Add workflow actions, delays, and branches

After a trigger enrolls a contact, workflow steps run in the order shown on the canvas. A step can perform an Action, wait for a Delay, or choose a path through a Branch.

Add a step

1. Open a new or existing workflow.

2. Select the plus button at the point where the new step should run.

3. Choose an Action, Delay, or Branch.

4. Configure the step and select Save.

5. Select Save Workflow or Update Workflow to save the canvas.

You can select a node in the canvas to edit it. Use the trash button on the node tile to delete that step, and review the path before saving to make sure the remaining nodes are still connected in the intended order.

Different workflow actions

Winly blocks a channel selection when any trigger or action in the workflow is incompatible with that channel. See Configure workflow channels and settings.

Delay Step

A Delay step adds a pause in the workflow for the specified time period. When a workflow is currently in delay step, the workflow run for that instance appears In Progress until the next step becomes eligible to execute.

Delay timing depends on queue processing. Treat the configured duration as the minimum wait, not an exact delivery time.

Branch Step

A Branch evaluates the contact at that stage and sends the run down the first matching conditional path. Every branch also has a Fallback path for contacts that match none of the conditions. A branch path can continue to more steps or end the workflow.

Conditions in the same group must all match. The first matching branch wins, so place the most specific branch before broader branches.

Example: Route pricing-related messages

Use this branch to identify pricing intent without creating a separate workflow for every keyword.

1. Select Any Message as the workflow trigger.

2. Add a Branch after the trigger.

3. Configure the first path:

   • Condition: Incoming Event Text

   • Keywords: pricing, cost, and quote

   • Continue with: Add Contact Tag and select a pricing-interest tag, then assign the appropriate sales owner.

4. Configure the Fallback path to continue with the normal response sequence or end the workflow.

Keyword matching ignores uppercase and lowercase and checks for the configured words within the incoming event text. For example, Can you send PRICING? matches the pricing keyword.

Example: Route qualified contacts by activity

Use multiple conditions in one branch when every condition must be true.

Place the more specific high-engagement path first. If an open contact has more than five received messages, Winly selects that path without evaluating later paths.

Example: Follow up only when the contact has not replied

This pattern prevents a scheduled follow-up from being sent after the contact has already responded.

1. Start with the appropriate message or tag trigger.

2. Send the initial message.

3. Add a Delay for the required follow-up period.

4. Add a Branch with No Messages Received Since Start.

5. Continue that path to the follow-up message.

6. Configure the Fallback path to end the workflow because the contact replied after the run started.

After testing, open Workflow Runs and confirm that a non-responsive contact takes the follow-up path while a contact who replied takes Fallback.

Send a text message

Enter the message exactly as it should be sent. Use @first_name where you want Winly to insert the contact's first name.

Message actions are not guaranteed deliveries. A channel can reject a message because of an expired messaging window, missing connection, invalid recipient, or platform restriction. See Compose and send messages for the current direct-message and comment limitations.

Send a voice message

Choose one source:

Reply to a comment

Use Reply to Comment after an Instagram or Facebook comment trigger. The action needs the triggering comment to know where to post the reply.

Choose a reply mode:

If the platform reports that the comment was already replied to, Winly will skip the duplicate reply and allow the workflow to continue.

For manual comment handling, see Handle Comments.

Update contact tags, state, or owner

Add or remove tags

Select one or more existing tags. Create and organize the required tags before building the workflow.

Change contact state

Use Open or Archive or Spam to change the state of the contact.

Change contact owner

Choose one assignment mode:

Change Autopilot handling

Choose whether the workflow should turn Let Autopilot handle this conversation on or off for the contact. This action changes the handling flag; it does not assign a different contact owner.

The action can fail when Autopilot is already owned by the Autopilot bot. Review handling changes in the Inbox after a test run. See Autopilot Handling Conversations.

Trigger a webhook

Enter the destination HTTPS URL. Winly sends a JSON POST request that includes workflow, contact, and trigger context. The request times out after 60 seconds and can be attempted up to three times, with a short wait between attempts.

Your receiving service should:

• Accept JSON POST requests over HTTPS.

• Respond successfully within 60 seconds.

• Treat repeated requests as the same event so a retry does not create duplicate work.

• Return a non-error response only after it has accepted the payload.

• Avoid placing credentials or private tokens in the URL.

Let AI pick a message

Add one or more clear candidate messages and enter a non-empty custom instruction describing which response fits each situation. Although the interface presents the custom instruction as optional, an empty value will be rejected when the workflow is saved. At runtime, the action reviews the provided context and selects a candidate.

Use candidates that are each safe to send without editing. Test ambiguous, empty, and unsupported-message cases before activation.

Check the workflow run

After the workflow starts for a contact:

1. Open Workflows and select Runs.

2. Search for the workflow name or enter the contact ID.

3. Expand the run to view its trigger, actions, delays, and selected branch.

4. Check the status, timeline, and details for each step.

5. If a step failed, review the final successful step and the visible failure details before changing the workflow.

See Review workflow runs for run statuses, filters, step history, and troubleshooting guidance.