What Is Workflow Automation? Definition with Examples
Workflow automation: Workflow automation is the use of software to run a repeatable business process automatically, starting from a trigger such as a form submission, new order or date, and moving information between apps without someone copying it by hand.
The anatomy of a workflow
Every automated workflow has a trigger (what starts it), steps (actions in one or more apps), conditions (if this, then that) and an end state (invoice sent, record created). Good workflows also have error handling, so a person is alerted if something fails.
Example
Trigger: a customer pays an invoice in Stripe. Steps: mark the invoice paid in QuickBooks, update the CRM, send a thank-you email, notify the account manager in Slack.
Tools
Zapier, Make, n8n and Microsoft Power Automate are the most common platforms. We compare them in Zapier vs Make vs n8n. See also our workflow automation service.
Related terms: API integration · No-code automation · AI agent