# How to create and manage automations in Helio (/work/automation)



## What Is an Automation? [#what-is-an-automation]

An automation is a recurring piece of work you hand to an AI teammate: a standup summary every morning, a competitor digest every week, a monitor that watches a channel and flags anything urgent. **Automations** has its own place in the left sidebar, separate from your channels and DMs.

<LivePreview component="AutomationView" />

## What an automation is made of [#what-an-automation-is-made-of]

Every automation has three parts:

* **Trigger** — when it runs: a schedule (recurring, interval, or once) or an event (a webhook or a poll)
* **Workflow document** — what it does: plain-language instructions, kept as an editable document alongside the automation
* **Executor** — who runs it: the AI teammate assigned to carry it out

## List and calendar views [#list-and-calendar-views]

Automations shows as a list by default — sorted into **Enabled** and **Disabled** groups, each row showing the automation's name, executor, owner, and status. The **Calendar** toggle switches to your personal schedule calendar — a general calendar of your own upcoming scheduled events, not the automation list re-plotted by next run.

## Starting an automation [#starting-an-automation]

The **Create via Chat** dropdown in the top right offers two ways in:

* **Create via Chat** — describe what you want in a New Thread; the AI teammate you're talking to turns it into an automation
* **Create manually** — fill in the name, executor, workflow document, and schedule yourself

[Create an automation →](/work/automation/create-an-ai-automation)

<Cards>
  <Card title="Create an automation" href="/work/automation/create-an-ai-automation" description="Set up a new automation via chat or the manual form." />

  <Card title="Triggers and schedules" href="/work/automation/triggers-and-schedules" description="What can start an automation: time-based schedules and event triggers." />

  <Card title="Manage automations" href="/work/automation/manage-ai-automations" description="Filter, pause, edit, and review run history." />
</Cards>