Smart Actions & Triggers
Learn how to use AVA’s custom actions and triggers inside GoHighLevel workflows to launch calls, process results, and automate client journeys.
Overview
AVA Voice AI connects directly with GoHighLevel (GHL) to let you automate phone-based workflows using intelligent voice agents. This integration works through Smart Actions and Smart Triggers that you can use inside GHL’s automation builder to launch calls, respond to outcomes, and update your CRM — all without touching the phone yourself. Whether you’re sending outbound calls to fresh leads or processing incoming calls through an AI receptionist, AVA’s tools make it easy to plug voice automation into your existing GHL setup. The goal is simple: reduce manual follow-ups, capture every call detail, and ensure no contact slips through the cracks.How It Works
In GHL, every workflow starts with a Trigger — a real-time event that kicks things off. Once a trigger fires, the system executes one or more Actions — tasks like sending a text, tagging a contact, or launching an AVA call. AVA introduces its own unique set of Triggers and Actions, designed specifically for AI phone interactions. These aren’t generic automations — they’re tightly connected to AVA’s outbound and inbound calling systems, which means they can respond to call outcomes, deliver pre-scripted messages, and route data directly into your workflows. If you’re using AVA with GHL or NIKO (our custom version of GHL for business users), you’ll be working with three core workflow tools: two Triggers and one premium Action.Available AVA Smart Actions & Triggers
Actions
Triggers
AVA as an Action
Actions are about doing. When a workflow is triggered, you can tell AVA to launch a phone call to the contact — this is done using the Dynamic Outbound Call action. This premium action lets you initiate a full AI call, using any AVA Scenario you’ve set up (like a scheduler, sales follow-up, or data collection script). You can personalize the agent’s name, voice, introduction, and even control what voicemail message is left. You’ll also configure key details such as the outbound number (selected from your AVA account), your booking calendar, and optional Customer Insight text, which helps the AI carry context from prior interactions. If you don’t have a time zone for the contact, AVA will fall back to your default time zone. Once the call finishes, all the call results — transcript, sentiment, appointment outcome, and more — are pushed back into GHL, so you can use them in follow-ups.AVA as a Trigger
Triggers are about listening. When something happens — a call ends, an agent receives a ring — AVA can notify your workflow and pass along important data. Two AVA-specific triggers are currently available:1. Contact Called (Outbound Trigger)
This trigger fires whenever AVA completes an outbound call. You can use it to branch your workflow based on Call Status (such as Meeting Booked, No Answer, or Voicemail) or other payload values like Sentiment, Transcript, or Call Duration. For example, if AVA books a meeting, you might send a confirmation email and tag the lead as “Hot.” If the call was marked as “Voicemail,” you could add the contact to a reminder sequence for a retry. You can also use this trigger to update contact fields, add notes, or enrich your CRM with payload data AVA returns from the call.2. Inbound Agent Is Being Called (Inbound Trigger)
This trigger activates when someone calls an AVA receptionist — like an inbound agent set up to handle live inquiries, FAQs, or appointment scheduling. When the call starts, the trigger gives you access to the caller’s phone number and any context AVA captured. Your workflow can then check whether the caller already exists in your CRM. If they do, you can log notes or follow up. If they don’t, you can automatically create a contact, assign a tag, and map AVA’s data into your contact fields (such as Time Zone, State, or Source). This is especially useful for teams that want to keep inbound lead handling hands-free.How They Work Together
You might use a trigger to listen for completed AVA calls and take action based on how they went. Or you might use a GHL-native trigger like “Form Submitted” to launch an outbound AVA call using the action. The best part is, you can combine all of this with conditional branches and multi-step logic to create advanced sequences. Here’s how it plays out in practice:- A lead submits a form → GHL workflow starts → AVA makes a call
- The call ends → Contact Called trigger fires → workflow logs transcript, tags contact, and emails your team
- A business gets an inbound call → Inbound Agent trigger fires → checks if caller exists → creates new contact if not → logs call summary and tags for follow-up
Setup Recommendations
While setting up your AVA workflows, keep these practical tips in mind:- Use the Raw Phone Number field when passing phone data into AVA actions. This ensures AVA can dial properly.
- Always include a fallback value (like “NA”) for required fields like Voicemail Message, even if you’re not using them.
- Map payload fields from the AVA trigger carefully — you’ll find them under
Ava Voice AI → Contact CalledorInbound Agent Call. - Double-check that your calendar ID is active and copied correctly when setting up scheduling scenarios.
- For inbound triggers, always define how to handle both found and not-found contacts.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
General Questions
What are Smart Actions and Triggers?
What are Smart Actions and Triggers?
Smart Actions and Triggers are AVA’s voice-specific automation tools inside GoHighLevel or NIKO. Triggers like “Contact Called” and “Inbound Agent Is Being Called” start workflows based on call events. Actions like “Dynamic Outbound Call” launch AI calls as part of any workflow.
Do GHL workflows sync with AVA projects automatically?
Do GHL workflows sync with AVA projects automatically?
Scenarios you select or create inside your GHL or NIKO workflows are automatically synced and visible inside the AVA platform. This two-way sync ensures that AVA is aware of which projects are in use, but you’ll still need to manually configure details like call script fields inside the workflow builder.
Can I use these features in standard GoHighLevel or only NIKO?
Can I use these features in standard GoHighLevel or only NIKO?
All AVA Smart Actions and Triggers work in both GoHighLevel and NIKO. The naming and UI may vary slightly, but functionality is identical.
Configuration
What information can I use in a workflow after a call is completed?
What information can I use in a workflow after a call is completed?
AVA passes back a full set of payload values such as transcript, call sentiment, meeting duration, call start time, and call status. You can access these in any follow-up step using the tag icon inside GHL actions.
What if the contact doesn't exist in my CRM during an inbound call?
What if the contact doesn't exist in my CRM during an inbound call?
If a contact isn’t found when an inbound call is received, the workflow can be configured to create one automatically. AVA provides all necessary fields, including phone number, time zone, and state, to populate a new contact.
Is the voicemail message required in Dynamic Outbound Call?
Is the voicemail message required in Dynamic Outbound Call?
Yes, the field is required. If you’re not using voicemail, enter “NA” to allow the workflow to publish successfully.
Usage and Results
Can I run multiple workflows based on the same call?
Can I run multiple workflows based on the same call?
Yes. You can create separate workflows using the “Contact Called” trigger and apply different call status filters (e.g., Meeting Booked, No Answer, Voicemail). This gives you control over how different outcomes are handled.
Can I use call sentiment in my logic?
Can I use call sentiment in my logic?
Absolutely. Call Sentiment is available as a taggable field. For example, you could use it to push positive leads to a closer or escalate negative responses to your team.
What’s the best way to retry calls that resulted in no answer?
What’s the best way to retry calls that resulted in no answer?
Use the Contact Called trigger filtered for “No Answer” and tag the contact for a retry. You can also build a delay and schedule a new Dynamic Outbound Call for a different time slot using their time zone.
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