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> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.meetgail.com/platform/workflows/getting-started/build-your-first-workflow/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.meetgail.com/_mcp/server.

# Build Your First Workflow

> A hands-on tutorial that walks you through building a lead-welcome workflow from start to finish.

In this tutorial you will build a small but genuinely useful workflow: when a new
lead arrives, it texts them a friendly welcome and saves them to your contacts. It
uses four steps, Start, Send SMS, Add Contact, and End, and takes just a few
minutes.

By the end you will know how to add steps, configure them, connect them in order,
and save your work. If you have not yet, skim
[How Workflows Run](/platform/workflows/getting-started/how-workflows-run) first so the
canvas feels familiar.

## What you will build

A lead named Sarah Chen reaches out to Chen Insurance Group. Your workflow will:

1. Begin when a new lead comes in, capturing their name and phone number.
2. Text them a warm welcome so they hear from you right away.
3. Add them to your contacts so an agent can follow up.
4. Finish.

![The finished workflow on the builder canvas: Start, Send SMS, Add Contact, and End connected in order.](/_fern-img/d193c9a54de5639706752f5e60d7fa49be98a71d1d7abbb78c496bb4fa9c7eeb.webp)

## Build it step by step

### Create a new workflow

Open the builder and create a new workflow. Give it a clear name like
`Lead Welcome` and a short description so your team knows what it does. You will
start with an empty canvas and a single Start step ready to go.

### Add the Send SMS step

Steps are added from the step picker. Open it, find **Send SMS**, and add it to
the canvas below the Start step.

![The Add a new step picker, listing the steps you can add to a workflow.](/_fern-img/d4caaafb707a10c8934ccbdac552145a9106efa8fd069199fae7c521a5bc1ba2.webp)

### Configure the welcome text

Select the **Send SMS** step to open its settings. Fill in two fields:

| Field   | What to enter                                                                                                                |
| ------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| To      | The lead's phone number. Point this at the phone number the Start step captured, so every run texts the right person.        |
| Message | Your welcome text, for example: `Hi Sarah, thanks for reaching out to Chen Insurance Group! An agent will call you shortly.` |

![The Send SMS settings panel with a recipient phone number and a welcome message.](/_fern-img/41945ca90b35c5555e6ae7d9f608b323990eb957f7ccc012d2a5285512cdf912.webp)

> **Note**
>
> To reuse the lead's real details instead of typing a fixed value, point a field
> at a value from an earlier step. The builder offers a picker so you can choose
> it from a list. See [Variables & Data Flow](/platform/workflows/core-concepts/variables-data-flow).

### Add the Add Contact step

Open the step picker again, find **Add Contact**, and add it below Send SMS.

### Configure the contact details

Select the **Add Contact** step to open its settings, then fill in the lead's
details:

| Field         | What to enter                                            |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| First name    | The lead's first name, for example `Sarah`.              |
| Last name     | The lead's last name, for example `Chen`.                |
| Phone numbers | The lead's phone number. At least one is required.       |
| Business name | The lead's business, for example `Chen Insurance Group`. |

As with the message, you can point these fields at values the Start step captured
so each run saves the correct lead.

![The Add Contact settings panel with first name, last name, phone number, and business name.](/_fern-img/3449b1bb3c971b6ce88c2c0d3f7824d921e15126e162828ba2037d2a37da095d.webp)

### Connect the steps in order

Draw a connection from each step to the next so the run flows top to bottom:
Start to Send SMS, Send SMS to Add Contact, and Add Contact to End. The lines
between the nodes are what set the order the steps run in.

### Save your workflow

Save your work. Your workflow is now a draft you can come back to, keep editing,
and publish when you are ready.

## Try it out

Before you rely on a workflow, it is worth watching it run once. You can step
through a run and see exactly what each step did, which makes it easy to spot a
field you still need to fill in. See
[Testing & Debugging](/platform/workflows/core-concepts/testing-debugging).

> **Note**
>
> A run does real work. When your workflow runs, the Send SMS step sends a real
> text message and the Add Contact step really saves a contact. Use your own phone
> number and test details while you are trying things out.

## Where to go next

You just built a working workflow. From here you can make it smarter: add a step
that makes a decision, enroll the new contact in a campaign, or connect another
tool your agency uses.

#### [Nodes & Connections](/platform/workflows/core-concepts/nodes-connections)

Understand how steps connect and hand off to one another.

#### [Variables & Data Flow](/platform/workflows/core-concepts/variables-data-flow)

Reuse data from earlier steps to make your workflow react to real information.

#### [Send SMS](/platform/workflows/node-reference/communication/send-sms)

See every option for the text-message step.

#### [Add Contact](/platform/workflows/node-reference/gail/add-contact)

See every option for saving a contact in Gail.

> Documentation for Gail, the AI platform for financial services. Learn how to set up GailGPT and Gail Agent to automate customer communications for insurance, banking, and finance.