# Process positive replies

> From detected reply to booked meeting — inbox categories and triggers, AI reply handlers with Auto, Draft, and Stop and notify modes, canned responses, and per-channel meeting stats.

**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.**

_Status: Reviewed — human-edited, facts not yet confirmed against the product._

## At a glance

| Aspect | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| **Outcome** | Every genuine reply stopped, categorized, answered fast, and routed — with meetings booked and counted per channel |
| **Required objects** | Running sequences, the [inbox](/specifications/inbox); for AI answers, a [knowledge base](/specifications/knowledge-bases) with reply handlers |
| **Surfaces** | UI · REST API · MCP |
| **Key limit** | One inbox category per thread, plus the Meeting intent sub-category; each reply handler uses exactly one delivery mode |
| **Stops on** | A 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 not** | Set your qualification bar or owner map; match replies sent from a different address than the contacted one — see [reply detection](/behavior/reply-detection) |
| **Plans** | AI 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](/behavior/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](/workflows/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

```text
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](/behavior/reply-detection) and [Sequence stopping](/behavior/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](/behavior/reply-detection) — what matches and what does not, and the
detection window; [Status transitions](/behavior/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?](/troubleshooting/reply-was-not-detected)
- **Non-English replies** — automatic categorization does not cover them; assign the category manually ([rule](/behavior/reply-detection))
- **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

## Related

- [Reply management](/capabilities/reply-management) — the capability view
- [Knowledge bases](/specifications/knowledge-bases) · [Inbox](/specifications/inbox) · [Conversations](/specifications/conversations)
- [Process replies](/how-to/process-replies) — the task-level guide
- [Reply classification](/learn/reply-classification)

## Build with Reply

- REST API: [docs.reply.io](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/introduction) — inbox and contact status endpoints
- MCP: [agents.reply.io/mcp](https://agents.reply.io/mcp) — agents triage threads, manage handlers, and send replies
- Agent skills: [agents.reply.io/skills](https://agents.reply.io/skills) — manage-replies workflow