Branching, Testing a Rule & AI Rule Draft

Beyond the basics, the canvas offers three more tools: instead of a single chain of actions, a rule can have several paths, you can test a rule before it's live, and you can draft a rule from a sentence with AI. This article covers all three. The basics of a rule (trigger, conditions, actions) are covered in Automations: Basics & your first rule.

Branching: a rule with several paths

An unbranched rule has exactly one path — the action chain you saw in the basics article. With branching, the rule instead gets several paths that react differently depending on a condition, for example "Corporate event → notify Team A, otherwise → notify Team B".

1. Open the rule in the canvas (automatic for a new rule; for an existing one, via the Open in canvas icon in its row).
2. Click Branch in the toolbar. A new, named path is added — the original Otherwise path stays as the last path.
3. Click the new path node to configure it: under Path name, give it a label (e.g. "Corporate events") — it later shows up on the canvas and in the run history, explaining why the rule took this route.
4. Under Condition for this path, enter at least one condition. A path without a condition would otherwise always match.
5. Add one or more actions to the path via Add action — the limits are the same as for an unbranched rule: at most three regular actions, at most 7 action rows in total per path.
6. Repeat for further paths. Up to five paths are possible in total (including the otherwise path).

How paths are checked: Univents checks paths left to right. The first path whose condition matches runs — and only that one. The Otherwise path runs when none of the paths before it match; it has no condition of its own and can't be deleted while conditional paths exist. If no path matches and there's no otherwise path left (because you deleted it), nothing happens when the rule fires — that's noted in the run history.

Deleting a path: Use the trash icon on the path. Univents warns you beforehand how many actions would disappear with it, and also flags a delay waiting in that path.

Merging a branch back: Merge branch collapses all paths into a single, linear chain — the paths' previous conditions no longer apply afterwards, and all actions simply run one after another. If the merged result would have more actions than a chain allows, you need to remove some first.

Editing in the form dialog: Once a rule has more than one path, it can only be edited in the canvas. The form dialog shows it read-only and links to the canvas — saving there would lose the extra paths, since the dialog only understands a single chain.

Test a rule before it runs

The Test rule button is available both in the canvas and in the form dialog, right next to the save/discard buttons.

1. Click Test rule.
2. Univents looks up the most recent record in your workspace that matches your trigger and evaluates the rule against it.
3. The result walks you through what would happen: which record it tested against, which path would fire (for a branched rule), and per action the concrete details — for Send email, for example, the recipient and subject; for Change status, the target status; for Run tool, the chosen tool.
4. If an action would be skipped (for example because a required field is empty or a tool doesn't fit the object), that's shown too, with the reason.

Nothing happens as a result: no email is sent, no field is set, no status is changed, and nothing is saved. The test is purely read-only.

If there's no matching record in your workspace yet, you'll see a corresponding note instead of a result. For some triggers — such as Email received — there's no test object, since those aren't searchable existing records.

Draft a rule from a sentence

Instead of assembling a rule node by node in the canvas, you can also have AI draft it from a single sentence.

1. On the Automations page, click Describe it instead at the top (next to the Templates button).
2. Describe in one sentence what should happen automatically — for example "When a new inquiry comes in, send an acknowledgement and create a task for me to follow up."
3. Click Draft rule. The AI builds a trigger, matching conditions, and actions from it.
4. The draft opens directly in the editor. Review it like any other rule and fill in what the AI can't know — for example exactly who should be notified or which email template to use.
5. Only clicking Save actually creates the rule. Until then nothing is saved or activated.

If the AI can't sensibly map your description, it tells you instead of producing a rule that doesn't fit — maybe one of the ready-made templates from Automations: Basics & your first rule fits better?

This feature uses your workspace's AI credit — more on that in AI Credits & Usage. If the credit is used up or the AI feature isn't configured, you'll get a matching message instead of a draft.

What's part of the Growth plan

Branching, Change status, the creator actions (Create task, Create function sheet, Create production list), custom mail templates in Send email, Run tool, and the AI rule draft are part of the Growth plan. Without that plan, the matching buttons and action types are missing from the editor. Test rule is the exception and works on every plan.

Nothing changes for what already exists: every rule you already have — including one with several paths or a gated action — keeps running unchanged. You can switch it off or delete it at any time; editing it needs the Growth plan. Simple, unbranched rules with the basic actions (Send email, Notify user, Set field, Assign staff, Change tags, Delay, both AI actions) remain fully available on every plan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I edit a branched rule in the form dialog? No. Once a rule has more than one path, the dialog shows it read-only. Editing only works in the canvas.

What happens if none of my paths match? If there's an otherwise path, it runs. If there isn't one (because you deleted it) and nothing else matches, nothing happens — that's what the run history shows.

Does Test rule change real data? No. The test only evaluates and displays the result. Nothing is sent, set, or saved.

Can I still adjust the AI draft before it goes live? Yes, and you'll need to: the AI doesn't decide things like recipients or templates for you — you fill those in after the draft is created, before you save.