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Action Execution Overview

Thread’s automation engine orchestrates the entire action lifecycle—from triggering to draft generation to customer delivery. Understanding this system helps you leverage automation effectively. [SCREENSHOT: Action execution flow diagram] Caption: From milestone start to customer response, Thread automates the workflow

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The Action Lifecycle

Milestone Starts
    ↓
Trigger Evaluates
    ↓
AI Generates Draft (if applicable)
    ↓
Action Status: "Ready"
    ↓
CSM Reviews & Edits
    ↓
CSM Executes
    ↓
Customer Receives
    ↓
Customer Responds
    ↓
Action Status: "Completed"

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Trigger Types

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milestone_start (Most Common)

When it fires: When the parent milestone’s status changes to “in_progress” Configuration: 
{
  trigger: {
    type: "milestone_start",
    delay_hours: 0  // or 24, 48, 72, etc.
  }
}
Examples:
Use for: Welcome emails, milestone announcements
Kickoff milestone starts → Welcome email triggers immediately
Action appears in CSM review queue within minutes.
Delays are calculated from when the milestone starts, not when it’s created. If you create a milestone but don’t start it, triggers won’t fire.

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Manual

When it fires: Never automatically—CSM must manually trigger Configuration: 
{
  trigger: {
    type: "manual"
  }
}
Use cases:
  • Meetings (CSM schedules when ready)
  • Complex tasks requiring preparation
  • Conditional actions (only for some customers)
  • Executive business reviews
How CSMs trigger:
  1. Navigate to Implementation Tab
  2. Find manual action
  3. Click “Generate Draft” or “Execute”
  4. Action processes like auto-triggered actions

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Action Trigger Processing

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How Thread Processes Triggers

1

Milestone Status Change

CSM starts a milestone → status changes to “in_progress”
2

Scan for Triggers

Thread scans all actions in this milestone for milestone_start triggers
3

Immediate Triggers Fire

Actions with delay_hours: 0 immediately added to execution queue
4

Scheduled Triggers Queued

Actions with delays added to scheduled_action_executions table with target execution time
5

Cron Job Processes Schedule

Hourly cron job checks for actions whose execution time has arrived
6

Drafts Generated

For each triggered action, AI generates draft content (if applicable)
7

Ready for Review

Actions appear in CSM Implementation Tab with status “ready”
[SCREENSHOT: Trigger processing timeline] Caption: Timeline showing when actions trigger and appear for CSM review

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Action Generation

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Which Actions Get AI Generation?

AI-Generated

  • Send Email (subject + body)
  • Collect Info (intro text)
  • Slack Message (message content)

Template-Based

  • Request Docs (uses configured template)
  • Schedule Meeting (uses configured agenda)
  • Collect Info fields (pre-configured)

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Generation Context

AI uses this context to generate drafts:
  • Company name
  • ARR
  • Close date
  • Primary contact info
  • Industry and size
  • Account notes
  • Milestone name and description
  • Action label and purpose
  • Content template/structure
  • Variables to interpolate
  • Primary use case
  • Customer goals
  • Known risks/challenges
  • Stakeholders
  • Technical environment
  • What’s been sent already
  • Customer responses
  • Timeline and progress
  • Established tone/style

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Generation Quality

High quality when:
  • ✅ Rich account data available
  • ✅ Detailed handoff Q&A
  • ✅ Clear action purpose in template
  • ✅ Good content template with examples
Lower quality when:
  • ❌ Minimal account data
  • ❌ Skipped or sparse handoff
  • ❌ Vague action purpose
  • ❌ Generic content template
The more context you provide (account notes, handoff answers, template details), the better the AI-generated drafts will be!

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Action Execution

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What Happens When CSM Clicks “Execute”

  1. Variable interpolation ({{company_name}} → “Acme Corp”)
  2. Email sent via email service (Resend)
  3. From address: CSM email or org default
  4. Recipients: To/CC/BCC as configured
  5. Action status → “executed”
  6. Email logged in action history

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Execution is Irreversible

Once you click “Execute”, the action is sent/created immediately. There’s no “undo” button!
What you CAN’T undo:
  • Emails already sent
  • Forms/docs already in customer portal
  • Slack messages already posted
  • Meetings already scheduled
What you CAN do after execution:
  • Send a follow-up email correcting mistakes
  • Create a new form/doc request
  • Post a follow-up Slack message
  • Reschedule meetings

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Action Completion

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Auto-Completing Actions

These actions complete automatically when customer responds:
Completes when: All required documents uploadedProcess:
  1. Customer uploads file in portal
  2. Thread validates file (type, size)
  3. If all required docs uploaded → status: “completed”
  4. CSM receives notification
  5. CSM can download and review docs

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Manual-Completing Actions

These require CSM to mark complete:
Mark complete when:
  • Customer replies (task done)
  • Reasonable time passed (move on)
  • Followed up via other channel
How:
  1. Click action in Implementation Tab
  2. Click “Mark as Complete”
  3. Add completion note (optional)
  4. Confirm

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Monitoring Action Execution

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Action Status Dashboard

[SCREENSHOT: Action status summary showing counts by status] Caption: See how many actions are pending, ready, executed, completed Key metrics:
  • Ready count: Actions needing CSM review
  • Executed count: Actions sent, awaiting customer response
  • Overdue count: Actions past expected completion
  • Blocked count: Actions stuck on issues

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Execution Timeline

Each account shows execution timeline: 
Day 1:  Kickoff starts → 3 actions triggered
Day 2:  2 actions executed, 1 pending customer response
Day 3:  Follow-up triggered → 1 action ready for review
Day 5:  Technical form triggered → ready for review
...
[SCREENSHOT: Account timeline showing action execution history] Caption: Visual timeline of when actions triggered and executed

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Troubleshooting Execution

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”Action Didn’t Trigger”

Problem: Milestone started but action didn’t appear Possible causes:
  1. Action has delay—check scheduled executions
  2. Trigger type is “manual”—CSM must trigger
  3. System error—check logs or contact support
Solutions:
  • Check scheduled_action_executions for delayed actions
  • Manually trigger if needed
  • Regenerate draft if missing

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”Draft Generation Failed”

Problem: Action triggered but no draft content Possible causes:
  1. OpenAI API error (temporary)
  2. Insufficient context data
  3. Invalid template configuration
Solutions:
  • Click “Regenerate” to retry
  • Add more account context
  • Manually write content if urgent

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”Customer Didn’t Receive Action”

Problem: Email sent or form created, but customer can’t see it Possible causes:
  1. Email in spam folder
  2. Portal not accessible
  3. Wrong email address
  4. Portal action not visible
Solutions:
  • Ask customer to check spam
  • Verify portal link working
  • Check email address in account
  • Verify action portal visibility setting

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Best Practices

Use Delays Strategically

Space actions 24-72 hours apart to avoid overwhelming customers

Monitor Ready Queue

Check “ready” actions daily—don’t let them pile up

Execute Promptly

Review and execute within 24 hours of becoming ready

Mark Complete Quickly

Don’t leave executed actions lingering—mark done when done

Track Patterns

Note which actions frequently need editing or get skipped

Provide Feedback

Tell template owners what’s working and what’s not

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Next Steps

Scheduled Actions

Deep dive into delayed action execution

AI Generation

Learn how AI creates action drafts

Implementation Tab

Master the CSM workspace for action review

Action Types

Complete reference for all action types