Workflows and schedules

In shortA workflow is a saved Autopilot task that runs on a schedule (daily, weekly or monthly) or when you press Run now, and can email you the result. Build it in Autopilot → Automations from AI steps, an If / else check, Send email and Stop. Each run is charged a trigger fee, a fee per email sent, and normal Autopilot prices for its AI steps. Brand visibility prompts never run on a schedule; a workflow is how you put a task of your own on one.

What workflows are for

Chats only run when you send a message. A workflow is how you hand Autopilot a recurring job: a Monday ranking summary, a monthly content brief, or a daily check that only emails you when something needs attention. It runs while you are away, and the result lands in your inbox with any files attached.

Most of AI Rank Lab runs when you run it. Your Brand visibility prompts, for example, still run only when you run them, even if a workflow also asks Autopilot about AI answers. The few fixed schedules elsewhere, such as the opt-in weekly citation tracker in the Action plan and Core Web Vitals tracking, do one job each and can't be changed; a workflow is how you schedule a task of your own.

Before you start

• Try the task once as a normal chat. If the answer is useful, it is worth scheduling; if it isn't, a schedule only repeats the problem.
• Decide who gets the email. Your account address works straight away. Any other address must confirm first.
• Check your balance against the schedule. A daily workflow runs about thirty times a month.

Step by step

1. Open AutomationsIn Autopilot's sidebar, click Automations. If you have none yet, it shows three templates: Weekly ranking report, AI visibility alert and Monthly content brief. Pick one, or click New workflow to start from a blank trigger.
2. Name it and set the scheduleFill Name this workflow and pick a Website (or No specific website). Under Runs, choose Only when I run it, Every day, Every week or Every month, then the day and the time under At. Times use your browser's timezone, which is shown in the schedule summary.
3. Add the stepsBelow the Trigger, add steps in order. An AI step asks What should Autopilot do?; write the task as you would in a chat. If / else branches on the AI step's answer: contains, does not contain, matches (regex) or always continue. Send email mails the result to one verified address. Stop ends a branch.
4. Write the emailIn Send email, choose an address under Send to, write a Subject (for example {{workflow}} — {{date}}) and a Message. {{output}} becomes the AI step's answer. Leave Attach files from the AI steps on to receive spreadsheets, PDFs and images; anything over 8 MB is sent as a link instead.
5. Verify extra recipientsClick Recipients, type an address and click Send link. That person gets a confirmation link that works for 24 hours. Until they confirm, the address can't be chosen in a Send email step.
6. Save, test, switch onClick Create workflow. Then click Run now to test it once; you can Stop run if it goes wrong. When the result is right, click Turn on. Pause stops future runs without deleting anything.
7. Read the run historyEach run is listed with its status and the credits it used, and you can open it to see every step, what it did and what each one cost.

Use If / else to email only when it matters

The AI visibility alert template shows the pattern. The AI step is told to end its answer with the word MISSING if your brand is absent, or COVERED if not. The If / else step checks whether the answer contains MISSING. Only that branch sends an email; the other branch stops. You pay for the check every day, but you only get mail on the days you need to act.

What a run costs

• Trigger: charged at the start of every run, scheduled or Run now. Refunded if the run fails before doing any work.
• Each email: charged per message the mail service accepts, refunded if it is refused.
• Each AI step: normal Autopilot pricing, model tokens plus each paid tool it calls. A workflow doesn't stop to ask you to confirm spend; saving it is the approval.