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Process positive replies

Workflow Reviewed · not yet fact-checked

In short

How do I process positive replies in Reply?

Replies land in the Inbox where AI assigns one category per thread, such as Interested or Not interested, plus a Meeting intent sub-category. Route Interested threads with triggers, answer common questions with reply handlers in Auto, Draft, or Stop and notify mode, use canned responses, and track booked meetings per channel in reports.

At a glance

AspectDetail
OutcomeEvery genuine reply stopped, categorized, answered fast, and routed — with meetings booked and counted per channel
Required objectsRunning sequences, the inbox; for AI answers, a knowledge base with reply handlers
SurfacesUI · REST API · MCP
Key limitOne inbox category per thread, plus the Meeting intent sub-category; each reply handler uses exactly one delivery mode
Stops onA Stop and notify handler match pauses all further sending on that contact and hands the thread to a human — no AI reply is generated
Does notSet your qualification bar or owner map; match replies sent from a different address than the contacted one — see reply detection
PlansAI reply handlers belong to the AI SDR feature set; inbox categories, triggers, and canned responses are standard

Goal

Every genuine positive reply answered fast and routed to an owner — automation stopped for that contact, intent recorded as a category, questions answered from your knowledge base, and meetings booked without a scheduling ping-pong.

When to use this workflow

The moment sequences go live. Reply speed on interested prospects is where outbound converts or dies.

What Reply provides

Automatic reply detection that stops the contact; AI-assigned inbox categories with manual and bulk reassignment; category-driven triggers; AI reply handlers with per-question delivery modes (Auto, Draft, Stop and notify); canned responses; forwarding and reply-on-behalf from the thread's own sending account; meeting scheduling with availability windows and buffers; per-channel meeting stats in reports.

What you must provide

The qualification bar (what counts as route-to-sales), the owner map, knowledge base content that answers real questions, and your CRM handoff — see Sync Reply with a CRM.

Preconditions

Running sequences with reply detection working; for AI answers, a knowledge base attached to the sequence with reply handlers configured; a decision on delivery modes (start with Draft until handlers prove out).

Flow

reply arrives → matched to contact → outreach stops (rule)
    → AI assigns category: Interested / Not interested / Not now
      / Do not contact / Forwarded (+ Meeting intent sub-category)
    → Interested: trigger routes the contact; you or Jason reply
    → question: reply handler answers (Auto / Draft / Stop and notify)
    → Meeting intent: scheduling against your availability
    → meetings counted per channel in Reports

Step-by-step

  1. Confirm stopping works. A reply to a sequence email marks the contact Replied and Finished under the default Mark as finished setting — no further automated steps. Verify the rule and its exceptions in Reply detection and Sequence stopping.
  2. Work the categories. Reply's AI analyzes the tone of each reply and assigns one category per thread from the defaults — Interested, Not interested, Do not contact, Not now, Forwarded — plus the Meeting intent sub-category for prospects who want a meeting. Categorization covers email, LinkedIn, and LinkedIn voice message replies. Categories act as filters in the left panel and as labels on threads; reassign manually or in bulk with the assign/reassign icon, clear a wrong one with the x, and create custom categories when the defaults do not fit.
  3. Automate routing with triggers. Settings → Triggers → New trigger → pick Inbox category set for reply, choose the category for the IF condition, then the THEN action — move to sequence, move to lists, pause, and similar. This is how Interested replies reach the right owner or pipeline without manual triage.
  4. Answer questions with reply handlers. In your knowledge base's Reply Handling tab, click New handler, describe the common question ("Do you offer a free trial?"), and pick a delivery mode per handler: Auto (AI sends immediately — for low-stakes, well-defined scenarios), Draft (AI composes, a human reviews before sending), or Stop and notify (all sending on the contact pauses, the conversation is flagged, and the assigned rep — plus an optional extra address — is notified by email with the reply and thread details; no AI reply is generated). Add instructions, an optional sample answer, a tone of voice (confident, persuasive, witty, straightforward, or empathetic), a response length (super short, short, medium, or long), resource links, and media attachments. Mixing Auto and Draft handlers requires the Mixed option in the sequence's Jason AI settings.
  5. Reply fast by hand. Save a typed reply as a canned response via right-click; insert one from the note icon, by typing / in the reply field, or with Ctrl+S (Windows) / Cmd+S (Mac). Forward a whole thread or a single reply with the Forward controls. Teammates can respond on each other's threads: the reply always sends from the email account the thread is connected to and stays in the same thread — the From row is read-only.
  6. Book the meeting. Set availability days and hours, a buffer between appointments, and windows that prevent scheduling too soon or too far out. Meeting links are personalized and tracked for clicks. US holidays are not skipped by default — turn the holiday toggle on if you want them excluded.
  7. Measure. Reports → Team performance shows booked meetings by source channel — Email, SMS, Call, WhatsApp, LinkedIn — with filters and an Export button. The Reports page inside a sequence counts only meetings booked within emails.

Important rules

Reply detection — what matches and what does not, and the detection window; Status transitions — how Replied and Finished are assigned.

Failure conditions

  • Unmatched replies — a prospect answering from a different address is not matched automatically; see Why was a reply not detected?
  • Non-English replies — automatic categorization does not cover them; assign the category manually (rule)
  • Over-eager Auto mode — a weak handler sending automatically is a brand risk; start in Draft and graduate handlers to Auto once their answers prove out
  • Nobody watching Stop and notify — the pause is only useful if the notified rep actually takes over the thread

Verification

Test end to end: reply to a sequence email from a test contact; confirm the contact stops, the thread gets a category, the trigger fires, the handler produces an answer in the mode you chose, and a Meeting-intent reply leads to a booked slot that appears in Team performance.

Limits

  • One inbox category per thread; Meeting intent is the only sub-category and can combine with a category
  • Each reply handler has exactly one delivery mode; different handlers can use different modes (Mixed setting required when combining Auto and Draft)
  • Stop and notify generates no AI response — the thread waits for a human
  • Response length options: super short, short, medium, long
  • The sequence-level report counts meetings booked within emails only; per-channel numbers live in Reports → Team performance
  • Replies on behalf of teammates always send from the thread's connected account

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