Handle replies with response flows
When a lead answers your AI agent by email, WhatsApp or SMS, a response flow decides what happens. Here is what triggers it and what to put in it.
You’ll need: An AI agent on your team, with leads assigned to it.
A response flow runs when a lead replies to your agent. It is where you decide whether the AI answers, whether a person is alerted, and who the lead goes to next.
#One flow per channel
Each channel has its own trigger:
| Trigger Type | Runs when |
|---|---|
| Email Received | A lead assigned to an agent replies to the agent’s email address. |
| WhatsApp Received | A lead assigned to an agent sends a WhatsApp message to one of your numbers. |
| SMS Received | A lead assigned to an agent sends an SMS to your number. |
Create one the same way as an AI Tasks flow: Channel set to AI Agent, then pick the trigger. Keep one active flow per trigger on your account. With several, only the oldest one runs.
#What happens to a reply first
Before your flow runs, the AI reads the reply and sorts it into a category. Some categories are handled for you and never reach the flow:
| The reply is | What Tayon does |
|---|---|
| A request to unsubscribe, or a spam complaint | Marks the lead unsubscribed, moves it to your dropped stage, removes the agent from it and adds a note. |
| An email bounce saying the address does not exist or the mailbox is full, or a ticket-system auto-reply | Same as above, with a note saying why. |
| An email auto-reply, an out-of-office message or a spam challenge | Saves any new phone number or email address it found to the lead’s notes. Nothing else. |
| Anything else | Stops the AI Tasks sequence for this lead and runs your response flow. |
On SMS, replies such as STOP, CANCEL or QUIT count as unsubscribe requests.
The category is available inside the flow as $EMAILDATA.CATEGORY or
$IMDATA.CATEGORY, so you can branch on it. The full list of categories is in
Variables for incoming messages.
#What the AI Builder puts in it
A response flow built by the AI Builder does three things:
- Sends the lead a short acknowledgement.
- Emails you, through Send to account contact, so you know a lead answered.
- Runs Assign Lead so a person takes over.
That is a safe default: a human sees every reply. You can change it into a flow that lets the AI answer some replies on its own.
#Let the AI answer the reply
Put the AI’s answer in a send step:
| Channel | Step | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Send Email, Send to the lead | Subject RE: $EMAILDATA.SUBJECT, Email Body $EMAILDATA.AIRESPONSE |
|
| Send WhatsApp, Send to the lead | $IMDATA.AIRESPONSE |
|
| SMS | Send SMS, Send to the lead | $IMDATA.AIRESPONSE |
The AI writes the answer from your Response Instructions prompt, your Business Info and the conversation so far. The email version quotes the lead’s message underneath, like a normal reply.
#Hand the lead to a person
Assign Lead takes the lead away from the agent. Pick a team member or a group under Assign To. From then on, the agent no longer replies to that lead; the person does.
Put Assign Lead at the end of a branch. Anything you want the agent to send first, an alert or a last message to the lead, goes before it.
#When a reply does not start the flow
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Did the lead reply to the agent’s own address? | Replies to any other mailbox never reach the agent. |
| Is the lead still assigned to the agent? | Replies from leads assigned to a person are not the agent’s. |
| Is the lead’s Automation disabled/enabled switch on? | With it off, no automation runs for that lead. |
| WhatsApp: is Pause AI automation off? | It stops AI handling of WhatsApp across the account. |
| Is the flow published, and is it the only one for its trigger? | Only the oldest active flow per trigger runs. |
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