GoHighLevel Automation Setup Tutorial (2025 Guide): Simplify Your CRM in Minutes
If you’re a digital marketer, agency owner, or small business looking to streamline your client workflows, you’ve probably heard about GoHighLevel. As we move through 2025, more entrepreneurs are turning to this powerful CRM and marketing automation platform to scale their businesses. But while GoHighLevel offers a ton of features, setting up automation can feel overwhelming—especially if you’re just getting started.
This step-by-step GoHighLevel automation setup tutorial will guide you through the process in simple, actionable steps. Whether you’re setting up automations for leads, client onboarding, email workflows, or SMS campaigns, this guide will help you get things done quickly—without needing to hire a developer or tech team.
What Is GoHighLevel?
GoHighLevel (GHL) is an all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform designed primarily for agencies and marketers. It helps manage everything from lead generation and funnels to SMS, email campaigns, reputation management, client communication, and more.
At its core, GoHighLevel is built to:
Centralize your marketing tools
Automate repetitive tasks
Improve conversion rates
Save time and scale faster
But the real game-changer is automation.
Why Use GoHighLevel Automations?
If you’re still manually replying to every lead, following up via email, or onboarding clients with one-on-one calls, it’s time to switch gears.
With GoHighLevel automations (called Workflows), you can:
Automatically respond to new leads within seconds
Nurture cold leads with email and SMS sequences
Assign tasks to team members when actions are triggered
Send reminders, appointment confirmations, and follow-ups
Automate onboarding sequences with emails, links, and forms
All of this saves you hours each week and drastically reduces lead drop-off.
Step-by-Step GoHighLevel Automation Setup Tutorial (2025)
Let’s walk through how to set up a basic yet powerful automation inside GoHighLevel using Workflows.
Step 1: Define Your Automation Goal
Before you build anything, ask:
What is the purpose of this workflow?
What action will trigger the automation?
What should happen afterward?
Example Goal: When a new lead fills out a contact form, I want to:
Send them a confirmation email
Send an SMS follow-up after 5 minutes
Notify my team via Slack or email
Add the lead to a nurture email campaign
Step 2: Go to Workflows in Your Dashboard
Log in to your GoHighLevel dashboard
Navigate to Automation > Workflows
Click on “+ Create Workflow”
Choose a blank workflow or select a pre-built template
Templates are great, but starting from scratch gives you full control.
Step 3: Set Your Workflow Trigger
Every automation needs a trigger. This is what starts the workflow.
Common triggers include:
Form Submitted (most popular)
Appointment Booked
Tag Added
Pipeline Stage Changed
Contact Created
Survey Submission
Example: Choose “Form Submitted” and select your lead generation form.
Step 4: Add Your First Action – Send Email or SMS
Once triggered, what do you want to happen?
Click the “+” icon to add an action
Choose “Send Email”
Customize the email content: Add personalization like {{contact.first_name}}
Optionally, add a delay (e.g., 1 minute)
Add a second action: “Send SMS”
Tip: Keep your first email and SMS simple:
“Thanks for reaching out! We’ll be in touch shortly.”
“Hi {{contact.first_name}}, thanks for contacting us! Someone from our team will reach out shortly. — [Your Brand]”
Step 5: Assign a Task or Internal Notification
Let’s make sure your team knows about the new lead.
Add a new action:
Choose “Create Task” (assign to a user or team)
Or choose “Send Internal Notification” (via email, SMS, or Slack)
This ensures you or your sales team act fast if the automation doesn’t convert the lead immediately.
Step 6: Add Conditional Logic (Optional but Powerful)
Want to branch your automation based on responses?
Use “If/Else” statements.
Example:
If the contact clicks a link → Send more information
If they don’t respond in 2 days → Send a follow-up SMS
If they book a call → Stop the workflow
This keeps your automation smart and personalized.
Step 7: Add Tags and Pipeline Actions
Tagging is essential for tracking and segmentation.
You can:
Add a tag (e.g., “New Lead”)
Move the contact to a specific Pipeline or Stage
Trigger another workflow based on tag addition or stage change
This helps you keep track of where contacts are in your funnel.
Step 8: Test Your Workflow
Before going live:
Submit the form as a test user
Watch the workflow in real-time
Confirm all actions are triggered correctly (emails sent, tags applied, etc.)
You can view the automation history inside the contact profile for verification.
Step 9: Activate and Monitor
Once everything works as expected:
Click Publish
Let the automation run
Monitor performance and open rates weekly
You can optimize by adjusting delays, changing messages, or A/B testing SMS/email content.
Real-Life GoHighLevel Automation Use Cases
Want ideas to use automations in your agency or business? Here are a few powerful examples:
1. Lead Magnet Delivery
Trigger: Contact form for free guide or checklist
Actions: Email with download link → SMS follow-up → Add to newsletter list
2. Appointment Confirmation + Reminder
Trigger: Contact form for free guide or checklist
Actions: Email with download link → SMS follow-up → Add to newsletter list
3. Client Onboarding Sequence
Trigger: Tag “Client Signed”
Actions: Email onboarding packet → Schedule kickoff call → Assign task to team
4. Missed Call Text-Back
Trigger: Missed call detected
Actions: Send SMS instantly: “Sorry we missed you! How can we help?
Conclusion: Start Small, Automate Smart
You don’t need to build a 30-step funnel on day one. Start small—automate one lead response. Then build out from there.
GoHighLevel gives you everything you need to run and grow your business, but it’s the automation that will help you reclaim your time, boost engagement, and close more deals.
Use this 2025 GoHighLevel automation setup tutorial as your launchpad. By spending just an hour setting things up properly, you’ll save dozens of hours each month moving forward.
As we move further into 2025, automation, AI, and personalization are no longer optional — they’re necessary. With GoHighLevel, digital marketers can finally combine power, simplicity, and scalability under one roof.
By implementing GoHighLevel, you don’t just streamline your workflow, you dramatically improve your client results. The best part? You do it without needing to invest in multiple expensive tools.
So whether you’re just exploring or ready to level up, remember — GoHighLevel isn’t just a platform, it’s your digital marketing growth partner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is GoHighLevel automation?
GoHighLevel automation allows you to streamline repetitive tasks like lead follow-ups, appointment reminders, onboarding emails, and SMS responses using workflows—all from one dashboard.
How do I set up a workflow in GoHighLevel?
To set up a workflow, go to the Automation tab, click “+ Create Workflow,” choose a trigger (like a form submission), and add actions such as sending emails, SMS, or assigning tasks.
Is GoHighLevel good for small businesses?
Yes, GoHighLevel is ideal for small businesses and agencies. It combines CRM, automation, email, SMS, funnels, and appointment tools in one platform—saving time and increasing efficiency.
Can I send automated emails and SMS with GoHighLevel?
Absolutely. GoHighLevel lets you send fully automated email and SMS messages within workflows. You can personalize content with custom fields and set delays between messages.
How does GoHighLevel help with lead generation?
GoHighLevel automations help convert leads faster by instantly engaging them through email, SMS, and reminders. You can build nurturing campaigns that work 24/7 while you focus on sales.
Do I need coding skills to use GoHighLevel automation?
Not at all. GoHighLevel is built for non-coders. Its drag-and-drop workflow builder makes it easy to set up automations without any technical experience.
Learn more on the official Go High Level website.”
