Who can use this: Any team member
Available on: Gong Engage
Ideal for: Sales rep, Business admin
Rulesets are groups of rules that control how flows respond to email replies, bounced emails, meeting bookings, and CRM changes. When an admin applies a ruleset to multiple flows, those flows share the same outreach behavior, so rules don't need to be configured for each flow individually.
How rulesets work
Each flow has exactly one ruleset. One ruleset in your library is always set as the default and is automatically applied to any new flow. You can change which ruleset a flow uses at any time from the flow's settings.
When you edit a ruleset, the change applies immediately to all flows using it, including flows with people currently active in them. Changes to a shared ruleset affect all its flows and active contacts at the same time.
Rulesets also take priority over call outcome automations. If the same outcome is configured in both a ruleset and an automation, the ruleset runs instead.
What rulesets control
Each ruleset is built from six rule categories. Not all categories need to be configured, and some rules may be locked or overridden by company-level flow settings.
Flow properties: Controls whether a person can be active in more than one flow at the same time (flow exclusivity) and whether the cool-off period applies after they finish or leave a flow.
Outbound emails: Controls whether flow emails include an opt-out footer. If your company has a global compliance setting requiring opt-out footers, this rule may be locked and cannot be turned off at the ruleset level.
Response handling: Defines what happens when someone replies to an email, books a meeting, goes out of office, or when a flow email bounces. Each event can pause the flow, remove the person from the flow, continue the flow as normal, or remove all contacts at the person's account from all flows.
Flow end: Defines what happens when a person completes or leaves a flow, including updating their CRM status based on outcomes such as Finished (replied), Finished (no reply), Finished (meeting booked), Finished (CRM change), Bounced, or Removed (other).
CRM change: Automatically removes a person or their account contacts from a flow when a CRM field reaches a defined value, such as when a lead is disqualified or an opportunity is closed.
For example:
When a lead is disqualified, remove them from all active flows.
When an opportunity is marked as Closed Lost, remove all associated contacts from their flows.
When an account churns, remove all contacts associated with that account from all flows.
Flow status change: Automatically updates a configured CRM status field when a lead’s flow status changes. Supported CRMs include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Dynamics 365.
For example:
When flow status changes to In progress, update lead status to Working.
When flow status changes to Finished, update lead status to Closed-not converted.
Match the ruleset to the flow's intent
Rulesets work best when they match what the flow is for. The settings that suit high-volume outbound prospecting are often the wrong ones for outreach to customers you already work with.
Prospecting flows: These flows are typically outbound and high volume, so it often makes sense to pause the flow when someone replies or books a meeting, and to include an opt-out footer in every email. Learn more about configuring a ruleset for prospecting flows.
Account-based outreach: Several people at one account are contacted at the same time, so you may want everyone at that account removed from their flows as soon as one person engages. Learn more about configuring a ruleset for account-based outreach.
Customer success flows: These flows are often built for customer education or onboarding. You may want the flow to continue even after a meeting is booked, since meetings with existing customers could happen for many reasons unrelated to the flow.
Renewal and upsell flows: These flows aim to open a commercial conversation with an existing customer. You may want the flow to continue even after someone replies, so the full message is delivered.
Rulesets and automations
Rulesets and automations serve different purposes. Automations add people to company flows when defined conditions are met. Rulesets govern what happens to people who are already in a flow.
When both apply to the same outcome, the ruleset takes priority. If a call outcome is configured in both a ruleset and an automation, the ruleset setting runs instead of the automation.
Who can use rulesets
All of the following require a Gong Engage seat.
View a flow's assigned ruleset: Any team member who can view a flow can see which ruleset is applied, from the flow's Settings tab in Assets.
Change a flow's ruleset: Anyone with permission to edit the flow can change which ruleset is assigned to it. Editing the ruleset itself is not required for this action.
Create, edit, and manage rulesets: Requires the Create and manage flow rulesets permission. Admin status alone is not sufficient. This permission must be enabled in the team member's permission profile.
Rulesets are managed in Assets, under Flow rulesets.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I create or edit a ruleset even though I'm an admin?
Admin status alone does not grant access to create or edit rulesets. You need the Create and manage flow rulesets permission enabled in your permission profile. Ask your Gong admin to check your permission profile settings.
What happens to active flows when I edit a ruleset?
Changes apply immediately to all flows using the ruleset, including flows with people currently active in them. Before editing a shared ruleset, review how many flows use it and consider the impact of the change on active outreach.
How do I see which flows use a specific ruleset?
The rulesets page shows the number of flows assigned to each ruleset.
What's the difference between company flow settings and a ruleset?
Company flow settings are global defaults that apply to every flow in your workspace, such as whether people can be in multiple flows at once and how long the cool-off period lasts. Rulesets are reusable sets of rules you apply to individual flows, and they can allow or respect those global defaults depending on the setting. When a company setting is enforced globally, the corresponding ruleset option may be locked.
Do rulesets apply to personal flows?
Yes. Rulesets apply to both company and personal flows. Every flow has exactly one ruleset regardless of type. Automations, however, only add people to company flows. A personal flow's behavior is still governed by its assigned ruleset, but automations can’t be used for personal flows.
Can I delete a ruleset?
You can delete a ruleset only when it is not the default and no flows are currently using it. To delete a ruleset that is in use, first move its flows to a different ruleset. To delete the default ruleset, designate another ruleset as the default first.