
Click the Settings gear.
In the Blackout dates section, turn off Applies to this automation for each date the Automation should ignore.
Click Done, then click Save.
