1. Getting Started with Automations
Automation in Pipedrive streamlines processes by allowing users to define triggers (starting events) and actions for consistent workflows, saving time and reducing manual effort.
Q: How do I create a workflow automation?
A: Go to Tools and Apps → Automations → + Automation. Define the trigger (event that starts the automation), add conditions (rules), and choose actions (what happens). Save and activate the automation.
Q: Can I automatically assign new leads or deals?
A: Yes. Create a workflow where the trigger is “Deal created,” and the action is “Update deal owner.” You can also use round-robin tools for equal distribution.
Q: How can I automatically move a deal from one stage to another based on the completion of an activity?
A: Create a workflow with the trigger “Activity marked as done,” and add an action to “Move deal to stage.”
Q: How can I set up an automation to automatically add the deal ID to the deal title?
A: Create a workflow with the trigger “Deal created,” then add an action to “Update deal title” with a placeholder including the Deal ID.
2. Common Automation Questions
Q: What does the “skip weekends” option mean?
A: If enabled, any delayed actions (e.g., send email after 2 days) will skip weekends. For example, if a 2-day delay falls on a Saturday, the action will run on Monday instead.
Q: Why can’t I see the option for Projects in the automation feature?
A: The Projects option is only visible if you have the Projects add-on enabled, or you might need to have a seat with Projects enabled.
Check your subscription with an Admin user.
Q: Why is my automation email being sent from a different email account instead of the user’s default account?
A: Automations always use the default email account defined in user settings.
If an email is sent from another account, check that the correct default email is set under Settings → Email sync → Default email account.
If the automation is not shared with other users, although other users might be able to trigger the automation the email will be sent from the automation owner.
Q: Can I duplicate an automation?
A: Users can duplicate Automations that are owned by themselves, but not automations owned by other users, no matter their user type.
To duplicate an automation, go to Automations > My automations, find the automation you want to duplicate, and click the "..." button on it. The option to duplicate will be there.
Users with Global Admin permissions are able to transfer automations owned by other users.
So for example if they want, they could potentially transfer the automation for themselves, duplicate it and then transfer the automation back to another user. This could serve as a workaround.
3. Troubleshooting Automations
Automation for deals applies only to new deals going forward and does not work retroactively on past deals.
Q: My automation is not working as expected. What should I check?
Go to the History tab of the automation to see if it triggered.
Confirm whether it’s:
Not triggering at all
Triggering but delayed
Triggering but with an error
Clarifying questions to ask users:
“Is it not working as you want, or is there an error in the History page?”
“Are you talking about slowness or a delay step?”
Q: What steps should I take if my automation is delayed?
Check the deal changelog for timestamps.
Compare with the automation execution log.
Test again at the same stage to reproduce.
Verify if “skip weekends” is affecting the delay.
Q: Why can’t I save my automations?
A: If you can’t save, check that:
All triggers, conditions, and actions are defined.
You have permission to create automations (admin vs regular user).
Q: Why is my automation not sending emails?
A:
Confirm a default email account is set in user settings.
Check the automation’s History tab for error messages.
Verify that the condition is being met correctly (e.g., “has changed to stage” vs “is in stage”).
4. Conditions and Triggers – Common Confusions
Many automation issues come from misunderstanding conditions:
is → checks the current value only
is not → excludes a value
has changed → detects any change in the field
has changed to → detects a change to a specific value
Example confusion:
If the condition is “Deal is in Stage X,” it will trigger whenever the deal is in Stage X (even if it didn’t just move there).
If the condition is “Deal has changed to Stage X,” it only triggers at the moment the deal moves into Stage X.
5. Ownership, Visibility and Sharing
Q: Who created the automation, and is it shared with other users?
A: Only admins and the automation creator can edit it. Shared automations are visible to the team, but ownership stays with the creator.
Q: Can I edit an automation owned by another user?
A: No. Users can only edit their own Automations, no matter their user type.
This is for security reasons, especially when it comes to email-related actions, to prevent users from being able to send emails from other users' accounts without their permission.
Users with Global Admin permissions are able to set automations owned by other users as Active/Inactive. These users are also able to transfer automations owned by other users.
So for example if they want, they could potentially transfer the automation for themselves, edit it and then transfer the automation back to another user. This could serve as a workaround.
Q: I would like to be able to trigger the automation but have it send from the sales people. How do I do that?
A: This is not possible. The email is always sent by the person that triggered the automation (when shared) or by the automation owner.
Q: I want the email that is sent out as an action in my automation to be sent from another user’s email. Is there a way to do this?
A: Yes, as long as the automation is set to “Triggered by selected users” and And shared with the specific users you want to be able to trigger the automation.
With the automation shared, when choosing to send an email as an action event in your automation, the action event will use the email address synced to the Pipedrive account via the email sync feature of the user triggering the automation.
With a shared automation, the email will be sent from the emails of the users with whom the automation was shared.
Users with whom the Automations is shared with will need to activate it on their end in order for them to be able to trigger it.
Users with Global Admin permissions can also transfer automations to other users, if they do not wish to share them. You can share this article about transfer automations with the user
6. Link default fields to action items
Q: Why didn’t the automation link the created activity to the contact, and how can I fix this?
A: This usually happens because the automation step was created without selecting the option to link the activity to a contact.
How to fix it:
Edit the automation.
In the Create activity step, check the Default fields.
Select Linked people (and any other fields, like organization or deal, that you want the activity to be attached to).
Save the automation and test again.
By default, Pipedrive won’t automatically attach the activity to a person unless you explicitly set it in the automation step.