Automation triggers are used to begin an automation in Engage, based on events such as a contact making a purchase, having a birthday, or abandoning a cart. Custom triggers are automation triggers you can define and access over the Engage API, allowing external systems to start an automation in Engage based on any criteria you choose.

As well as starting an automation, the data sent in a custom trigger payload can also be used as a value split to determine the path of a contact through the automation. For example, you can send the contact into the left branch if they answered Yes to a certain question, or into the right branch if they answered No.

The payload data can also be used as entry criteria, deciding if a contact should enter an automation or not.

Once a custom trigger is set up, you can find it in Engage when you select New automation. Your custom triggers will appear in the list along with the standard triggers that you can use to start an automation.

Read more about custom automation triggers here.

The Custom Triggers area

You should now see this interface. In the menu, select Custom Triggers:

You'll first see a list of the existing custom triggers for your tenant.

Select the eye icon to see more details for an existing custom trigger:

Creating a new trigger

Select Create custom trigger to create your new trigger:

Name: This is the display name shown in Engage.

TriggerId: This is the unique identifier for the trigger. It is sent to Engage when triggering an automation.

Description: This should explain the purpose of the trigger. It is displayed in the Engage UI when choosing the trigger for a new automation.

The triggerId must be unique. If another trigger already uses the same value, you will receive a warning and must change it before proceeding.

Adding fields

Now you'll add the fields used in your custom trigger's payload. Field names can be used as entry criteria, value splits, or to personalize content in email or SMS send-outs from Engage.

Do not use an alias that conflicts with existing Voyado contact attributes (e.g., firstName).

Select Add to add your first field, and enter the name and description. The field name is used in automation and must only contain letters and digits.

Select Save to confirm. If a field should contain HTML or a URL, its name must end with HTML. Otherwise, Engage treats the content as plain text.

Saving your trigger

Once all fields are added, select Save. You'll see a confirmation dialog:

Custom triggers can't be edited or deleted in the UI after creation. Only the Voyado team can do this. Review your data carefully before saving.

Your new trigger will appear in the custom trigger list:

Using your custom trigger

Use your custom trigger by sending a request to one of the automation endpoints. Depending on the endpoint, you'll use a contact identifier such as contactId, externalId, or SSN.

One endpoint also requires contactType and the value of the key attribute defined in your Engage configuration.

See all endpoints on this Swagger page.

Custom trigger use example

In this example, a retailer wants to award a gift certificate.

They create a custom trigger with triggerId: giftCertificate01.

Then they define the required fields:

With the contactId (e.g., 1234), they use the endpoint:

POST /api/v3/automation/customTriggers/giftCertificate01/triggerByContactId/1234

Payload example:

{
  "giftCertificateCreationDate": "2023-05-02",
  "giftCertificateUseByDate": "2023-05-08",
  "giftCertificateValue": "50.00 EUR",
  "giftCertificateCode": "LOVYVIGOQ9XXXXXXXXXXXX",
  "giftCertificateLinkHTML": "https://examplestore.com/dedicated/gift/ae5d33c1d64b34208xxxxxxxxxxx?id=4565"
}

Assuming an automation uses this custom trigger, the payload data can now be utilized within Engage.

Article last reviewed 10 November 2025 09:04