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A trigger is how an agent starts. It is the first node on the builder canvas, and it decides whether your agent is a chat-first Assistant you talk to or a hands-off Automation that runs on its own. Pick the trigger that matches the job, then configure who the run acts as.
The visual agent builder showing a Chat Trigger connected to an Erstan action node, with the Add Step panel

The visual agent builder

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Trigger types

Every agent has exactly one trigger. The trigger you choose also shapes the agent: a Chat Trigger makes a chat agent (an Assistant or Workforce), while a Form Input or Schedule trigger makes a pipeline-style Automation.
In the agent library, the Trigger filter labels these as Chat message, Form submission, Scheduled event, Webhook, Email, and Manual so you can find agents by how they start.

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Chat trigger

The default for an Assistant Agent or Workforce Agent. The agent listens for your messages and replies, planning and calling tools as needed. A Chat trigger always makes the agent interactive — you stay in the conversation and approve any writes to NetSuite. See Chatting with agents.

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Form trigger

A Form Input trigger turns an agent into an Automation that runs from a small form. You define the fields someone fills in (for example, a customer ID and an aging threshold), and each submission starts one run with those values. Good for repeatable requests that anyone on the team can kick off without writing a prompt.

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Schedule trigger

A Schedule trigger runs the agent on a recurring cadence — minutes, hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. Schedules live in the agent’s Schedules section on its run history page, where you can add, pause, resume, and edit them. Remove an agent-owned schedule trigger in the visual builder; recurring task schedules can also be run immediately or deleted. See Scheduling agent runs for the full setup.

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Webhook and email triggers

These open the agent to inbound automation from outside Erstan — covered in detail below.

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Run As: which identity an automated run uses

When an agent runs by itself — on a schedule, from a form, a webhook, or an email — there is no person clicking buttons. Run As decides which NetSuite user identity the run acts under, so that any reads and writes use a real, authorized account. Because NetSuite uses per-user authorization, the chosen user must have authorized their own NetSuite access and consented to let the agent run on their behalf. The builder surfaces the current state on the trigger:
1

Open the trigger

In the builder, select the trigger node and open Trigger setup.
2

Choose the Run As identity

Pick the user the automated run should act as. For NetSuite work this should be a user with the right role and permissions.
3

Capture consent

If prompted with Needs consent, have that user authorize the agent to run under their identity.
4

Publish

Once Run As reads Configured, you can publish. Publishing is blocked until it is set.
Run As governs whose NetSuite account performs reads and writes. An automated run can create or change records on that user’s behalf, so set it to a user with appropriate permissions and keep NetSuite write approvals in place. See Approvals before turning on Auto-approve writes.
Chat agents don’t need Run As — they run as the person chatting. Run As matters only for triggers that fire without a live user (form, schedule, webhook, email).

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Webhook & email triggers for inbound automation

Webhook and email triggers let other systems — or a forwarded email — start an Erstan agent. Both produce an Automation and run under the trigger’s Run As identity.
A Webhook trigger gives the agent a URL that an external system can call to start a run, passing data in the request. Use it to wire Erstan into another app’s events — a new order, an approval in another tool, a nightly export. Configure the endpoint in the builder’s Trigger setup, and call it from your system. For request formats, authentication, and starting runs programmatically, see the Developer API.
Inbound triggers are most useful with an Automation that has clear steps and approval gates. Test with Preview in the builder before pointing real traffic at the trigger.

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FAQs

The trigger reflects the agent’s shape. Chat agents (Assistant, Workforce) keep a Chat trigger; Automations use Form, Schedule, Webhook, or Email. To run the same agent a different way, add a schedule or run it manually rather than swapping its core trigger.
A triggered agent must have its Run As set to Configured (and consented if required) before it can be published. Open the trigger’s Trigger setup, choose an identity, and resolve any consent prompt.
The run is blocked with a Connection required banner until the NetSuite connection and per-user authorization are in place. See connector troubleshooting.

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Next steps

Build an agent

Add triggers and steps on the visual canvas.

Schedule recurring runs

Set up daily, weekly, or monthly automations.

Run agents via the API

Start runs from webhooks and external systems.

Publish & lifecycle

Move an agent from Draft to Live.