What will happen if a flow is not activated after being created?

If a flow is not activated after being created, it will remain in a draft state and won't operate. In the context of Flow Designer in ServiceNow, a newly created flow must be activated to be functional. Until activation occurs, the flow is essentially incomplete and not ready to process any triggers or actions. This draft state allows developers to build and modify the flow without it impacting any live processes, ensuring that only fully tested and approved flows are operational.

Other options suggest that the flow could either be manually run, become permanently inaccessible, or that it would activate automatically after a specific time. However, these scenarios do not align with the operational behavior of Flow Designer. A non-activated flow is essentially inactive, preserving the integrity of workflow processes until it is officially approved and activated.