Automation questions that show which jobs users want off their plate
Ask users whether they automate, how building a rule went and which jobs they still do by hand. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What workflow automation survey questions tell you
Workflow automation survey questions ask users whether they have set up rules, how easy the first one was, how reliable rules are, how comfortable they are letting the product act alone and which jobs they still do by hand every week. Each rule a user sets up is work your product does for them every week, and the answers show whether the blocker is the builder, a missing trigger or trust.
Ask right after a user saves or runs a first rule, inside the product, and the wider questions in a survey to active users by email. Pick four or five: whether they automate, the ease of the first rule, what stops them automating more, reliability and the job still done by hand.
Written answers get a theme and a type, so a failing rule is filed as a bug and a missing trigger as an idea. Each response gets an urgency and an owner in the inbox, so a rule that broke for a customer gets attention before it breaks again.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- Right after a user saves a first rule
- Industry
- SaaS
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 automation and rules questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
Who automates today
Start with whether users automate, how much and what stops them, so every answer can be read by habit.
- 01Yes / No
Have you set up any automatic rules?
Asks whether the user has set up any rules. Add logic so users who say No go to the question about what stops them, the answer your onboarding needs.
- 10Number
How many rules do you have running?
Rules running on the account, typed as a number. The median shows whether users keep a few rules or a large set that needs folders and search.
- 04Multiple choice
What stops you from automating more?
One choice for what stops the user automating more, from not knowing where to start to trust. The donut shows whether to invest in templates, triggers or reliability.
Building a rule
Ask these right after a rule is saved, while the user remembers each step of the builder.
- 02Customer effort
How easy was it to build your first rule?
A customer effort score for building the first rule. Ask it right after the rule is saved; low scores point to the builder or to missing examples.
- 12Matrix
Rate each part of building a rule
Rates triggers, conditions, actions and testing on one grid. The heat map shows which step of building a rule to improve first.
- 09Yes / No
Do you want to preview what a rule will do before it runs?
Asks whether users want a preview before a rule runs. A high share of Yes, together with low comfort scores, makes a preview step a priority.
Reliability and trust
These show whether users trust rules to act alone, and what should happen when one fails.
- 05Stars
How reliable are your rules?
Five stars for how reliable rules are. A low average next to a high share of Retry quietly in the failure question can mean rules fail without anyone noticing.
- 08Big scale
How comfortable are you letting the product act without you?
Comfort with letting the product act without the user, on a ten-step scale. Low scores mean users want approval steps or previews before rules act.
- 11Dropdown
What should happen when a rule fails?
What should happen when a rule fails, from an email to logging it and moving on. The share of each answer sets your default failure behavior.
- 14Text
What would you never let a rule do for you?
An open question for what users would never let a rule do. The answers mark the limits of automation, such as deleting data or emailing customers.
What to automate next
End with the jobs users want automated and how much time that would give back.
- 03Multiple choice
What do you want to happen automatically?
Lets users pick everything they want to happen automatically, from assigning to a person to creating a task in another tool. The bars show which actions to build first.
- 06Text
Describe a job you still do by hand every week.
An open question for a job still done by hand every week. Each answer describes a rule you could offer as a ready-made template.
- 07Ruler
How many hours a week could automation save you?
Hours a week automation could save, on a ruler up to twenty. The median and the middle half give a fair figure for the value of new automation.
- 13This or that
For automation you would rather have
One pair: simple rules users write or smart suggestions from your product. The split bar shows how much users want the product to propose rules.
Tips for asking about automation and rules
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask after the first rule
Show the survey when a user saves or runs a first rule. From Starter, or on 1 survey on Free, a custom event from your code can open it at that moment.
- 02
Ask users who don't automate
Users with no rules can tell you what stops them. Send them a short version with the questions about what holds them back.
- 03
Treat failed rules as urgent
Give every report of a rule that failed an owner in the inbox the same day, and reply once it is fixed.
- 04
Turn manual jobs into templates
Read the jobs users still do by hand as ideas for ready-made rules, and offer the most requested ones first.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about automation and rules
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Right after a user saves a first rule, inside the product, and once or twice a year by email for the wider questions.
Four or five. Start with whether they automate and the ease of the first rule, add reliability, and end with the job they still do by hand.
Yes, from Starter. Targeting by user traits can show the survey to users with a trait you pass from your code, such as the number of rules they run.
Yes. Each response gets an owner in the inbox on every plan, and workflows can open a Jira or Linear issue.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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