---
title: Notifications and actions for the experimental alerting system
description: How to set up notifications and actions for rules in the experimental alerting system using workflows and action policies.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/notifications-actions
products:
  - Kibana
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Experimental
  - Elastic Stack: Planned
---

# Notifications and actions for the experimental alerting system
Rules in the experimental alerting system don't send notifications directly. Instead, they produce alert episodes, and you use workflows and action policies to decide what happens next.
- **Workflows** are the delivery layer. They define what happens when the system decides to act, such as sending a message, calling a webhook, or triggering an automation.
- **Action policies** are the gating layer. They evaluate active alert episodes on a continuous schedule and invoke workflows based on match conditions, grouping, and frequency settings.


## Get started

To send notifications or run actions from an alerting v2 rule:
1. [Build a workflow](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/workflows/get-started/build-your-first-workflow) that defines the action to take.
2. [Create an action policy](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/action-policies/create-configure-action-policy) that routes alert episodes to that workflow.

<tip>
  If you need an action to fire exactly once in response to a specific alert episode state change (such as opening a ticket when an episode is assigned) use an alert episode lifecycle trigger instead of an action policy. Refer to [Connect workflows](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/workflows-alerting) for a comparison of both approaches.
</tip>


## In this section

- [Connect workflows](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/workflows-alerting) - How action policies and lifecycle triggers invoke workflows at runtime.
- [About action policies](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/action-policies/about-action-policies) - How action policies evaluate and gate alert episodes.
- [Create an action policy](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/action-policies/create-configure-action-policy) - Configure policy type, match conditions, grouping, frequency, and destinations.
- [Action policy reference](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/action-policies/action-policy-reference) - Available match condition fields, grouping modes, and frequency options.
- [Manage action policies](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/action-policies/manage-action-policies) - Enable, disable, snooze, edit, or delete policies.
- [Reduce notification noise](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/6525/explore-analyze/alerting/kibana-alerting-experimental/action-policies/reduce-notification-noise) - Suppress alerts using acknowledgment, snooze, and maintenance windows.