How to Use the Customer Replied Trigger in Sparkforge

By Sparkforge Support Team ·Last reviewed May 3, 2026

The Customer Replied trigger fires a workflow as soon as a contact responds to a message. Filters by phrase, tag, intent type, and reply channel keep automation focused on the replies that matter.

A reply is one of the strongest signals of intent. The Customer Replied trigger fires a workflow the moment a contact responds, so follow-up, routing, and pipeline updates happen instantly instead of after a manual review.

What it does

The trigger starts a workflow when a contact replies to any message. Filters narrow it to phrases, tags, intent type, or specific reply channels — so the same contact replying on SMS vs. email can fire entirely different automations.

Set up the trigger

Log in to your sub-account.
Go to Automation > Workflows.
Open an existing workflow or create a new one.
Click + Add New Trigger and select Customer Replied.
Enter a clear trigger name.
Click + Add Filters and configure the filters below.
Save the trigger, add actions, and publish.

Filter options

Contains Phrase — runs only when the reply includes specific words.
Exact Match Phrase — runs only on an exact match.
Has Tag / Doesn't Have Tag — include or exclude based on contact tags.
Intent Type — uses intent detection (positive, complaint, question, etc.).
Replied to Workflow — runs only when the contact replied to messages from a specific workflow.
Reply Channel — runs only when the reply came from a selected channel.

Reply Channel and All-in-One Chat

Reply Channel targeting lets you build separate automations for SMS, email, social, and chat. When you set Reply Channel = All-in-One Chat, two more filters appear:

Chat Type is — choose Chat Widget or Live Chat.
Specific widget/configuration — pick the exact widget if Chat Type is Chat Widget, or the exact Live Chat configuration if Chat Type is Live Chat.

Practical examples

When a reply contains price or quote, route to the sales workflow.
When intent type is complaint, alert a manager and create a support task.
When the reply channel is SMS, send a templated SMS reply; when it's email, route to a longer email sequence.
When a contact replies via the booking widget chat, drop them into a calendar follow-up sequence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trigger different workflows for different reply channels?

Yes. Use the Reply Channel filter on each workflow's trigger so SMS, email, and chat replies fire separate automations.

How does intent type detection work?

Sparkforge categorizes the reply content (positive response, complaint, question, etc.) and the trigger fires only when the reply matches the intent type you select.

What's the difference between Contains Phrase and Exact Match Phrase?

Contains Phrase fires when the reply includes the words anywhere in the message. Exact Match Phrase fires only when the reply is exactly the phrase you specified.

Does the trigger fire on replies from any channel by default?

Yes. If you don't set a Reply Channel filter, the trigger fires on any reply regardless of channel.