Flow control actions don't send anything to the contact. They shape what happens in your scenario: when it pauses, which path it takes, how it splits, and whether to keep going at all. You'll find them in the Logic section of the step picker.
Time delay
Pauses the scenario for a set amount of time before the next step.
Enter a number and pick a unit: seconds, minutes, hours, or days. Use it to space out messages, avoid sending several DMs at once, or give the contact time to act before you follow up.
Wait for reply
Pauses the scenario until the contact sends their next message, with no buttons shown, and can branch on keywords in their reply. Because it pairs naturally with Ask a question, both are covered in full in Ask a Question & Wait for Reply.
Scenario condition
Checks whether a rule is true for the contact, then routes the flow to the matching branch. It branches into if the condition is met and if it isn't.
There are six condition types:
Contact follows you. Is the contact currently following your account?
Contact is in folder. Is the contact in a specific folder?
Last DM or comment contains. Does the latest message or comment include a keyword (or any emoji)?
Contact property matches condition. Does a property value meet a comparison you set?
Variable matches condition. Does a variable match a value you define?
Time-based condition. Is the trigger time or last-message time before or after a point you set? Useful for business-hours routing.
For property, variable, and time conditions, you choose a comparison such as equals, doesn't equal, contains, doesn't contain, is present, is not present, greater than, less than, before, or after.
This is a rules-based check. To branch on what a contact means rather than exact values, use the AI-detected condition instead, covered in AI Smart Actions in Scenarios.
Contact filter
Branches on whether the contact matches a set of contact filters, the same filters you use to build segments and contact lists. It branches into matches and doesn't match.
Add one or more filters and choose AND (match all) or OR (match any). Use this when you need richer CRM-style criteria than the single-rule Scenario condition offers, like "is a follower AND has the Budget property set."
A/B testing
Randomly splits contacts between two branches so you can test which version of a flow performs better.
Use the slider to set the split (50/50 by default). Each branch is fully independent, so you can put different messages, links, or entire flows in each. Compare the results on each branch's actions in the Insights view.
⚠️ A/B testing is a Pro feature.
Trigger a scenario
Runs another scenario for the same contact, so you can build reusable sub-flows and chain automations.
Pick the scenario to run. You can pass key/value trigger data that the other scenario reads as variables. The two scenarios then run independently. Inrō warns you (but doesn't block you) if you pick an inactive scenario or point it at itself, which would loop.
🐾 Netsuke's Tips
Add a short Time delay (30 to 60 seconds) between back-to-back messages. Instant consecutive DMs look automated; a brief pause feels more natural.
Use Scenario condition: contact is in folder as a guard at the top of a flow that should only run for new contacts. Check they're not already in a "Customer" folder before sending them down a lead-gen path.
With A/B testing, change one thing at a time (the copy, or the image, or the button text) and wait for at least 50 to 100 runs per branch before calling a winner. Small samples mislead.
Build reusable sub-flows once and call them with Trigger a scenario. A "send freebie" sequence used in five places should live in one scenario, not five copies.
What's next?
To pause for a reply and route on what the contact says, read Ask a Question & Wait for Reply. To organise contacts and collect their data behind the scenes, read Contact Actions: Folders, Properties & Data Collection.