Once your Visual Automation is live, you can edit it at any time — add new steps, remove old ones, change entry points, or restructure the flow.
Edits to a live automation can affect subscribers who are already in progress, so it's worth taking a few minutes to review this guide before making changes.
Before you edit: a pre-edit checklist
Before changing a live automation, work through this checklist to avoid stranding subscribers or losing data.
1. Pause your automation first
Click Pause in the top right corner of the automation builder. This prevents subscribers from progressing to new steps while you make changes, but still allows new subscribers to enter.
If you need to stop all activity, including new subscribers entering, set the automation to Inactive by toggling off the Active switch.
Status | New subscribers can enter? | Existing subscribers progress? |
Active | Yes | Yes |
Paused | Yes (they wait at entry) | No |
Inactive | No | No |
2. Check for subscribers waiting at each step
Before deleting or modifying a step, click on it to see if any subscribers are currently waiting there. If you delete a step (especially a Delay step) while subscribers are waiting on it, those subscribers will get stuck and won't progress forward. They'll need to be manually removed and re-added.
3. Understand that changes aren't retroactive
This is the most important concept when editing automations: changes you make will only affect subscribers who reach that point in the future. Subscribers who have already passed a step or exited the automation won't go through any new steps you add.
4. Check your sequence settings
If your automation includes a Sequence step, check the in your Sequence setting the option "Should subscribers added via Visual Automations stay in the sequence?".
If this is set to Yes, subscribers will be held in that sequence indefinitely after completing all emails and will never progress to the next step.
If this set to No, your subscribers will continue through the automation after finishing the sequence.
Once you've reviewed these items, make your changes and click Resume when you're done.
How to edit, add, and remove steps
Editing an existing step
Hover over the step node until its background turns grey and you see the Edit step option
Click Edit step
Modify the step's settings (e.g. change which tag is applied or adjust a delay duration or update a condition)
Save your changes
Adding a new step
Click the (+) button below any existing step or entry point
Choose the step type: Event, Action, or Condition
Configure the step and save
Removing a step
Hover over the step node until you see Edit step
Click Edit step
Click the Delete button
Confirm the deletion
Removing a step doesn't reverse actions that already occurred. If you delete an "Add tag" action, subscribers who already received that tag will keep it.
Before deleting a Condition node: Deleting a Condition node also deletes all steps in the connected branches, up to the point where they merge back into the main flow. If you only need to change the condition's logic, use Edit step instead. If you need to change the condition type entirely (e.g., from Tag to Custom Field), add the new condition first, then delete the old one.
Editing entry points
You can add up to 5 entry points by clicking the (+) button next to existing entry points.
To delete one, hover over it, click Edit step, then delete. Keep in mind that deleting an entry point also removes all steps in its branch until it merges with the main automation flow.
You can't delete the last remaining entry point, so add a replacement first, then delete the original. If an entry point was added via the "Move subscriber to start another automation" action from another automation, it can't be deleted through the editor. Contact support at help@kit.com on through our in-app messenger for help with those.
Available entry points
Joins a form: triggered when a subscriber signs up via a specific form or landing page
Is added to a tag: triggered when a specific tag is applied to a subscriber
Custom field: triggered when a subscriber's custom field changes
Purchase: triggered when a subscriber makes a purchase
Understanding step types: Actions, Events, and Conditions
Choosing the wrong step type is one of the most common sources of confusion when editing automations. Here's a quick reference.
Actions (green) — "Do something"
Actions execute immediately when a subscriber reaches them. Use an Action when you want the automation to perform a task.
Action | What it does |
Email sequence | Adds the subscriber to a sequence |
Delay | Holds the subscriber for a set duration (minutes, hours, days, or weeks) |
Add or remove tag | Adds or removes a specific tag |
Set custom field | Changes a custom field to a specific value |
Move subscriber | Starts another automation, exits the current one, or removes from another automation |
Unsubscribe | Removes the subscriber from your email list |
Events (orange) — "Wait for something to happen"
Events hold the subscriber in place until a specific condition is met. Use an Event when you want to wait for an external trigger before the subscriber moves forward.
Event | What it waits for |
When a tag is added | A specific tag is applied to the subscriber |
When a tag is removed | A specific tag is removed from the subscriber |
When a date occurs | A specific calendar date arrives |
When a product is purchased | The subscriber makes a purchase |
When a custom field changes | A custom field value changes |
Common mistake: Using a "Tag added" Event when you actually want to apply a tag. If you want to add a tag to the subscriber, use the "Add tag" Action (green). If you want to wait until someone else applies a tag to the subscriber, use the "Tag added" Event (orange).
Conditions (blue) — "Ask a yes/no question"
Conditions split the path based on whether a subscriber meets specific criteria. Subscribers who meet the condition go down the Yes path; those who don't go down the No path. Here's a complete guide on when to use Conditions in a Visual Automation.
Visual Automations aren't retroactive. This means:
If you add a new step, subscribers who already passed that point won't go back and complete it
If you add a new entry point using a tag, subscribers who already have that tag won't enter the automation
If a subscriber has already exited the automation, they won't be enrolled in new steps you add later
Duplicating an automation
When you duplicate a Visual Automation, the new copy shares the same underlying email sequences as the original. This means editing an email in the duplicated automation will also change that email in the original.
How to create a truly independent copy
After duplicating an automation:
Create new, separate sequences for the duplicated automation
Copy your email content from the original sequences into the new ones
In the duplicated automation, update each Sequence step to point to the new sequences
Only then should you start editing content
This also applies when reusing the same sequence across multiple nodes within a single automation — editing it in one node will update all instances.
Troubleshooting: subscribers stuck after editing
If subscribers appear stuck or on hold after you've made changes, here are the most common causes.
Cause 1: Evergreen sequence setting is enabled
If a Sequence step has "Should subscribers added via Visual Automations stay in the sequence?" set to Yes, subscribers will be held indefinitely after completing all emails. Change this to No to let them progress.
Note: This change isn't retroactive — subscribers already on hold won't automatically move forward. You'll need to remove them from the automation and re-add them using a temporary tag entry point.
Cause 2: A Delay step was deleted while subscribers were waiting
If you removed a Delay step while subscribers were mid-wait, those subscribers are now stuck in limbo. To fix this:
Identify the stuck subscribers by clicking on the step where they appear to be waiting
Remove them from the automation
Create a temporary tag as a new entry point at the step where they should resume
Apply that tag to the stuck subscribers to pull them back in
Remove the temporary tag and entry point once they've progressed
Cause 3: The automation was paused and subscribers haven't resumed
If you see subscribers waiting right after the entry point, the automation may still be paused. Click Resume next to the Active toggle to let them progress.
Cause 4: An Event step is blocking progress
Event steps (orange) hold subscribers until a specific trigger occurs. If subscribers are waiting at an Event, check whether the trigger condition is actually achievable. For example, a "When a date occurs" Event set to a past date will let subscribers through immediately, but a "When a tag is added" Event will hold them until that tag is applied.