Use preferences and lookups
Preference nodes handle recorded messaging choices. Lookup nodes assess an address. Use their results to make an explicit decision before a later action.
This guide covers the Automations dashboard preview, which is not yet generally available.
Read a messaging preference
- Add List preferences before the decision step.
- Set the channel and address filters needed for the decision.
- Add a Branch that checks the returned records.
- Handle an empty result and any next-page cursor explicitly.
An empty page does not establish consent. A granted preference may coexist with a broader channel or sender restriction. The sending channel still checks whether the message is permitted.
Record a preference
- Add Record preference and configure the channel, address, scope, and statement data.
- Use data that represents the person's actual choice and supporting evidence.
- Check the output's applied value before reporting that the statement took effect.
An accepted action can return applied: false when an older statement is refused. The action's success path alone does not prove a new preference change. When applied is true, the choice may already have been reflected in the record.
Do not retry a grant to override a person's opt-out. Automation writes follow the preference rules and do not replace the channel's unsubscribe processing.
Assess a phone number
- Add Look up phone number and supply an international number.
- Select the intelligence properties the workflow needs.
- Branch on a property's status before reading its answer.
A requested property can be unanswered even when the lookup action succeeds. An unavailable reachability result does not mean unreachable. Keep an unknown-result path for unanswered or unfamiliar statuses.
Assess an email address
- Add Look up email address and map the address to inspect.
- Read the assessment result in Step preview or a run's recorded output.
- Configure a branch for the outcomes relevant to the workflow.
A valid assessment does not guarantee delivery. A suggested correction is a separate value; it does not update a contact or redirect a later send automatically. Confirm a correction with the person who supplied the address before using it.
Lookup output is the assessment recorded for that step. Reusing it does not run another query. A new lookup step or a new run can create another charge.