Big news for rule builders
In Asana’s July 2026 Release Notes, they snuck something in that I’ve been dying for forever: Variable assignee options on People custom fields.
That sentence may have been complete jargon for some of you, but I’ll catch you up to speed. Previously, the rule-builder only allowed for limited functionality in the “Change Assignee To” action.
Why I’m excited
There are so many other people you may need to assign a task to. I am often building complex rules that require a variable assignee based on the People custom field type, and this was a major sticking point for me.
The only way around this was to either use Script Actions or AI Studio to point Asana to the right assignee. In fact, these workaround automations were one of the key focuses of my Asana Automations Master Class!
My previous Script Actions workaround for complex dynamic reviewer assignments
My previous workaround using Asana AI Studio
Here are some examples where this was limiting:
Approval flows where the reviewer isn’t static (e.g. Tiered approvals, shared functions)
Round-robin assignments based on capacity (e.g. Developer, designer, etc.)
Rules with long conditional-branches (e.g. Departmental approvals)
Tasks that touch various people based on their status (e.g. Designer, Copywriter, Reviewer)
What does this change look like?
You can now choose a Custom Field variable and point to your People field directly without needing any supporting code or AI Studio credits.
To make the switch, you will click the + plus sign beside Assignee and click Custom Fields, then select the appropriate People field you want this mapped to. So easy!
Now, if we can please just get People fields in FORMS!!!
Looking for more ways to learn?
Join my free monthly Asana Office Hours and bring your questions and troublesome workflows! We’ll work through your issues in real time.
You can find more resources on the Asana BFF Resource Hub where I share all prior webinar recordings, step-by-step guides, and articles like this one.