When AI replies vs when you should take over

The AI handles 80% of replies competently. The other 20% need a human. Direct REI's job is to know the difference and tap you in at the right time.

First decision: auto-send or draft?

Every email/SMS campaign has an AI-reply mode you pick when you create or edit it — the "When the AI drafts a reply" setting:

• Send automatically (default) — the AI writes the reply and sends it 2-15 minutes after each inbound, with no action from you. Best for high-volume outreach where you trust the AI to carry routine conversations.
• Draft + notify me — the AI writes the reply but does not send it. It lands in your Drafts inbox for you to approve, edit, or skip. Best for high-value campaigns or while you're still learning to trust the AI's voice.

You can run different campaigns in different modes — e.g. auto-send a big cold-email push while keeping a niche partnership campaign in draft mode. The choice only affects routine replies; the red-flag rules below override both modes.

What the AI handles automatically (auto-send mode)

When a prospect responds to an auto-send campaign via email or SMS, the AI:

1. Reads the full conversation thread
2. Drafts a reply in your voice using your campaign's Reply Goal
3. Waits 2-15 minutes (randomized — never instant)
4. Sends from the same mailbox/number that received the reply
5. Extracts any new data (buy box, budget, timeline) into the CRM

For routine back-and-forth — "yes I'm a builder", "we focus on land", "what's your price range" — the AI carries the conversation without you involved.

The Drafts inbox (draft mode)

When a draft-mode campaign generates a reply, it doesn't go out — it stages in the Drafts inbox and you get notified. Open it from the Drafts awaiting review KPI on the Home page, or the drafts icon in the top bar (it shows a count badge when drafts are waiting).

For each draft you can:

• Send — fires the reply as-is from the mailbox/number that received the inbound.
• Edit then send — tweak the text in the box first; your edited version is what goes out.
• Discard — the draft won't be sent. (Future inbounds from that contact still queue — to fully pause a contact, toggle AI Replies OFF on them.)

Data extraction (buy box, budget, timeline) still happens in draft mode — only the send waits for you.

What triggers the red flag

When the AI sees one of these signals in an inbound message, it stops auto-replying and flags the contact red:

• Call request — "can we hop on a call", "what's a good time to talk", "give me a ring"
• Specific deal mention — "I have a 5-acre lot at 123 Oak St, what would you pay"
• Complaint or hostile language — "stop emailing me", "this is spam", "I'll report you"
• Opt-out request — "unsubscribe", "remove me", "don't contact me again"
• Legal/serious topic — anything mentioning litigation, regulators, contracts that need signing
• Inbound call — any phone call gets flagged automatically (calls always need a human)

Red contacts appear with a 🚩 in the CRM, in the "Needs attention" filter, and as a count on the nav bar.

How to handle a red contact

1. Open the contact — the attention banner shows what triggered the flag
2. Read the conversation history (always there in the timeline)
3. Take the action they want — book a call, send the deal info, honor the opt-out
4. Click Clear flag when handled, or set status to qualified / notinterested

The AI does NOT auto-reply to any further messages from a flagged contact until you clear the flag. This prevents the bot from saying something dumb to someone who's clearly upset or asking for human help.

The attribution context on red contacts

The banner includes WHY the contact reached out — "Inbound call from John Smith. Last outreach: mailed May 15." This is critical context before you call back.

If they got mailed AND emailed last week, that's a strong-intent lead. If they're flagging because they're annoyed, you need to know that before responding.

How to disable AI replies per contact

If you want to handle a specific contact entirely manually (e.g., a high-value lead you don't trust an AI with):

1. Open the contact's detail view
2. Toggle AI replies off

That contact's replies will go straight to red-flag status. You handle all responses manually until you re-enable.

How to take over a conversation

Once a contact is flagged, you can:

• Reply directly from your email/SMS — the thread continues in your normal inbox. Direct REI logs your replies via IMAP polling and adds them to the timeline.
• Reply from inside Direct REI — open the contact, hit Send in the detail view, type your message, send. Goes through the same mailbox.

What's next

To understand which campaigns are producing red-flag leads: Reading cross-channel attribution.