You configure an Automated Action once in Setup, then attach it to a Workflow Rule or an Approval Process. This walkthrough creates a reusable Email Alert, which is the most common action type. The same Setup path covers Field Updates, Tasks, and Outbound Messages.
- Open the action area in Setup
From Setup, use Quick Find to locate the action type. Email Alerts, Field Updates, Tasks, and Outbound Messages each have their own Setup node, and they are also reachable while editing a Workflow Rule or Approval Process.
- Create the action and pick the object
Click New, give the action a clear name and unique name, and select the object it acts on. The object choice limits which fields, templates, and recipients are available later.
- Fill in the action details
For an Email Alert, choose the Email Template, set the from address, and add recipients such as the owner, a role, a queue, or an email field on the record. For a Field Update you would instead pick the target field and new value.
- Attach the action to a rule
Open a Workflow Rule or Approval Process and add the saved action to the immediate actions, a time-dependent trigger, or an approval step. The same action record can be referenced by more than one rule.
The template an Email Alert uses for subject and body. Build it before creating the alert so it appears in the picker.
Who receives the Email Alert: users, roles, public groups, queues, the record owner, or an email field on the record.
A Field Update option that re-runs every Workflow Rule on the object after the change. Leave it off unless you truly need cascading evaluation.
For an Outbound Message, the external service address that receives the SOAP payload. The receiver must implement the generated WSDL.
- Email Alerts share a daily workflow email limit; alerts beyond the cap are silently dropped.
- Field Updates with Re-evaluate Workflow Rules turned on are the top cause of looping automation.
- Outbound Messages fail quietly when the endpoint is down; there is no alerting beyond the retry queue.
- You cannot create new Workflow Rules in newer orgs, so plan the action inside Flow or an Approval Process instead.