Skip to main content
Automations handle the follow-up work that most small businesses forget to do. They send texts, emails, and owner alerts on your behalf — automatically — so you can focus on doing the actual work. You’ll find all automations on the Automations page in your sidebar.

​
How a Pipeline Works

Every automation follows the same pattern: a trigger fires, one or more steps execute across channels, and you get a measurable outcome.

​
The 10 Pipelines

​
Multi-Channel Delivery

Each pipeline can use one or more channels depending on what makes sense for the situation.

SMS

Text messages to the customer’s phone. Best for urgent, time-sensitive actions like missed call recovery and appointment reminders.

Email

Branded HTML emails for longer content like morning briefings, invoice reminders, and onboarding tips.

Owner Alert

Notifications to you (and your team) by SMS and/or email. Used when something needs human attention — a hot lead, a negative call, or a no-show.

​
Pipeline Details

​
1. Missed Call Rescue

When someone calls and the AI can’t connect (e.g. the AI is already on another call, or the caller hangs up too quickly), this pipeline kicks in. Default message:
“Hi, thanks for calling [Your Business]. Sorry we missed you! Reply to this text and we’ll get back to you ASAP.”
Configuration:
  • Toggle on/off
  • Customise the SMS template (variables: {businessName}, {callerName})
  • Set delay before sending (default: 60 seconds)
This is the single highest-impact automation. Enable it first.

​
2. Lead Nurture

Fires the moment a new lead is captured by the AI during a call or chat.
  • Sends you an SMS and/or email notification immediately
  • If you haven’t contacted the lead within 24 hours, sends a follow-up SMS to the customer

​
3. Appointment Lifecycle

Two stages in one pipeline:
  1. Reminder — 1 hour before the appointment, the customer gets an SMS with Confirm and Cancel links. If they cancel, the slot is freed and you’re notified.
  2. Review Request — After a completed appointment, sends a Google review request SMS. Skips customers whose call had negative sentiment.

​
4. Quote Follow-up

When a quote is sent but the customer hasn’t responded:
  • The AI reads the original call transcript and writes a personalised follow-up
  • Falls back to your template if personalisation fails
  • Configurable delay (default: 24 hours)

​
5. Morning Briefing

A daily email digest at 08:00 local time containing:
  • Yesterday’s call count and average duration
  • New leads captured (with temperature badges)
  • Upcoming appointments for today
  • Action items (unanswered leads, pending quotes, overdue invoices)

​
6. No-Show Recovery

When an appointment is marked as a no-show:
  • Customer gets an SMS: “We missed you today! Would you like to rebook? Reply YES and we’ll find a new time.”
  • You get an owner alert so you can follow up personally if needed

​
7. Payment Chase

Escalating reminders for overdue invoices:
  • Day 1: Friendly SMS reminder with payment link
  • Day 3: Email with invoice details and payment link
  • Day 7: Final reminder SMS + owner alert to follow up manually

​
8. Win Back

For leads that went cold (no activity in 30+ days):
  • Sends a re-engagement SMS
  • Can include seasonal promotions or limited-time offers
  • Configurable inactivity threshold

​
9. Negative Sentiment

When the AI detects negative sentiment on a call:
  • Owner gets an alert within 5 minutes
  • The review request automation is automatically suppressed for this customer
  • Gives you a chance to personally call back and resolve the issue

​
10. Onboarding Drip

For new CloseTheCall users:
  • Day 0: Welcome email with quick-start steps
  • Day 1: “Set up your knowledge base” tip
  • Day 3: “Enable your first automation” tip
  • Day 7: “Need help?” check-in with link to support

​
Safety Features

Every pipeline includes built-in safeguards to prevent spam, comply with regulations, and avoid annoying your customers.
If a customer replies STOP to any automated text, they are automatically unsubscribed from ALL future SMS automations. This is a legal requirement and cannot be overridden. The customer can text START to re-subscribe.

​
Visual Workflow Builder

For advanced users who want to create custom automation pipelines or modify the built-in ones, CloseTheCall includes a visual workflow builder. You can drag and drop triggers, conditions, delays, and actions to build any workflow you can imagine. See the Workflow Builder guide for details.

​
Enabling and Disabling

Each pipeline has its own on/off toggle. Turning one off doesn’t affect the others. When disabled:
  • No new messages will be sent for that pipeline
  • Messages already queued will still be delivered
  • Your configuration is saved so you can re-enable without starting over
Yes. Every automated SMS appears in your Conversations page with a tag showing which automation triggered it. Emails appear in your account’s email log.
No. All 10 pipelines are included in every plan. The only cost is the SMS messages themselves, which come out of your plan’s SMS allowance.
Yes. Every pipeline with a delay step lets you configure the timing. Some pipelines (like Payment Chase) have multiple delay steps that can each be adjusted independently.