ATriggerAutopilotReal-timeUpdated May 2026

When does Autopilot fire on new contacts?

Short answer: Drop the "Autopilot → Contact Added" trigger on your workflow canvas, add filters if you want them, and publish. It fires within seconds of the event in Autopilot, not on a polling schedule.

Use this trigger All 2 Autopilot triggers

Anatomy

What this trigger looks like in a workflow.

Drop it on the canvas. Configure a couple of fields. Publish.

In the builder

TriggerA

Contact Added

When the matching event happens

when a new contact is added to autopilotwatch for contact addedwhen contact addednew contact addedon contact added

What this trigger returns

for the curious

You don’t need to read this. Tiny Command auto-maps every field into the visual picker so downstream nodes can pull values by clicking. We show it here for power users who want to know what’s on the wire.

{
  "name": "John Doe",
  "email": "john@example.com",
  "contact_id": "person_ABC123"
}

Output shape

Fields available to downstream nodes.

Every field below can be referenced by name in any action or filter that comes after this trigger.

Field	Type	Example
name	string	"John Doe"
email	string	"john@example.com"
contact_id	string	"person_ABC123"

Pairs with

Drop these actions after Contact Added.

Add Labels to Message

Gmail · Email

Raw API Request

Slack · Communication

Add Sheet Tab

Google Sheets · Spreadsheets & Databases

Create Company

HubSpot · CRM & Sales

FAQ

Questions about Contact Added.

How does the Contact Added trigger work in Autopilot?

Fires when a new contact is added to Autopilot (now Ortto) from any source — manual create, CSV import, API write, or form submission. Payload includes the full contact with custom fields. The base hook for "new lead → fan out to slack/sheet/CRM" patterns.

Is the Contact Added trigger real-time?

Yes. Contact Added uses webhooks or push subscriptions, not polling. Your workflow fires within seconds of the event happening in Autopilot.

What data does Contact Added return?

The full event payload from Autopilot. The output shape table on this page lists every field, its type, and an example value so you can map fields into downstream nodes.

Can I filter Contact Added so only some events start a workflow?

Yes. Add a Filter node right after the trigger and match on any field, whether that's subject, sender, status, or anything else in the payload. Workflows only continue when the filter passes.

Do I need Autopilot admin permissions to use Contact Added?

For most Autopilot accounts a standard user can authorize the trigger. Some Autopilot plans require an admin to enable third-party webhooks. Check Autopilot's docs if the trigger fails to register.

More triggers

Other Autopilot triggers.

Trigger

Contact Updated

Fires on any field change including custom-attribute writes and journey-state transitions. For specific change types (e.g., only when plan_tier becomes enterprise), inspect the previous_values vs current_values diff in the payload.

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