Triggers determine when products enter an AI Workflow.
Every workflow starts with a trigger. The trigger defines:
which products should be processed
when the workflow should run
how products move into the automation pipeline
Without a trigger, a workflow cannot execute actions.
How triggers work
Triggers use rule based logic to monitor and select products.
When a product matches the configured conditions, the workflow can start processing it.
Example trigger rules:
Description is empty
Category equals Running Shoes
Status is enabled
Brand equals Nike
Only products matching the configured rules enter the workflow.
Available trigger types
AI Workflows currently support the following trigger types:
One-time triggers
Continuous triggers
Additional trigger types, such as import based triggers, may be added in the future.
One-time triggers
A one-time trigger processes all currently matching products once.
After execution is completed, the workflow stops automatically unless manually restarted.
This is useful for:
bulk enrichment projects
initial catalog cleanup
large translation runs
supplier data improvements
one time migrations
Example
Trigger rules:
Description is empty
Status is enabled
When the workflow starts:
all currently matching products are processed once
newly added products are not processed automatically afterward
Continuous triggers
A continuous trigger continuously monitors your catalog.
Whenever a new product matches the configured rules, the workflow automatically processes it.
This creates an ongoing automation pipeline.
Example
Trigger rules:
Shopping description is empty
Category equals Electronics
Whenever a new matching product appears:
the workflow starts automatically
actions execute automatically
no manual intervention is required
Continuous workflows are useful for
Continuous workflows are ideal for:
automatic enrichment pipelines
ongoing translations
catalog quality monitoring
automated validation
recurring synchronization processes
They help keep product data continuously updated over time.
Rule based targeting
Triggers use the rule builder to define which products should enter the workflow.
This allows highly targeted automation.
Examples:
Only enrich products from a specific supplier
Only translate products missing German content
Only process products missing attributes
Only validate products ready for publishing
This prevents unnecessary AI processing and helps control workflow scope.
Trigger entities
Triggers operate on a selected entity type.
Currently supported:
Product
Future entity types may include:
Categories
Pages
Blocks
Other catalog objects
Source store selection
Triggers can also target a specific store scope.
Examples:
Global
Store specific catalogs
Regional store views
This allows workflows to operate only on relevant store data.
Product count preview
While configuring a trigger, Elovate displays how many products currently match the configured rules.
This helps you:
validate your conditions
avoid accidental large executions
estimate workflow size
control AI processing volume
Example:
A trigger may show:
56 matching products
12,000 matching products
3 matching products
before the workflow is created.
Editing triggers
Triggers can be updated after workflow creation.
You can:
change rules
modify conditions
update workflow scope
pause workflows
reactivate workflows
This allows workflows to evolve with your catalog strategy.
Trigger best practices
Start with small scopes
When testing new workflows:
use limited product sets
validate prompt quality
review outputs carefully
before scaling to larger catalogs.
Use precise conditions
Avoid overly broad workflows.
Good example:
Category equals Running Shoes
Brand equals Nike
Description is empty
Less effective example:
Status is enabled
Precise targeting improves output quality and reduces unnecessary processing.
Separate workflows by purpose
Instead of one large workflow handling everything, create focused workflows.
Example:
Translation workflow
Attribute extraction workflow
SEO enrichment workflow
This improves maintainability and debugging.
Future trigger types
Additional trigger types may be added over time.
Planned examples may include:
Import based triggers
Synchronization triggers
Scheduled triggers
Event based automation
Example future scenario:
"When an import finishes, automatically enrich and translate all imported products."
Example trigger flow
Example:
A webshop wants to enrich eco products automatically.
Trigger:
Category contains Eco
Status is enabled
Actions:
Extract sustainability attributes
Generate SEO descriptions
Translate content
Synchronize approved output
Whenever products match the trigger rules, the workflow begins automatically.