Process Builder supports three process types — three different starting points for a process to run. The choice you make at process creation time determines what trigger fires it and what context it runs in.
The three types
| Type | Starts when | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| A record changes | A record is inserted or updated (the most common type) | Standard record-change automation: field updates, related-record creation, email alerts |
| A platform event occurs | A platform event is published (sObject-style event message) | Reacting to events from external systems, decoupled internal events |
| It’s invoked by another process | Another process or flow calls it as a subprocess | Reusable logic shared across processes |
1. “A record changes”
The default. You pick an object, pick when to start (only when created, or every time created or edited), and define criteria + actions. This is the equivalent of a Record-Triggered Flow.
2. “A platform event occurs”
You pick a Platform Event definition, and the process runs whenever that event is published — whether from internal Apex EventBus.publish(), a connected app, or an external system over the streaming API. The process treats the event payload as the input record.
This was a big addition because it brought event-driven automation into the declarative toolkit. Without it, you’d need Apex to subscribe to platform events.
3. “It’s invoked by another process”
A reusable subprocess — no trigger of its own. Other processes call it and pass an sObject. Used to DRY up common logic across processes that operate on the same object.
Choice you make at process creation
When you click New in Process Builder, the first screen asks you to pick one of those three types. You can’t change it later — you’d have to clone and recreate.
How this maps to Flow today
| Process Builder type | Flow equivalent |
|---|---|
| A record changes | Record-Triggered Flow |
| A platform event occurs | Platform Event-Triggered Flow |
| It’s invoked by another process | Autolaunched Flow (can be called as a subflow) |
All three are first-class in Flow. So migration is a straight conceptual swap.
Common interview gotcha
Candidates sometimes name scheduled processes as a fourth type — but Process Builder never supported time-based triggers. Scheduled actions were inside the process, not a separate process type. Time-based starts require Flow’s Schedule-Triggered Flow.
What interviewers want
- All three by name
- The Flow equivalent for each (shows you understand the deprecation path)
- The clarification that scheduled starts aren’t a Process Builder feature — only scheduled actions within a process
Verified against: Salesforce Help — Create a Process. Last reviewed 2026-05-17 for Spring ‘26 release.