# Set up a step in a SkedX CRM automation by asking

> In the SkedX CRM automation builder (Automate → Workflows), click a step, or the + under a step, and type what that step should do. SkedX sets up ONE step from the steps the CRM really has: change the enquiry’s status, assign it to a person, add or remove a tag, add a note, create a task (with a due date and who does it), change a field, set the lead score, send the enquiry an email, tell someone on your team, move the deal to a stage, send an approved WhatsApp template, wait, carry on only when a rule matches, split into paths, remember a value, or start another automation. When a sentence needs more than one step it offers the extra steps; add one and it is set up too, so Apply places both. A chat step — buttons that wait for a reply — belongs to a SkedX Flow automation: SkedX says so and offers Start another automation or an approved template, with a link to SkedX Flow. Review shows what would change on a real enquiry — the latest one that fits the start, or one you choose — and the step in plain words. Test up to this step runs the automation to that step on an unsaved copy: nothing is sent, nothing is charged. Apply saves through the builder, and one Undo takes it all back. To change a step that is there, click it: the same box changes it, and Edit fields shows the step’s own settings.

Product: SkedX Automate · Topic: Getting started · Draft — steps not yet re-verified in the live product

So that a small team can set up its own follow-ups in the CRM without learning every setting: say what should happen to the enquiry, see what it would change, apply it.

## Step 1: Click + and say what the step should do

In **Automate -> Workflows**, open an automation and click the **+** under a step. Type what the new step should do in the box, or pick an example. Prefer to choose it from the list? Click **Set it up yourself**.
Open it directly: https://crm.skode.ai/workflows

## Step 2: Check the step, and add the one more it needs

SkedX answers with the one step it set up, in words. One step does one thing, so when your sentence needs more it offers the extra step — click it to add it. The bar says how many steps are ready; nothing is saved yet.

## Step 3: A chat step goes to SkedX Flow

Buttons that wait for a reply are a chat, and chats are set up in a SkedX Flow automation. SkedX says so and offers what this automation can do instead — **Start another automation** or send an approved template — or **Open Skode Flow** to build the chat. The steps already set up stay ready.

## Step 4: Review what changes on the enquiry, then Apply

Open **Review**: what these steps would change on a real enquiry, before and after — the latest one that fits the start, or **Choose another**. **In plain words** says what the steps do. **Test up to this step** runs the automation to here without sending anything; **Apply** puts the steps on the automation, and Undo takes them back.

## Step 5: Change a step that is there

Click a step on the automation. The pop-up says what the step is, with **Change** to make it another kind. Type the change in the box — for example “tag them VIP instead”. **Edit fields** shows the step’s own settings and always works, with or without asking.

## Common questions

### I asked a step to “create a lead when a WhatsApp message comes” and it said it needs a new automation

This automation already starts on something else (for example a new enquiry), and a step can’t change what starts it. Click **Start a new automation for this**: a new automation opens in a new tab with your words already asked — it starts when a WhatsApp message comes in and creates the enquiry. Nothing in the automation you were in changes.

### Does it save or change anything by itself?

No. Nothing is saved until you click **Apply**, and no enquiry changes until the automation runs. Review shows the enquiry as it is now and what the steps would do to it.

### What can it set up?

Only the steps SkedX CRM really has: status, owner, tags, notes, tasks, fields, score, an email, telling a teammate, the deal stage, an approved WhatsApp template, waits, rules, paths, remembering a value and starting another automation. It uses your own statuses, people, tags and fields.

### Why does it send me to SkedX Flow for a WhatsApp message with buttons?

A message that waits for the customer to tap a button is a chat, and chats are built in a SkedX Flow automation. This automation can start that one with **Start another automation**, or send an approved template on its own.

### Can I start a new automation by describing it?

Yes — on a new automation, use **Describe an automation instead**. The pop-up on this page sets up and changes one step at a time.

### What if asking is not working?

Use **Set it up yourself** on a new step, or **Edit fields** on a step that is there — both always work.

## Useful links
- Workflows in SkedX CRM — where every CRM automation is set up: https://crm.skode.ai/workflows

Videos and screenshots © 2026 SkedX, with sample data only. Share and link to them freely; copying the SkedX product or its design is not allowed. Terms: https://skode.ai/terms/

## Related guides
- Build a SkedX CRM automation step by step: https://skode.ai/help/automate/getting-started/build-a-crm-automation-by-hand/
- Build an automation step by step in SkedX Flow: https://skode.ai/help/flow/automation/build-an-automation-step-by-step-in-skode-flow/

Source: https://skode.ai/help/automate/getting-started/set-up-a-crm-automation-step-by-asking/