Airtable Automations: The Complete Guide + 23 Examples

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Last updated: October 2026

One of the problems I had with Airtable was forgetting to fill things in. My bases went out of date and stopped working for me. Automations fixed that and they’re the reason I run every area of my business from Airtable now. I’ll show you 23 ways I use Airtable automations, from simple ones to more advanced ones. If you’ve never built an automation, don’t worry. They are not as complicated or scary as they sound!

What is an Airtable automation?

Think of it as a little helper who watches your table. You give them a rule, like “when someone fills in this form, send me an email”, and they do it every single time. Every automation has at least 2 parts. The trigger is the thing that happens. The action is what Airtable does next. When a new record shows up, that’s a trigger. Send an email, that’s an action. Usually an automation has one trigger but then may have several actions.

What should be your first Airtable automation?

One of the easiest Airtable automations to build is a form that sends you an email. For example, if you collect testimonials via Airtable, you can get pinged when a new testimonial gets submitted. Or if you run events, you can get a notification when someone new applies.

1. Build a form that adds a record to a table, like a contact form or a request form.
2. Open the Automations tab and make a new automation.
3. Choose a trigger of “when a record is created” and pick your table.
4. Add an action that sends you an email with the answers in it. You could use the inbuilt email option or Gmail integration. (Gmail is better for sending emails from your business domain)
5. Test it with a fake entry, then switch it on.

It’s a simple automation but I really love the dopamine hit it gives me when I can see someone leaving feedback. If you only use a table for a couple of things, you won’t need many automation runs. Your plan has a monthly allowance, so start small. I explain the limits in Is Airtable free?

How to Set Up an Airtable Automation

Name it so future you understands it

You can name the automation and every step inside it. Do it. “Automation 1” tells you nothing six months later. I name mine after the job they do, like “Send host email when a collab is agreed”. Then I name the trigger and each action too, like “Find the host’s record”. When something breaks, you’ll know exactly which step to look at.

Choose a trigger

The trigger is what starts the automation. You pick one trigger and tell Airtable which table to watch.

• When a record is created: a new row shows up, like a form entry.
• When a record is updated: someone changes a field you choose, like a status. Pick only the fields you care about so it doesn’t fire for every little edit.
• When a record matches conditions: a record meets rules you set, like Status is Approved and a date is filled in.
• When a form is submitted: someone fills in one of your Airtable forms.
• When a record enters a view: a record starts matching the filters on one of your views.
• At a scheduled time: it runs every day, week or month. I use this for daily checks.
• When a button is clicked: you press a button on a record and it kicks off.

If your trigger depends on a formula field, it can take a few minutes to fire. Airtable checks those about every 5 minutes if the base is open and roughly hourly if it isn’t.

Add conditions

Conditions are your “only if” rules. They sit after the trigger so the automation only carries on when something is true. For example, only send the email if Status is Approved. If it isn’t, the automation stops and nothing happens.

You can also add an “if” step in the middle, with one path for yes and a different path for no.

Choose your actions

Every automation ends by doing something. Sometimes it finds something first, then does something with what it found.

• Doing actions: send an email, send a Gmail message, create a record, update a record, send a Slack message, run a script, or ask Airtable’s AI to fill something in.
• Finding actions: Find records looks in a table for matches, like the record for a host or a coupon. The next action then uses what it found, like emailing that host or updating that coupon.

You can add up to 25 actions to one automation. I keep mine short, because shorter ones are easier to fix.

Test every step

Each step has a test button. Click it. Airtable uses a real record from your table to show you what would happen. Check the email text, the record it links, the field it updates. Testing a step can do the real thing, like sending the email, so put your own email address in while you test.

Switch it on and check the run history

Flip the switch at the top of the automation. It only works on changes made from then on, so it won’t touch records already sitting in your table.

After the first few runs, open the run history. Airtable shows every time it ran and whether it worked. If something went wrong, it tells you which step stopped.

Things you can automate using Airtable Automations

• Email yourself when a form gets filled in, like a testimonial or an application
• Link records between tables without picking them by hand
• Copy information from one table to another so you only type it once
• Add a new record in another table when something meets your rules, like saving the numbers from a retired offer
• Set up the dates, coupons and links for a flash sale
• Switch things on and off on the right day, like a live deal
• Send a follow-up email when a date is added to a record
• Chase late payments on set dates
• Add a task or a calendar entry when something gets agreed
• Remind yourself when something is due, like the day a collab email needs to go out
• Change a status when a box is ticked
• Check an email is ready before it gets scheduled, and stop if it isn’t
• Create a set of tasks from a template when you start a new project
• Send yourself a Slack message when something needs your attention
• Run a script for the jobs the built-in actions can’t do
• Let AI fill in a record and have an automation do the next job

My Airtable Automation Examples

Using Airtable automations to run affiliate collaborations

Affiliate collaborations are one of my biggest time savers. Affiliates request a coupon for their audience for a few days of their choosing via a form. I get an email telling me someone has submitted the form. I then create the coupon in ThriveCart and add it to Airtable. Airtable runs the rest of the collaboration for me. It sends them an email letting them know the coupon code and sending them access to my affiliate assets eg swipe copy. Another email goes out before the dates to remind them their coupon goes live in a few days so they can promote. Affiliate collabs like this generate sales and help me grow my audience as often I have affiliate links directed at a freebie too.

Using Airtable automations to run freebie swaps

When I went on maternity leave I ran a regular email series called Take It Tuesdays. Someone promoted one of my freebies and on a Tuesday I promoted theirs. I wanted it as automated as possible so my VA could run it. I built an email template in Kit and wrote the form questions so the answers could be copied and pasted straight into the email template.

1. The collab partner filled in a form requesting a link swap.
2. They got an email with the details of my freebies, how to link to them and where to find the swipe copy.
3. They chose a date to send.
4. My VA put that date into Airtable.
5. As soon as the date was there, a second email fired off telling them I’d set mine up.

Once the template, the forms, the follow-up emails and the automations were set up, everything after that was automated. Doing it by hand would probably have taken me a couple of hours for each swap. It was just happening and I was getting new subscribers every week without doing anything beyond telling people they could ask for a swap. I don’t have a VA any more and I don’t need one for this. AI could pull the answers into a draft email or add it to a scheduled automation. It isn’t running right now (since I returned from maternity leave,) but I wouldn’t rule out bringing it back.

Using Airtable automations to run sponsored highlights in my emails

Sometimes I offer my affiliates a sponsored highlight post in my Strategy Sunday emails, as a thank you for promoting me and my affiliate products. When an affiliate sends a solo email about me, I ask them to fill in a form with everything I need to make the little info box at the top of my emails. AI then pulls that from Airtable into Kit and updates it weekly. Those emails are always up to date and I don’t touch it. It’s really, really easy.

Using Airtable automations to fill in linked fields

I use a lot of linked fields in my Airtable hubs. For example linking offers to transactions, freebies to tripwires etc. Linking tables together usually means picking the right records by hand. I don’t want to do that. So I create a helper field with a formula and the automation copies the helper field into the link field. That creates the links between tables.

Using Airtable automations to mirror data between tables

I built a hub the other day and realised a lot of the data already lived in another table. I didn’t want to type it twice or keep it up to date in two places. Syncing a table in only works at the moment you create a table. Once a table has linked fields and automations, syncing a table in means setting everything up again. So I use an automation that runs a script and sends the information from one table to another as a mirror. I created that script using Claude Code.

I do this in the Brand Kit that my customers get when they get a hub. If someone has several of my hubs, they update their offers, affiliate links and freebies once in the Brand Kit and every hub gets it. I don’t want customers redoing those tables in each hub. So I include the script for them to set up something similar. It’s a more advanced one, so leave it until you’re comfortable with automations. If you like seeing how I think about building things, I share it all on my Watch Me Build page. It’s free, and I update it on my work days.

Using Airtable automations to turn a collab into the right record

When I decide to go for a collab, I set the record in my Potential Collaborations table to “Pursuing”. An automation checks what type of collab it is and creates a record in the right table, like Bundles, Summits, Freebie Swaps or Sponsorships. It copies over the dates, requirements, promo requirements and affiliate info, then links the two records together. I have one automation for each type of collab, so the details always land in the right place.

Using Airtable automations to send emails to hosts

I write my reply to the host in the collab record, then tick “Send to Host?”. The automation sends it. Nothing goes out until I tick the box so I can check it over before it gets sent.

Using Airtable automations to schedule promo emails in Kit

When a promo email is ready I tick “OK to schedule in Kit?” and a script checks it before anything happens. It stops and unticks the box if the subject, preview, body or link is missing. It also stops if a placeholder like [BUNDLE LINK] is still in the email or the send time is less than 30 minutes away. If it all looks good, it creates the broadcast in Kit and writes the Kit Broadcast ID and status back into Airtable.

Using Airtable automations to track what each collab brings in

I tick “Refresh now” on a Collab Results row and a script looks at everyone who joined through that collab (in a separate subscriber table,) using their “Joined via” tag. It works out how many subscribers I gained, how many were free and how many bought and what they spent after 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, a year and all time. Then it unticks the box. A second automation runs every morning and ticks the box for any row that hasn’t been checked in 27 days, so the numbers stay up to date without me.

Using Airtable automations to set up a flash sale

When I tick “Details locked in?” on a campaign, the automation builds my to-do list. It creates 3 rows in the Promo Plan table (the announcement email, the day-of reminder email and the launch social post) and 3 tasks (write the promo copy, set up the coupon codes in checkout and schedule the social posts). If I’ve set a bring-back start date (for a daily deals promo,) it adds a bring-back email and a task to check the bring-back coupon has switched over.

Using Airtable automations to switch deals on and off

Every deal has a start and end date. A helper field called “Should be live today?” works out the answer and an automation ticks “Live?” when a deal should go live and unticks it when the deal ends. Another one does the same for the bring-back price. I don’t have to remember to switch anything on or off. I then use a tool called Shareables which pulls those live deals onto a deals page on my website. The Page is always up to date and shows only live deals because of the Airtable automation that keeps on top of it!

Using Airtable automations to answer bonus claims

People can often claim a bonus when they buy through my affiliate links. I ask them to fill a form with their invoice etc. When I approve a claim, an automation emails them immediately with the bonus link and then ticks “Delivered?”. When I mark a claim as not eligible, I pick the reason and the automation sends the right email. There’s a different one for each reason such as they didn’t use my affiliate link, didn’t reach the minimum spend, weren’t one of the first buyers or bought outside the bonus dates. Then it ticks “Not eligible email sent?” so I know it’s done. If it’s something else, I write my own message. This means I can set up a bonus flash sale super quickly because all the infrastructure is already in place.

Using Airtable automations to keep my affiliate links up to date

When I approve a deal submission from a brand I haven’t promoted before, an automation creates a new row in My Affiliate Links and links it back to the deal. If I already have that brand, it updates the existing row instead. Every morning at 3am another automation archives ended deals by unticking the switch-on box and ticking “Archived”.

Using Airtable automations to keep the data from retired bumps

I have something I call my Funnel Footprint which is essentially a sync tool that pulls data into Airtable from Thrivecart and organises it to be able to extract data such as checkouts missing a bump or an upsell that’s performing better than others that I could use more often. It helps me boost my average order value (by up to 141%!) In the Airtable base that holds all this every sales page has a row showing its bumps, conversions and revenue. When I retire or replace a bump, I add a date to its “Reconfiguration Date” field. That date triggers an automation which adds a new record to the Retired Bump Revenue Log table with the bump’s price, conversions and revenue. That way the data and stats are saved, so I can still compare old bumps with new ones. So if I switch bump A for Bump B, I can actually see if that was a smart decision. If Bump B isn’t performing as well, I can just switch it back!

Using Airtable automations to chase failed payments

When a payment fails in ThriveCart, a webhook adds a row to my Failed Payments table and sets the first chaser for 3 days later. When that date arrives, an Airtable automation sends the chaser email from my business address, moves the row on to the next stage, sets the next date and logs what it did. There are 3 chasers in total, then a final notice. If they pay, a second webhook marks the row “Paid up” and the chasing stops. If the write-off date arrives without payment or a reply, a third automation creates a task for me to block them from buying from me again.

Using Airtable automations to handle refunds safely

Refunds happen in 2 steps, so I can’t click one by mistake. I tick “Step 1: Preview the refund” in my Refund & Dispute Log and a script writes out exactly what it would refund. It doesn’t refund anything. When I’m happy, I tick “Step 2: Approve the refund”. The script refunds the payment in ThriveCart and sets the status to “Resolved – Refunded”. Fortunately I don’t have to use this one very often!

Using Airtable automations to pause a payment plan

If a customer needs a payment break for a valid reason, I like to try and be as supportive as possible. So I do allow pauses for good reason. Inside Airtable I fill in “Pause for” and tick “Approve the pause”. The automation pauses their plan in ThriveCart, then fills in “Paused until” and “Pause status” so I can see it worked.

Using Airtable automations to send customer replies

I have Claude co-work reviewing emails in my inbox and drafting replies. It pulls the email, a summary and a draft reply into Airtable along with any notes I need to help me make a decision. I then approve customer replies inside Airtable or edit them until I’m happy. When a row in Customer Emails has the status “Approved – send it” and a draft reply, an automation sends it from Gmail and updates the status. It also checks the draft has no “[” left in it, so a placeholder can’t go out by accident. My tech support tickets work the same way, with a status of “Approved – send first email”.

Using Airtable automations to make pretty links

In my Lead attribution table where I create and track UTM links, I tick “Create pretty link” once the UTM link has been created. A script checks whether a pretty link already goes to the same place. If not, it asks Claude for 3 slug ideas, creates a neat and easy to remember link, checks the redirect works and fills in the “PrettyLink” and “PrettyLink note” fields. Then it unticks the box.

Using Airtable automations to collect my emails in one place

Every morning at 8:30 a script copies the emails I’m about to send into my Email Drafts table. It pulls in upcoming collab promo emails from my Collab Hub and any calendar entry with Email ticked as a platform. It only fills empty fields and never deletes anything. If the original disappears, it archives the row and logs what it did.

Using Airtable automations to tag subscribers in Kit

My subscriber profiles live in Airtable. Scheduled automations tag people in Kit from their profiles 3 times a day so I can segment them by how engaged they are, how many offers they have, if they are an affiliate or they’ve left a testimonial etc. They also sort them into groups every hour and fill in their Kit IDs, forms and funnels. Another one logs Kit subscribe and unsubscribe events as they happen, using a webhook. So now if I want to test a new offer with a small audience, I can select my most engaged customers. Or if my email deliverability takes a hit, I can just email my most engaged subscribers for a few days to get higher open rates which tells Gmail, Yahoo etc that people like opening my emails. Or I can use it to pull stats such as what percentage of my customers are affiliates? How many people have 2 or more offers?

Using Airtable automations to build my own to-do list

Some automations add a row to a Needs Leanne table whenever something needs me. It happens when promo emails have been drafted, when a promo has closed with prizes still unpaid, when a promo starts in 7 days, on the day winners get announced and when an offer is paused or retired but still showing on my site. The to-do list builds itself.

Using Airtable automations alongside AI

Claude fills in or drafts something in a record. The automation notices the change and does the next job. I stay in the middle with a tick box or a status, so nothing goes out without me.

• Customer replies. Claude drafts the reply in Customer Emails. I read it, make any edits and set the status to “Approved – send it”, then the automation sends it.
• Collab emails. Claude drafts the promo email in the Promo Emails table. I tick “OK to schedule in Kit?” and the automation checks it and builds the broadcast. I still write a lot of my own emails (because I actually like writing!) But promo emails for collab events often follow a similar format and feel easy to hand off.
• Collab records. Claude fills in the collab details from my emails. I set the decision to “Pursuing”, then the automation creates the matching record in the right table.

Claude never ticks those boxes for me. I do that bit.

My Airtable hubs come with the Airtable automations already built

I build Airtable hubs that work closely with AI skills. Every Airtable hub I build has its automations set up already. If building them yourself sounds like a lot, it’s done for you. You also get the interfaces and dashboards you’ll need, plus all the views and forms. The bit I love most is the AI skills. They feed in and out of the hub, so they help you fill it in, keep it tidy and make sure it gets used. They start working on their own when you use certain keywords, so there’s nothing to remember. My live Airtable hubs and tools show up below, and the list updates itself as I add more (*using the tool Shareables I mentioned above in this blog post!)

How to turn on the automations that come with an Airtable template

When automations come with a template, they usually arrive switched off. Open the Automations tab and toggle each one on.

• Emails. Add your own sign off and check who it sends to.
• Connected accounts like Gmail or Slack. Connect your own.
• Tables and fields. Make sure each automation points at the right ones.
• Test it with a fake record, then delete the record.

Many Airtable templates don’t have any automations at all. The usual way of sharing an Airtable template doesn’t include interfaces or automations, just the tables and views. There is a way to share them too, but not many people know how, so most templates don’t have them. Before you copy or buy a template, check whether the automations and interfaces are included. If they aren’t, you’ll need to build your own once you’ve got the template.

What can’t Airtable automations do?

I’d love to use buttons to trigger automations, but I’ve never managed to get them working. I’ve done a lot of troubleshooting and never found out why, maybe a glitch. If you know the answer, I’d love to hear it in the comments. Airtable automations are great at “when this changes, do that”. They can’t read an email and work out what it means, look something up on a website or make a judgement call.

• They only run on changes from the moment you switch them on. They don’t go back over records that already match.
• Adding a comment can’t trigger one.
• Triggers on formula fields are checked about every 5 minutes while the base is open and about once an hour when it isn’t, so they’re not instant.
• You can’t format a grid or list of records inside an email.
• You can’t link records using a primary field that’s a formula.

Automation Jobs I use Claude for instead

• Reading my inbox. Every morning Claude scans my Gmail for collab emails and fills in the matching records in my Collab Hub with the dates, links and requirements.
• Checking what went out in Kit. Claude looks at the emails I’ve sent and marks the matching Promo Emails rows as sent, so my hub doesn’t nag me about things I’ve already done. Another check in the evening tells me if tomorrow’s email isn’t scheduled yet.
• Keeping my Google Calendar right. Claude adds collab windows, promo emails and deadlines to my calendar from the dates in Airtable.
• Spotting affiliate promo proof. Twice a day Claude checks my Gmail for affiliates who’ve forwarded proof of a promo email, logs it in Promo Participation and drafts a thank-you.
• Judging feedback. Claude reads new feedback forms and decides if the feedback is genuine before anyone gets credit.
• Tidying my Task Manager. Every morning Claude moves leftover tasks from finished projects to “Future Job” and flags the ones that look stuck.
• Checking websites. Claude looks weekly for news I’d miss, like whether Airtable has launched an affiliate programme.

How many Airtable automations can you have?

There’s no minimum. Some of my hubs have none because they’re not needed. I add an automation when a job keeps coming round, when I keep forgetting a step or when something needs to go out on a set date.

• Each base can have up to 50 automations, and switched-off ones still count.
• Each automation can have up to 25 actions.
• Runs per month are shared across your whole workspace. It’s 100 on the Free plan, 25,000 on Team, 100,000 on Business and 500,000 on Enterprise Scale.
• Every time a trigger fires counts as a run, even if the actions fail. The count resets on the 1st of each month.
• The Free plan can’t run scripts.

You can see how all of this fits into the rest of my business in my Airtable review.

FAQs about Airtable automations

If you’d like to watch me build systems like this, I share it on my Watch Me Build page. It’s free, and I update it on my work days.

What’s the one job you’d love to never do by hand again? Tell me in the comments 👇