Trouble Shooting Automations

When an Automation is running, you can click on any step to see which contacts are currently waiting, completed, or unable to move forward.

If a contact is marked as Stuck, it means the Automation cannot continue processing them until the issue is resolved. This article explains the most common reasons contacts get stuck and how to fix them.

Common Reasons Contacts Become Stuck

The Automation Previously Ended Here

If a contact reached a step that was originally the end of the Automation, they were marked as completed.

If you later add more steps beneath that point, previously completed contacts will not automatically continue through the new steps and may appear stuck.

What this means:

The contact had already finished the Automation before the new steps existed.

The Contact Cannot Receive Messages

If the step involves sending a message (such as an email, SMS, or chat message), the contact must be eligible to receive it. Contacts may become stuck if they are:

• Unsubscribed
• Bounced
• Denylisted
• Marked as inactive

In these cases, the Automation stops at that step to prevent messages from being sent to contacts who should not receive them.

What this means:

The contact status needs to be reviewed before the Automation can continue.

A Processing or Integration Error Occurred

Sometimes a step cannot be completed because of a temporary issue in the background.

Examples include:

• An external integration is unavailable
• A connection or authentication issue
• A temporary processing failure

When this happens, the contact is paused on the step so the issue can be reviewed safely.

What this means:

The Automation could not complete the action successfully at that time.

Resolving Stuck Contacts

You have three options when managing stuck contacts.

Retry the Step

Retrying attempts to run the same step again.

This is useful when:

• A temporary integration issue has been fixed
• A contact has been reactivated
• The original problem no longer applies

If the issue persists, the contact may become stuck again immediately.

Skip the Step

Skipping moves the contact directly to the next step in the Automation without retrying the current action.

This is often the best option when:

• The step no longer needs to happen
• The Automation structure has changed
• The contact previously completed the Automation before new steps were added

Leave the Contact as Stuck

You can also leave the contact where they are.

This may be appropriate if:

• You do not want the contact to continue
• The issue still needs investigation
• The Automation should remain paused for that contact

While stuck, the contact will not continue through the Automation or automatically re-enter it.

Preventing Stuck Contacts

To reduce the chances of contacts becoming stuck:

• Review contact statuses regularly
• Check integrations are connected and active
• Test Automations after making major changes
• Be cautious when adding new steps to live Automations

Monitoring your Automation activity regularly can help you identify and resolve issues before they affect larger numbers of contacts.