How to build Automations with Custom Objects

With ActiveCampaign, you can use custom object data to build Automations to further tailor your workflows and customize your customer experience. This article will show you what to expect when building automations once you have created your custom object templates.

Take note

• Required: You need to create a custom object to use these features. You can create a custom object schema with the ActiveCampaign API or the “Manage Data” page in your account. Some integrations, like Zendesk Support and Calendly, supports custom objects
• All ActiveCampaign plans have access to custom objects through supported apps and integrations that import a custom object. These triggers will appear in the “Apps” section of the trigger modal
• Enterprise plan customers can create their own custom objects via the API. These triggers will appear in the “Objects” section of the trigger modal
• Automation triggers for Deal and Account custom objects are not available at this time

Custom Object Automation triggers

If you’re using custom objects with your ActiveCampaign account, you can use the created or updated custom object record to trigger, or start, an automation.

As Contact custom object templates are added to your account, two automation triggers will be available for you to use. These two triggers are:

• [Custom object] Created
  The related contact is pulled into the automation whenever a new record is created for the object.
• [Custom object] Updated
  The related contact is pulled into the automation when a custom object field you specify is updated from one value to another. With this trigger, you can choose "Any" or a specific starting value and you can choose "Any" or a specific final value.

1. If you created a custom object using the API or the "Manage Data" page in your account, the trigger will appear under the "Objects" section of the trigger modal.
2. If a supported third-party application or integration imports a custom object, the triggers will appear in the "Apps" section of the trigger modal.

How to set up the [Custom object] Created trigger

With the [Custom object] Created trigger, you’ll have two options:

• All [Custom object] records
  This option will trigger if any record under the specified [Custom object] is created.
• Segment [Custom object] records
  This option allows you to further filter the trigger to give you more control over who can enter your automation. Note that only fields related to the custom object can be used to filter here.

Note that the [Custom object] Created trigger can only be set to run Multiple Times. This cannot be adjusted.

To use the Segment [Custom object] option in a [Custom object] Created trigger:

1. Add the [Custom object] Created trigger to your automation.
2. A modal window will appear. Click the “Segment” option.
3. Begin creating your condition by clicking the left-most field that says "(Select a condition...)." This will display a dropdown of fields related to your custom object. Note only custom objects fields for the chosen custom object record are available to use here.
4. Click the field you would like to use to filter your trigger. In the example below, we’re going to use the ‘Group ID’ filter to only trigger Zendesk tickets from a particular group into this automation.
   
5. Depending on the field you select, your operator choices may change to define your own search criteria and will update with your field choice. To choose an operator, click the middle field and click the operator you would like to use.
   
   Continuing with our example, we’re presented with several operators to choose from: “Is” “Is Not” “Greater Than” “Greater Than or Equal To” “Less Than” and “Less Than or Equal To.” Since we are looking for a specific Group ID, we’re going to choose the “Is” operator by clicking it.
   
6. Next, you’ll need to provide a value for your segment condition by typing it into the third field within the segment. See the completed example segment below:
   
7. Click the "Save" button.

How to set up the [Custom object] Updated trigger

With the [Custom object] Updated trigger, you can specify the field and choose "Any" or a specific starting From value and you can choose "Any" or a specific To value changes to start the automation. You can also choose how many times the trigger runs and further segment under ‘Advanced’ with all ActiveCampaign fields available.

In the Field dropdown, you can choose between:

• Any field
  This means when any value is updated in any field for the custom object record chosen the trigger will fire. With this option, you will only be able to choose how often the trigger runs and set up Advanced Segmentation. (link to section below)
• A specific custom object field
  This means when the specific custom object field you choose here is updated, based on your settings below, the trigger will fire. Note only custom objects fields for the chosen custom object record are available to use here. In addition to the settings below, you will also be able to choose how often the trigger runs and set up Advanced Segmentation. (link to section below)

If you choose a specific custom object field, there are two choices to further define what change in value you would like to trigger the automation:

• Any value
  This will include any value in the field. For example, if you choose From “Any value” To “Any value,” any updates made to the value in the specified field will trigger the automation.
• A specific value
  This allows you to specify the From and/or To values that change in ​​the field to trigger the automation. For example, if you choose From “Any value” To “A specific value,” the updated value must reflect the specific value set to trigger the automation.

To use the [Custom object] Updated trigger with a specific field chosen:

1. Add the [Custom object] Updated trigger to your automation.
2. A modal window will appear. Click the Field dropdown arrow. Note that only fields related to the custom object can be used here.
3. Select the field you would like to use. In the example below, I’d like to trigger an automation when the Status of any Zendesk ticket has closed. To start, I would choose the Status field.
   
4. Choose “From” value. This is the value that the field will have to start with to activate the trigger. For my example, I do not need a specific “From” value so I will choose “Any value.”
   
5. Choose “To” value. This is the value that the “From” value needs to change “To” in order to activate the trigger. In our example, I only want to see tickets that have changed to “Closed” status, so I will start by choosing “A specific value.”
   
6. Depending on the field you select, your operator choices may change to define your own specific value. To choose an operator, click the dropdown arrow and click the operator you would like to use.
   
   Continuing with our example, we’re presented with several operators to choose from: “Is” “Is Not” “Contains” and “Does Not Contain.” Since we are looking for a specific Status, we’re going to choose the “Is” operator by clicking it.
   
7. Next, you’ll need to provide the “To” value in the second box. How you input the value depends on the field selected. It could be selecting a choice from a dropdown or typing in the specific value. With our example, I needed to type in “Closed” below:
   
8. Then, click the dropdown under “Runs” to choose how often you want your trigger to run.
9. Click “Save.”

Advanced segmentation settings in [Custom object] Updated trigger

With the [Custom object] Updated trigger, you can further segment contacts who can enter your trigger using the “Advanced” section. Here you can use other ActiveCampaign fields. The available conditions will be similar to other segment options with a few differences under “Custom Objects.”

Click “Segment the [Custom object] entering this automation.” Under Custom Objects condition category in the segment builder, you have the option to use:

• Trigger Specific Conditions
  The Trigger Specific Conditions shown will depend upon the custom object trigger you are using. “This [Custom object]” condition will reference the specific custom object record that triggered the automation.
• Global Conditions
  With Global Conditions, the advanced segment will reference all related custom object records of the selected type for the selected condition.

When using any custom objects condition, a segment builder will appear under your selection called “Where the following is true:” where you can use custom object fields to further segment your trigger.

You can add additional conditions based on the custom object by clicking “Segment This [Custom object] by adding a property.”

To add additional conditions using other ActiveCampaign fields, click “Add another condition” or “Add a New Segment Group.”

Using custom objects in automation actions

When building your automation, once you have a trigger set up, actions are next. With custom objects, you can use custom object fields in specific actions within an automation. This allows you to move your contacts through your automation based on the specific custom object record data.

Available actions with custom objects:

“If/Else”

Custom objects conditions in “If/Else” actions, allows you to use the custom object record data to send contacts down a “Yes” or “No” path to customize actions, tags, custom fields, Site & Event Tracking data, and other contact data. Learn more about how “If/Else” actions work.

Click in the first field that says “(Select a condition).” Under Custom Objects condition category in the segment builder, you have two options to use:

1. Trigger Specific Conditions
   The Trigger Specific Conditions will appear once you have a custom object trigger in place. “This [Custom object]” condition will reference the specific custom object record that triggered the automation.
   
   Note, for Trigger Specific Conditions to apply, the contact must enter the automation through a custom objects trigger. If a contact enters an automation manually, (eg, add a contact to an automation from their profile page or the bulk editor), or with any other trigger, it will fail to meet any Trigger Specific Conditions.
2. Global Conditions
   With Global Conditions, the advanced segment will reference all related custom object records of the selected type for the selected condition. Note that you do not have to have a custom object trigger to use Global Conditions.

When using any custom objects condition, a segment builder will appear under you selection called “Where the following is true:” where you can use custom object fields to further segment your trigger.

You can add additional conditions based on the custom object by clicking “Segment This [Custom object] by adding a property.”

To add additional conditions using other ActiveCampaign fields, click “Add another condition” or “Add a New Segment Group.