---
title: Automation customization
related:
  - https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/business-users/digital-marketing/automation.md
---

> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).

> **License:** Advanced license required.
>
> Features described on this page require the Xperience by Kentico **Advanced** license tier.

Xperience by Kentico allows developers to extend marketing [automation](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/business-users/digital-marketing/automation.md) with custom components. These components appear in the Automation Builder UI alongside built-in steps and triggers, and can be configured by marketers.

The following types of custom automation components are available:

- [Custom automation steps](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-steps.md) – developer-created steps that extend the Automation Builder. Steps include:
  - **Custom actions** that perform project-specific logic (e.g., CRM synchronization, notifications, data enrichment).
  - **Custom conditions** that branch the process based on custom logic.
- [Custom automation triggers](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-triggers.md) – developer-defined triggers that start automation processes from application code. Activate triggers programmatically from event handlers, API endpoints, background tasks, etc.

Common use cases for customizing automation include:

- Starting automation processes based on custom project requirements
- Synchronizing contact data to external CRMs
- Sending notification emails or SMS to internal users
- Enriching contact profiles from third-party data sources

> **Tip:** **AI-assisted automation development**
>
> The [digital experience plugin](https://github.com/Kentico/xperience-by-kentico-kenticopilot/tree/main/plugins/kentico-digital-experience) from [KentiCopilot](https://docs.kentico.com/guides/development/kenticopilot.md) builds custom automation components with AI assistance. Each skill studies the components your project already has and mirrors their conventions.
>
> - `automation-action` builds [custom actions](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-steps.md#create-custom-actions), including their [marketer-configurable properties](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-steps.md#step-properties) and registration.
> - `automation-condition` builds [custom conditions](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-steps.md#create-custom-conditions) that branch a process, with optional properties.
> - `automation-trigger` builds [custom triggers](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-triggers.md) and adds the code that [fires them](https://docs.kentico.com/documentation/developers-and-admins/digital-marketing-setup/automation-customization/automation-custom-triggers.md#fire-triggers-from-code) from your application.