Guide: The Automation list
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/the-automation-list
Topic: Automation
Time: about 2 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: You can read what every automation on a page does, switch one off with Undo, and see what it produced.
Context: Each page has its own Automation tab. Every row is a sentence: what the automation does, where it listens, whether it is live, and what it produced since it started. Nothing on the list is a number for its own sake: results are the recipe's own count (messages sent, replies, chats started) with the emails, phone numbers and follows it gathered as doors into People.

Before you start:
1. Automations belong to a page, not to the account; the Instagram account and the Facebook page each have their own tab.
2. Lite includes public replies; Starter and every plan above it include private messages and the rest.
3. A Moderator can read the list but not change it.

Steps:
Step 1 of 4: Open the Automation tab of a page.
Where: Left sidebar, under Pages, click the page, then Automation. On a phone: the page, then Automation in the row under its name.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-home.en.webp (The Automation tab: one row per automation, the switch, the status and the results.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-home-phone.en.webp (On a phone the list keeps the switch, the name and the status.)
You should see: The list, with All, Live, Paused and, when there is one, Archived above it, each with its count.

Step 2 of 4: Read a row.
Where: The glyph and name say which recipe it is and what it is called; the keywords are the small green pills. Where says which posts or messages it listens to. Status is a dot and a word: Live, Paused, Needs attention, Paused by plan. Results is the recipe's own count with the gains under it; a gain such as "29 emails" opens People filtered to that automation.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-home.en.webp (The results column: the hero count and the gains as doors.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-home-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Hover a row for Edit and More; More holds Duplicate to another page, See runs, See people, Pause and Archive.

Step 3 of 4: Switch one off, or on.
Where: The switch at the start of the row. Off pauses it at once: comments that match in the meantime are skipped, never queued. The toast offers Undo.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-home.en.webp (The switch pauses or resumes with a toast and Undo.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-home-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The status reads Paused, the toast says what happens meanwhile, and Undo puts it back.

Step 4 of 4: Press New automation to add one.
Where: The one green button at the top right. Press N anywhere on the list for the same. The gallery groups the recipes by the moment they start from: when someone comments, when someone messages you, when someone shares your story, from a link you share.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-gallery.en.webp (The gallery: seven recipes, each a live mock of what the person sees.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/automation-gallery-phone.en.webp (The gallery on a phone.)
You should see: Click a card and its editor opens with sane defaults already filled in.

If something is off:
Problem: A row says Needs attention
Fix: Meta refused some public replies on ad comments yesterday. Every one of those people still got the message; only the public line was skipped. See the runs shows each one.
Problem: A row says Paused by plan
Fix: Your plan does not include this recipe. Nothing was deleted; it starts again the moment you upgrade.
Problem: The switch is greyed out
Fix: Automations are on Lite and above, and a Moderator cannot change them.

Common questions:
Question: Where are my old keyword automations?
Answer: They are on the same list. A rule that replied in public is now "Reply under comments automatically"; one that sent a private message is "Send a DM when someone comments". Their keywords and replies came across unchanged.
Question: Can I search the list?
Answer: Yes. Press / or click the search box; the list filters as you type.
Question: Why is there no Delete?
Answer: An automation has results, runs and people hanging off it. Archive stops it and takes it off the list; everything it produced stays, and Restore brings it back paused.

Related guides:
- Send a DM when someone comments: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/send-a-dm-when-someone-comments
- Runs: what each automation did: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/runs-what-each-automation-did
- Archive and restore: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/archive-and-restore

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/keyword-automations/the-automation-list.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt