> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trysight.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom Automations

> Build scheduled workflows from Sight AI's agent tool catalog — analytics, content, keywords, opportunities, indexing, and more.

## When to use custom automations

**Template automations** cover the six most common SEO workflows out of the box. Use a **custom automation** when you need something more specific:

* A recurring report that pulls GSC + AI visibility data and summarizes trends
* A keyword hygiene job that adds tracked prompts or flags stale articles
* A multi-step content workflow that doesn't map to a single specialist agent
* A scheduled check that posts to Slack when setup health blockers appear

Custom automations give you the same scheduling, notifications, and activity logging as templates — but **you** write the instructions and choose which tools the automation may call.

## Create a custom automation

### From the Automations page

1. Go to **Automations** → **New automation**
2. Choose **Custom**
3. Fill in:
   * **Name** — descriptive label
   * **Instructions** — what the automation should do each run (be specific)
   * **Allowed tools** — check the tools it may call (grouped by category)
   * **Schedule** — cron preset or manual-only
   * **Notifications** — optional email/Slack on completion
4. Save and enable

### From Agent chat

Ask Sight AI Agent to create one for you:

```
Every Monday, list keywords with no article, pick the top 5 by search volume,
and generate articles for them. Schedule it weekly.
```

The agent uses the `createCustomAction` tool to propose name, instructions, tools, and schedule. Review and confirm before it saves.

<Warning>
  Automations run with **auto-confirm** — state-changing tools execute without a second approval prompt. Only grant tools your instructions actually need, especially mutating ones (generate article, sync, add keywords, send outreach).
</Warning>

## Tool catalog overview

Tools are grouped in the builder by category:

| Category                | Examples                                                        | Typical use                     |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| **Awareness & setup**   | `getSiteSituation`, `getAccountHealth`, `list_sites`            | Health checks, setup audits     |
| **Search analytics**    | `get_search_overview`, `get_search_queries`, `get_search_pages` | GSC reporting                   |
| **AI visibility**       | `get_ai_visibility_summary`, `listTrackedPrompts`               | AI mention tracking             |
| **Opportunities**       | `list_opportunities`, `get_opportunities_readiness`             | Queue inspection before acting  |
| **Content & articles**  | `generate_article`, `update_article`, `sync_article`            | Content creation and CMS sync   |
| **Keywords**            | `list_keywords`, `add_keywords`, `get_keywords_summary`         | Keyword pool management         |
| **Autopilot & planner** | `manage_planner`, `schedule_article`, `setAutopilot`            | Planner and Autopilot control   |
| **Indexing**            | `submit_sitemap_gsc`, `submit_article_indexnow`                 | Indexing submissions            |
| **SEO report & agents** | `getSeoReport`, `runSeoAudit`, `run_agent`                      | Audits and on-demand agent runs |
| **Inbox**               | `list_inbox`, `reply_to_message`                                | Outreach inbox (Advanced)       |
| **Research**            | Web research tools                                              | Deep dives for custom reports   |
| **Memory**              | `remember`                                                      | Persist facts for future runs   |

Mutating tools are flagged in the builder so you can see which selections change live data.

See the complete list with descriptions in the [Automation tools reference](/automations/automation-tools).

### MCP connector tools

If your team has connected [MCP connectors](/integrations/mcp-connectors), an additional tool group appears in the picker for each enabled connector — Ahrefs, HubSpot, Notion, Zapier, and others. Tools are grouped by provider name.

<Warning>
  Connector tools granted on an automation run with **auto-confirm** during scheduled runs, even if they're set to **Ask first** in chat. Only grant connector tools your instructions actually need.
</Warning>

## Execution limits

Custom automations run on **Claude Opus** with these guardrails:

| Limit                  | Value                                                                                    |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Max tool steps per run | 15                                                                                       |
| Max tools grantable    | 30 per automation                                                                        |
| Auto-confirm           | On (no human approval during scheduled runs)                                             |
| Credit gate            | Blocked at 0 AI credits                                                                  |
| `createCustomAction`   | **Not available** in scheduled runs (prevents automations from spawning automations)     |
| Connector tools        | Up to 80 total across all connectors; see [MCP Connectors](/integrations/mcp-connectors) |

Template automations use the dedicated specialist engines instead and have their own action budgets (typically 2–10 actions per run).

## Example custom automations

### Weekly SEO digest

**Instructions:**

```
Pull search overview and AI visibility summary for this site. Compare to last week.
List the top 5 queries gaining impressions and top 3 AI prompts where we're not mentioned.
Write a concise bullet summary suitable for a team standup.
```

**Tools:** `get_search_overview`, `get_ai_visibility_summary`, `get_search_queries`, `listTrackedPrompts`

**Schedule:** Weekly — Monday at 9 AM UTC

***

### Keyword gap filler

**Instructions:**

```
List keywords with status no_article. Sort by priority. Generate articles for up to 2
keywords that don't already have a draft in progress. Do not exceed 2 articles per run.
```

**Tools:** `get_keywords_summary`, `list_keywords`, `get_article_limits`, `generate_article`, `get_article`

**Schedule:** Every weekday at 9 AM UTC

***

### Post-publish sync check

**Instructions:**

```
List articles in ready status that haven't synced to CMS in the last 7 days.
For each, check sync status and attempt sync if CMS is connected. Summarize results.
```

**Tools:** `list_articles`, `get_cms_status`, `get_article_sync_status`, `sync_article`

**Schedule:** Daily at 6 PM UTC

## Instructions that work well

Good custom automation instructions are:

* **Specific** — "Generate up to 2 articles" not "generate some articles"
* **Bounded** — include max counts, score thresholds, or date ranges
* **Conditional** — "Skip if CMS is not connected" or "Only act on opportunities above score 65"
* **Output-oriented** — "Write a 5-bullet summary of actions taken" helps the activity log

Site **memory** (facts the agent remembers about your site) is injected automatically into every run, so you don't need to repeat brand voice or competitor names in every automation.

## Custom vs. template: decision guide

| Need                                                     | Use                                                |
| -------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Clear Content Gap articles on a schedule                 | Search Opportunity **template**                    |
| Refresh rising pages                                     | Article Boost **template**                         |
| Weekly Lighthouse report                                 | Site Performance **template**                      |
| Cross-domain report combining GSC + AI + keywords        | **Custom**                                         |
| One-off multi-step workflow you'll iterate in chat first | **Custom** (start manual-only, add schedule later) |

## API and MCP

Custom automations created in the UI are stored per site and are **not yet exposed** on the v1 REST or MCP API. Programmatic agent control today uses the legacy agent config endpoints:

* `GET/PUT /api/v1/sites/{siteId}/agents/{agentKey}`
* `POST /api/v1/sites/{siteId}/agents/{agentKey}/run`

See [Agents API reference](/developers/api-reference/agents) and [MCP setup](/developers/mcp-setup) for programmatic access to template agent keys.

## Next steps

* [Automation tools reference](/automations/automation-tools) — every tool, category, and mutating flag
* [MCP connectors](/integrations/mcp-connectors) — connect SEO tools, analytics, CRMs, and custom MCP servers
* [Getting started](/automations/getting-started) — schedules, notifications, enable/disable
* [Agent templates](/automations/agent-templates) — when a specialist agent is the right fit
* [Monitoring](/automations/monitoring-and-troubleshooting) — read activity logs and debug failed runs