Note: Lofty is rolling out in stages. Depending on the version your account is on, some features or screens described in this article may look different or may not yet be available to you.
Introduction
Lofty AOS gives you four different layers of automation. They work together — but each answers a different question. Here's how to tell them apart.
Walkthrough Video
Four Ways to Automate
Agents are the AI workers. They handle specific jobs across Lofty — think of the Sales Agent, AI Assistant, Social Agent, and Homeowner Agent. An Agent is who gets the work done.
Skills are the behaviors or workflows assigned to an Agent. They define what the AI does — automating lead engagement, standardizing follow-up, handling appointment booking, and more. Skills come from the Skill Library or can be custom-built. If an Agent is the worker, a Skill is the training that tells it how to do the job.
Smart Plans are reusable, multi-step automation sequences for leads. They schedule emails, texts, calls, and tasks that run without manual follow-up — a nurture sequence that touches a lead five times over two weeks is a classic example. A Smart Plan can also be started by another automation.
Scheduled Tasks are recurring automations you define in Cowork: a prompt plus a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly). On every trigger, Cowork runs the prompt on your data, on your behalf, completely unattended. Examples: "Every weekday at 8 AM, find leads who visited the site yesterday and haven't been contacted, draft one intro text for each"; "Every Monday, summarize my pipeline and flag deals that need attention."
Unlike CRM tasks (which create reminders for a human to complete), Cowork scheduled tasks do the work themselves — nobody has to be in the loop.
At a glance
| Smart Plan | Skill | Custom Agent | Scheduled Task | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Automated drip sequence built into Lofty CRM | A set of instructions I follow for a type of task | A dedicated AI assistant with its own name, role, instructions, knowledge files, and triggers | A recurring job: one prompt + one schedule (cron), run by an AI agent on your data |
| Best for | Fixed, repeatable sequences — "enroll lead → send Day 1, Day 3, Day 7..." | Tasks needing judgment, personalization, or multi-step orchestration | A broader specialized role that runs on its own — ongoing re-engagement, weekly pipeline briefs, deal watchdogs | One repeatable background job with a fixed cadence — daily lead review, weekly market brief, Monday pipeline summary |
| How it triggers | A lead is enrolled and the sequence runs on its own | You ask me something in conversation (or a scheduled task or agent run uses it) | Its trigger schedule or event — or "Run now" on demand | Fires on its cron schedule (daily, weekly, monthly) — unattended, whether or not you're logged in |
| Personalization | Template-based with token inserts (name, etc.) | I pull live data — recent activity, notes, saved listings — and craft each one uniquely | Pulls live data each run and follows its instruction brief for tone, sources, and output shape | The AI reads live data each run and crafts output to match the prompt — same judgment as a skill |
| Human review | Sends automatically once enrolled | I show you a draft and you approve before anything goes out | You set the guardrails in its instructions: "draft only, never send" vs. "send" | None by default — it runs unattended, so point it at reports, drafts,and self-notifications; if a lead needs a sent message, a Smart Plan is usually the right tool |
| Example | "New lead → welcome email Day 1 → check-in text Day 3 → call task Day 7" | "Pull this lead's activity, write a personalized check-in referencing the listing they saved, show me the draft" | "A 'Cold-Lead Re-engagement' agent: every Friday, draft warm check-ins for 30+ day-stale leads and email you a rundown — nothing goes to a lead unless its instructions say so" | "Every weekday 8 AM: find yesterday's site visitors not yet contacted, draft one intro text per lead, email me the rundown" |
When to use which
Use a Smart Plan when you want a repeatable, structured sequence that runs on a schedule — e.g., a 14-day nurture flow with an email on day 1, a text on day 3, a call reminder on day 7. You can review and adjust the steps before activating the plan.
Use a Scheduled Task when you need one specific action or reminder at a particular time — and when a person should complete it themselves rather than Lofty sending automatically. Examples: "Call Dana Tuesday at 10 AM", "Send the offer packet Friday."
Use a Custom Agent when you need a dedicated AI workflow with custom instructions, personality, knowledge bases, guardrails, and selected tools. It's the right fit for a broader, specialized AI function — something bigger than one Skill or one fixed follow-up sequence.
Here's the updated 4-way table — your two existing columns kept as-is (one small tweak to the Skill trigger row, noted below), plus Custom Agents and Cowork Scheduled Tasks:
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding this topic or any others, please reach out to our Support Team via email at support@lofty.com, by phone at 1 (855) 981-7557, or by chat with us through your Lofty CRM
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