How to build an Automation from trigger to active — including the choices that shape what fires and the gotcha that catches everyone at the end.
An Automation has three core decisions: who it fires for (audience and criteria), what it does (assign or share content), and what fires alongside the assignment (notifications, escalation, due date logic). Get those right and the rest is mechanics.
The most common Automation mistake is the simplest one: building the Automation and forgetting to activate it. A created Automation is dormant. Don't skip the last step.
For the strategic frame on when an Automation is the right tool vs a Direct Assignment, see Designing Assignments: Direct vs. Automated. For deeper design patterns, see Automation Design Best Practices.
How to Create an Automation
1. Open Automations. From the left-hand navigation, click Share, then Automations.
2. Click Add an Automation.
3. Select the Audience. Pick the audience type that matches your trigger. Each option provides additional information to help you choose. For the full reference on every trigger type, see Automation Audience Trigger Guide. Click Next.
4. Add Criteria (optional). Criteria narrow the trigger so it fires only for users who meet specific conditions. There are three Criteria types:
Is Associated With. The Automation triggers for users already affiliated with a Department, Group, or other attribute.
Is Added To. The Automation triggers when a user is added to a Department, Group, etc.
Has Completed. The Automation triggers when a user completes specific content or an assignment — useful for chaining Tracks together.
Skip this step if no additional criteria are needed. For Group-specific automation setup, see the Groups Automations guide.
5. Assign content. Search for the content you want assigned and select it. Any content created within Continu can be assigned through an Automation, including Workshops and Assessments.
6. Or Share content instead. If you'd rather surface the content without assigning it (no due date, no completion tracking), search for the content under the Share option instead of Assign.
7. Name the Automation. The name appears on the Automations admin page when you need to edit, activate, or deactivate. Use something specific enough that you'll recognize it months later — "New Hire Onboarding — North America Sales 2026" beats "Onboarding."
8. Set a Due Date (optional). For assignments, toggle Set A Due Date on to give learners a deadline. The due date is counted from when the Automation triggers the assignment for each learner.
9. Use Due from Hired Date if needed. Instead of dating from the trigger event, toggle Due from Hired Date to set the deadline relative to the learner's hire date — useful for onboarding cohorts where the trigger fires later than the hire date.
Recompletions. Toggle Require Unique Completions on if you want the Automation to assign content the learner has previously completed (e.g., annual recerts). Leave it off if the Automation should skip content the learner has already finished.
10. Add Escalation Contacts. Escalation contacts receive notifications about the assignment alongside the learner.
Escalate to Manager. Notifications send to the learner's Manager.
Escalate to Buddy. Notifications send to the learner's assigned Buddy (set on their profile).
Add Escalation Contacts. Send notifications to any specific user in Continu — useful for program owners and compliance officers who need visibility on assignment events.
Click Next when complete.
11. Configure Notifications. Add the assignment notifications the learner (and escalation contacts) will receive. For the full breakdown on notification setup, see Adding And Editing Custom Notifications to Assignments and Automations.
When notifications are set, click Create.
12. Activate the Automation. The Automation is not yet active. A created-but-not-activated Automation won't fire even if every trigger condition is met. Click the Pencil icon next to the Automation, then click Activate.
What Makes a Good Automation
Narrow the trigger before you broaden it. Start with the smallest audience that matches the program's intent. Broadening later is safer than firing to the whole org while you debug. A new Automation on a 5-user Smart Segment is reviewable; a new Automation on "all users" can't be undone.
Name like you'll search for it. Six months from now, you (or a teammate) will be hunting for this Automation. Names like "New Hire Onboarding — NA Sales 2026" surface in search; "Onboarding automation" doesn't.
Decide Recompletions intentionally. The Require Unique Completions toggle is the difference between a one-shot Automation and a recurring one. Annual compliance recerts need it on; static onboarding doesn't. The default behavior depends on your org — check what's set.
Pair due dates with the learner's reality. Due-from-trigger is right when the trigger is the event (e.g., promotion). Due-from-hired-date is right when the trigger fires after the event (e.g., backfilled onboarding). Pick the one that matches when the clock should actually start.
Configuration Pitfalls
Creating an Automation but Forgetting to Activate It. The most common mistake. A created Automation is dormant — trigger conditions can fire all day and nothing happens. Activate it as the final step, not "later when I get back to it."
Audience Criteria That Match Everyone. An Automation with overly broad criteria assigns to the entire org on a recurring basis. Test with a narrow Smart Segment or small audience before activating against the real population.
Forgetting Escalation Contacts Get Notified Too. Every escalation contact you add receives notifications for every learner the Automation fires for. On a high-volume Automation, that's a lot of mail. Reserve escalation for cases where someone genuinely needs visibility per-event.
Setting Due Dates Without Considering Trigger Latency. If the Automation fires when a learner joins a Group but the Group sync only runs nightly, "due in 7 days" effectively becomes "due in 6 days from the actual trigger event." Build in slack for the latency.
Not Testing With a Sample Profile. Automations that fire on attributes (department, location, role) depend on those attributes being set correctly. If profile data is inconsistent, the Automation misses learners. Test with a sample user in the target audience before activating.
Using Automations for One-Off Cohorts. If the audience is fixed and known, a Direct Assignment is simpler to maintain. Reach for Automation when the audience is genuinely dynamic.
Where This Fits
You're here because you're building an Automation. The strategic decision — Automation vs Direct Assignment — lives in Designing Assignments: Direct vs. Automated. Once created and activated, mechanics like duplication, deactivation, and deletion live in their own articles.
See Also
- Automation Design Best Practices — the strategic anchor.
- Automations — the section gateway.
- Automation Audience Trigger Guide — every trigger type and what it fires on.
- Activate an Automation — the standalone activation walkthrough.
- Deactivate an Automation — pausing without deleting.
- Duplicate an Automation — reusing an existing Automation as a template.
- Adding And Editing Custom Notifications to Assignments and Automations — notification setup.
- Groups Automations — Group-triggered Automations specifically.
Trigger, criteria, content, notifications, activate. The last step is the one everyone forgets.