Collecting input from people
Pause an automation and ask a person for text, files or media — over a link, the inbox, email, a Work channel or the API.
Not every step of a process can be automated. The Collect User Input step pauses the run, asks a person for something, and continues with their answer.
What you can ask for
Text, images, audio, video, or documents of any kind — in one form, for one round or several. A form can be designed by hand, or generated by AI from what the step needs to find out.
How the person answers
| Channel | How it reaches them |
|---|---|
| Web link | A page with the form, answered in the browser |
| Inbox | The request appears in the dashboard inbox |
| An email with the request | |
| Work channel | Inside a Work conversation |
| API | Your own system submits the answer |
A step can have a stable public link — the same URL every time — so it can be printed on a page, sent in a message, or bookmarked by the team that answers it.
Answers
The answers become variables in the automation, available to every step after it. You decide whether a submission is final, or whether the person can resubmit — useful when a form might need correcting after review.
Tip
Keep forms short and ask for exactly what the next step uses. A form that is quick to answer is answered quickly, which is what keeps a paused run from waiting for days.