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Two automations use the same keyword. Which one replies?

ZN
Zs贸fia N.

I have three automations listening for info because different teams built them at different times. Customers get one reply, sometimes seemingly at random. How does it decide, and can I see which one is live?

4 Answers

Best answer

KW

Only one automation answers a given message, and it is the most specific match: exactly matches beats starts with, which beats contains and pattern, which beats any message. When two automations tie, the longer keyword wins.

So if you have one automation on "price" in contains mode and another on "price list" in contains mode, a message saying "send me the price list" is answered by the "price list" automation, because the matched keyword is longer.

This is deliberate. The alternative, sending every matching reply, means a contact who writes one sentence receives three messages, which reads as broken whatever the intent was.

Two consequences for how you build:

Your catch-all belongs in any message mode. A default reply for anything unmatched should use any message, which sits at the bottom of the priority order, so every real keyword automation outranks it.

Check before you publish. The trigger settings show which published automations already listen for the same keyword and which one would answer. If your new automation is not going to win, that screen tells you before your customers do.

If you genuinely need two things to happen on one message, that is one automation with two steps, not two automations.

BI

The conflict screen saved us. We had three automations on "info" and no idea which one was live.

OT

Does the priority apply across channels or per channel? ---

CT

Right. If anyone hits a case this does not cover, open a new topic and we will look.

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