Automation Trigger - Exact Match & Contains Phrase

When building automations in Enrollio, you can trigger actions based on how parents respond to your messages. This guide explains how to use "exact match" and "contains phrase" logic to create smart, responsive automations.

Understanding Intent Matching

Enrollio's automation system can detect positive and negative responses from parents. This helps you automatically route conversations, update enrollment pipelines, or send appropriate follow-up messages.

Positive Intents

These are phrases that indicate interest or agreement. When a parent texts back with words like:

  • "Yes" or "Yeah"
  • "Sure" or "Ok"
  • "Interested" or "Tell me more"
  • "Sounds good"

Your automation can recognize this as a positive response and take the next step — like sending tour booking information or notifying your enrollment team.

Negative Intents

These phrases signal that a parent isn't interested or wants to be removed from communication:

  • "No" or "Nope"
  • "Stop" or "Unsubscribe"
  • "Not interested"
  • "Remove me"

When detected, your automation can automatically mark the enrollment opportunity appropriately or stop sending messages.

How to Use Exact Match vs. Contains Phrase

Exact Match looks for the precise word or phrase. If you set an exact match trigger for "yes," it will only fire when someone replies with exactly that word.

Contains Phrase is more flexible — it triggers when the specified word appears anywhere in the message. For example, if you set a "contains phrase" trigger for "tour," it will catch replies like "I'd like to schedule a tour" or "tour sounds great."

Setting Up Intent-Based Triggers

  1. Open your automation in the Enrollio platform
  2. Add a trigger step where you want to check for parent responses
  3. Select the message channel (SMS or email)
  4. Choose your matching type: exact match or contains phrase
  5. Enter the words or phrases you want to detect
  6. Build the next steps in your automation based on that response
[SCREENSHOT: Automation builder showing a trigger configuration with "contains phrase" selected and example positive intent words entered]

Pro Tip: Use "contains phrase" for most parent communications. Families rarely reply with just "yes" — they're more likely to say "yes that works" or "yes, I'm interested." Contains phrase catches these natural responses.

Common Use Cases for Childcare Centers

Tour Confirmation: When a parent responds positively to a tour invitation, automatically send calendar booking details.

Waitlist Interest: Detect when parents confirm they want to stay on your waitlist versus opting out.

Document Collection: Trigger reminder sequences when parents indicate they haven't completed enrollment paperwork yet.

Opt-Out Handling: Automatically tag and suppress communications when parents use negative intent phrases.

Full Intent Lists

Enrollio recognizes a comprehensive set of positive and negative phrases out of the box. Contact support for the complete list of automatically detected intents, or create custom phrase matching for your center's specific needs.

[SCREENSHOT: Example automation flow showing branching paths based on positive vs. negative intent detection]