> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.embedreach.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automations

> Overview of Automations

# Tenant Automations

## Introduction

Tenant Automations allow you to create automated communication workflows that trigger based on specific conditions and [segments](/segments/introduction). These automations enable you to send targeted communications to users through various [channels](/engage/introduction) (currently email, with SMS planned for future releases).

Please see the API Reference [here](/api-reference/endpoint/get-api-automations) for more information.

## Structure

A tenant automation consists of:

* **Name**: A descriptive name for the automation
* **Status**: The current state of the automation. Can be:
  * `draft`: Automation is in draft mode and not active
  * `active`: Automation is enabled and will be processed
  * `running`: Currently being processed
  * `scheduled`: Has been scheduled and cannot be cancelled
  * `completed`: Has finished running
  * `failed`: Failed to run
  * `deactivated`: Manually disabled by user
* **Business ID**: Links the automation to a specific tenant
* **Trigger Type**: Defines when the automation should run. See [Trigger Types](#trigger-types) for more information.
* **Trigger Metadata**: Configuration for the trigger. See [Trigger Metadata](#trigger-metadata) for more information.
* **Action Data**: Array of actions to perform when triggered. See [Action Data](#action-data) for more information.
* **Segments**: Include and exclude segments to target specific users. See [Segments](#segments) for more information.

## Segments

Automations use a combination of include and exclude segments to determine which users should receive communications:

1. **Include Segments**: Users must be in this segment to receive communications
2. **Exclude Segments**: Users in this segment will not receive communications, even if they're in the include segment

See [Segments](/segments/introduction) for more information on creating and managing segments.

## Trigger Metadata

Currently supported trigger types:

### One-Time Trigger

* Scheduled to run at a specific date and time
* Evaluates all users in the target segments
* Creates communication jobs for eligible users
* Example use case: Promotional campaign or announcement

## Action Data

Action Data defines what operations the automation will perform when triggered. Each action in the array contains:

* **action\_type**: The type of action to perform (currently supports `send_communication`)
* **action\_metadata**: Configuration specific to the action type

### Send Communication Action

For actions of type `send_communication`, the action\_metadata includes:

* **communication\_group\_id**: Reference to the communication group containing the message configuration

Example action data structure:

```
{
  "action_data": [
    {
      "action_type": "send_communication",
      "action_metadata": {
        "action_type": "send_communication", 
        "communication_group_id": "your-communication-group-id"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

Please see the [Channel Senders](/engage/channel-senders) documentation for more information on how to configure communication channels.