Proactive automations vs. trigger-based automations: a concrete example

There's a difference between proactive agents and simple trigger-based automations, though both matter. A trigger-based example from Greg Isenberg's own workflow: every time he drops a video recording into a designated folder — any screen recording at all — it automatically generates a transcript and saves it to a central transcripts store. No manual step required beyond the act of recording. This kind of automation removes him from the loop entirely for low-stakes, high-frequency tasks. Proactive agents go further, acting without even needing a trigger — they scan context and decide on their own what to do.