The Automation section on a lead form's settings is a shortcut into Pulse, not a separate system of its own - it starts a rule for you on this one form, and everything past that first version happens in Pulse.
The Three Starting Points
Three presets cover the common reasons to react to a new submission. Task files a task carrying the title you give it, the moment a lead comes through this form. Email drafts a follow-up message and holds it for your approval rather than sending it - it starts life as a draft, never an automatic send. Reports works differently again: turning it on sends nothing to the lead directly. It instead adds the submission to the recurring-reports review list under Pulse's Equity view, where you approve the list and pick a cadence yourself, rather than enrolling a stranger in a schedule the instant they fill in a form.
Why a New Rule Starts Switched Off
Whichever preset you choose, saving here creates the automation switched off. A rule that started sending the moment it was saved is one nobody got to read back first, so BrokerPlus asks you to open it and turn it on once you've checked the wording. This is the same pattern every automation in Pulse follows - a rule only goes live once a person arms it, whichever screen drew it.
Why the Reports Preset Can Be Greyed Out
Reports needs somewhere to send the report, so the preset stays greyed out until the form asks a property address question. Add that question and the preset opens up on its own.
Scoping a Rule to One Form
A rule started here only fires on submissions to this particular form, not every lead form on your account. It reads the same condition Pulse's own trigger builder offers for narrowing by form, so the scoping is not a special shape invented for this screen - it stays fully editable once you're looking at it in Pulse.
Editing It in Pulse
Once a rule exists, a small on/off pill next to it shows whether it's currently live, and opening it takes you into Pulse itself rather than back to the form editor. That's where you add further steps, adjust timing, or move it into a canvas alongside your other automations - this section only gets the first version started.
What to Do Next
- Build Your First Automation to see the full editor a rule started here opens into.
- Approve the Reports Waiting on You to act on anything the Reports preset queued.
- Route and Be Told About a New Lead to make sure a person still hears about the submission too.