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How to set up a custom signal agent

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll know how to build a Custom signal agent in lemlist, add the right signal questions with the mandatory {{account}} variable, select a company list to monitor, and launch the signal agent with the correct billing setup.

Why this matters

Custom signals help you monitor your target accounts for very specific business events that matter to your outbound strategy. Instead of tracking only standard signal types, you can define your own questions and let lemlist scan web content, including LinkedIn posts, news, and articles, to surface relevant buying signals.

Before you start

You should already know:

  • What a company list is in lemlist

  • That an account usually refers to a company domain, such as amazon.com

  • That Custom signals only work with lists of companies, not other segment types

Key concept: A signal is written as a question, such as “Does {{account}} consider expanding to new markets?”. The {{account}} variable is required so lemlist can replace it with each company you monitor.

Core lesson

Phase 1: Start a new signal agent and choose Custom signals

  1. Go to Signal agents, then click Create signal agent to begin creating a new monitoring workflow. This is where you define what to track, which companies to track, and how identified signals should be processed.

    Signal agents page with the Signal agents menu selected and the Create signal agent button highlighted

  2. In the Signal to detect step, expand Monitor your TAM, select Custom signals, and continue to the next step. This option is designed to uncover untapped insights across your TAM by tracking your own custom questions on web content.

    Create signal agent modal showing Monitor your TAM expanded and Custom signals selected

Phase 2: Configure your custom signal questions

  1. Add your first signal by filling in the Signal name and Question to monitor. The signal name should be short and easy to scan, while the question defines what lemlist will look for online. You can choose the start of the question from a dropdown like Does {{account}}, Did {{account}}, Has {{account}}, or Is {{account}}, then type the rest of the question in free text. Use Add a signal to detect if you want to track multiple questions in the same signal agent.

    Configure your signal step showing the Signal name and Question to monitor fields

Signal formatting rules to follow:

  • Signal name: up to 30 characters

  • Question title/start: use one of the available dropdown openings

  • Question body: add the rest of the question in free text

  • Required variable: every signal must include {{account}}

Important: Questions need to include {{account}} so lemlist can replace it with each company you monitor.

Use templates to speed up setup

If you do not want to write every signal from scratch, you can use prebuilt templates. lemlist shows suggested templates you can add in one click.

Click Use template next to any suggestion you want to add.

Templates section showing custom signal templates available to use

Phase 3: Choose the companies to monitor

  1. In the Scope step, choose how you want to define your target accounts. For Custom signals, this applies to company-based monitoring.

  2. Select Company list if you want to monitor companies from an existing list in lemlist, or choose Specific segment if you want to retrieve companies that belong to a segment using a CSV file.

    Scope step showing the Company list and Specific segment options

Available scope options:

  • Company list: monitor companies from an existing company list in lemlist

  • Specific segment: use a CSV file to retrieve companies that belong to a segment

Phase 4: Decide how identified signals should be processed

Next, choose what should happen when lemlist finds a relevant signal.

Choose your preferred signal processing method, such as Review signals manually or Auto-create tasks. If you auto-create tasks, configure the task type, ownership, fallback owner, priority, title, and instructions so your team knows exactly how to act on each detected signal.

Signals processing step showing Auto-create tasks selected and task configuration fields

Phase 5: Review the summary and deploy the signal agent

Before launching the signal agent, review the summary carefully. You’ll see the selected signal type, the questions being monitored, the processing method, the scope, and the billing information.

Custom signals are billed per account based on the number of companies included in the selected scope.

Summary step showing custom signals details, billing information, and the Deploy agent button

What it unlocks

  • Custom signals can run continuously on your target account lists through a dedicated signal agent

  • It’s easier to keep multiple Custom signals workflows active for different outbound use cases

Practical example

Here’s a simple real-world setup for an account-based sales team targeting expansion-ready companies:

  • Signal agent: Expansion signals - EU SaaS accounts

  • Signal 1 name: Expanding

  • Question:Does {{account}} consider expanding to new markets?

  • Signal 2 name: New Product

  • Question:Did {{account}} launch a new product?

  • Scope: Existing company list of ideal-fit SaaS accounts

  • Processing: Auto-create a task for the account owner to review the detected signal and reach out

This setup works well when you want to prioritize accounts showing signs of growth, change, or strategic movement.

Best practices

  • Write questions in natural English so lemlist can interpret them accurately

  • Keep signal names short and recognizable for faster review in summaries and results

  • Use one signal agent for a clear business theme, such as expansion, hiring, partnerships, or product launches

  • Start with a focused company list so your usage stays aligned with your priorities

  • Use templates when you want to launch quickly, then customize questions for your niche

Troubleshooting and common pitfalls

Issue: I can’t move forward from the signal configuration step

Root cause: One or more questions do not include the required {{account}} variable.

Fix:

  • Review every signal question in the signal agent

  • Make sure each one contains {{account}}

  • Use one of the supported question openings like Does {{account}} or Did {{account}}

Issue: The signal agent is not finding relevant results

Root cause: Your question may be too vague, too narrow, or written in a way that does not match public web content.

Fix:

  • Rewrite the question to sound closer to how the event would appear in articles or LinkedIn posts

  • Test broader versions first, then refine over time

  • Avoid overly technical or internal phrasing that would not appear publicly

Issue: Billing is higher than expected

Root cause: The selected company list contains more accounts than planned.

Fix:

  • Check how many companies are included in the selected list

  • Use the summary step to verify the total cost

  • Reduce the list size or split monitoring into separate signal agents if needed

Issue: Custom signals are unavailable for the scope you want

Root cause: Custom signals only apply to company-based monitoring.

Fix:

  • Create or select a company list first

  • If needed, import your target accounts via CSV

  • Restart the signal agent setup and choose a company-based scope

What happens next?

Once your signal agent is live, lemlist checks web content for relevant matches across your selected accounts. As signals are detected, they are processed according to the workflow you chose, helping your team act on useful account intelligence instead of searching for it manually.

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