# Choose what an automation makes and where it goes

> Pick the board or component an automation makes, whether AI makes it, where it lands, and what happens after: Slack, email, Google Drive or a notification.

Source: https://mockflow.com/docs/choose-what-an-automation-makes-and-where-it-goes

Four parts of an automation decide its result: **Make** (what kind of board or component), **How** (whether AI makes it), **Where** (which board it lands on) and **Then** (what happens after). This article covers each choice.

## Make: what the automation makes

Click **pick what it makes** to choose the kind of result. The list holds the components MockFlow AI can make on its own, grouped by what they are for, for example:

- **Planning:** kanbans, Gantt charts, timelines, calendars, to-do lists and floor plans
- **Brainstorming:** mind maps, journey maps, idea boards, whiteboards, knowledge graphs and polls
- **Structure and diagrams:** flowcharts, swimlanes, architecture diagrams, sitemaps, org charts and work breakdown structures
- **Documents and data:** documents, tables, spreadsheets and charts
- **Design:** wireframes, prototypes, designs, storyboards and moodboards
- **Maps:** maps and map regions
- **Sticky notes**, which are placed as the app sends them

**Multiboard** makes several frames on one board, planned from what the automation reads. MockFlow AI picks the types that best show it, for example a meeting as its decisions, its follow ups and a mind map of topics.

When the automation reads an app, the list suggests the types that fit what it reads.

## How: whether AI makes it

Click the **How** part, which reads _by AI_ or similar in the sentence, to choose how MockFlow does it. The menu is titled **How should MockFlow do it?** and shows, for each choice, whether AI reads, whether AI writes and what it costs.

![The How should MockFlow do it? menu with AI makes it selected, and Add each item as it is and AI fills in the details below it](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/e8df4a0359a44119a510dd81efa90cde.webp)

| Choice | What happens | Good for | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **AI makes it** | MockFlow AI reads everything and writes the result | Summaries, groups, a mind map of a meeting transcript | Uses AI credits |
| **Add each {item} as it is** | One board item per record, exactly as the app sends it | A kanban card per Jira issue, a sticky note per Slack message | No credits |
| **AI fills in the details** | Each record is placed as it is, and AI picks out details like an amount or a due date from its text | Deals with amounts, tasks with due dates | Uses 1 AI message |
| **AI makes it from your picks** | AI writes the result from only the records you choose | A report on the issues you select | Uses AI credits |

With **Add each {item} as it is**, each run adds new records to the component. When the same record comes back changed, for example a Jira issue that moves to another status, its item moves too, so the board stays in step with the app.

## Where: which board it lands on

Click **pick where it goes**, or the place already in the sentence. There are two kinds of choice.

![The where menu with Add to one of my boards and Into a whiteboard I already have under On a MockFlow board you already have, and spaces listed under A new MockFlow board each run, in](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/87532cfce28e4aaa85bb51291441d760.webp)

**A new MockFlow board each run, in** a space you pick. Each run creates a board titled with the automation's name and the date, marked with a bolt icon.

- In **Private**, only you see what it makes.
- In a shared space, everyone in that space sees what it makes, and the space is notified of the new board.

**On a MockFlow board you already have:**

- **Add to one of my boards:** search your boards and pick one you can edit. Each run adds to it.
- **Into a {type} I already have:** the same timeline, kanban or document, updated each run. Pick a component on one of your boards, such as a kanban or a document, then choose **Rewrite it** to replace its content each run, or **Add what is new to it** to add only what is new.

With a MockFlow event under **When**, you can also choose **The board it is about** or **The space it is about**. When you start from **Automate this board** in a board's menu, **Add to** that board is offered first.

> **Tip** Before a run changes a board you already have, MockFlow saves the board as a revision named **Before automation**. Open the board's revision history to go back.

## Then: what happens after

Click **+ Then…** to add a step after the board is made, or choose **Nothing else**. The steps are listed under **Then send it**:

![The Then menu with Nothing else, Post it to a Slack channel, Save a picture of it to Google Drive, Email it and the Notify me checkbox](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/4af98ebb03b8483ababcac7ee77a1e5b.webp)

- **Post it to a Slack channel:** enter the **Channel**.
- **Email it:** enter who it goes **To**.
- **Save a picture of it to Google Drive:** optionally choose a **Folder**.

Each step has **What to write with it**. Leave it empty and MockFlow AI writes a short line from the board.

Use **Notify me** to get a browser notification **When it makes a board**. Failures and pauses always notify you, even when Notify me is off. See [Manage automations and their runs](/docs/manage-automations-and-runs).

## Read the summary before you turn it on

The builder sums up the result in plain words, such as **New MockFlow board each time**, **Adds to one board**, **Rewrites one component** or **Adds to one component**, with **Everyone in {space} sees it** or **Only you see it**, and **Each run uses your AI credits** or **no AI credits**. Check it matches what you want, then [try it once](/docs/create-an-automation).