# How does Cheerful handle creator replies?

> What happens when a creator replies to Cheerful outreach: how replies are picked up and sorted, what the AI reads before drafting, the three reply-automation levels, how follow-ups are timed and stopped, and what Slack is and is not used for.

Cheerful handles creator replies by picking them up from your connected mailbox, setting aside bounces, auto-replies and warm-up mail, sorting the rest into opted in, opted out or asked a question, and drafting a response in the same thread. By default every drafted reply waits for your approval. You can instead let simple opt-ins send on their own, or let every reply send automatically.

Replies go out from your own mailbox, in the creator’s language, as a normal reply in the existing thread. The settings below are the ones that decide how much of that happens without you.

Cheerful drafts a response to every creator reply in the same email thread, and by default holds each draft for approval; campaigns can instead auto-send simple opt-ins or all replies.

## How does Cheerful pick up and sort replies?

Connected Gmail mailboxes are checked continuously, with a two-minute pause between passes. SMTP/IMAP mailboxes have their own inbox sync, and Instagram DMs arrive the moment Meta delivers them. Each new message is matched to the campaign it belongs to and then sorted.

- Bounces, out-of-office and other auto-replies, and warm-up network mail are set aside automatically, so they do not get drafted against or counted as replies.
- A real reply is classified as an opt-in, an opt-out, or a reply with questions.
- The thread then either gets a draft or waits for the creator, and the campaign’s status for that creator moves with it.

## What does the AI read before drafting a reply?

- The whole thread, not only the last message.
- The campaign’s goal and the rules you wrote for it, its FAQ answers and sample emails, and the products in the campaign.
- Anything specific to that creator you added as a custom field, which is treated as a rule for that thread only.
- The current offer: compensation, timeline and usage rights.
- Examples of replies already sent on similar threads.
- Your calendar availability, when the creator asks to meet and a Google Calendar is connected.

The draft is written in the language the creator wrote in. For gifting campaigns, the shipping address a creator sends is pulled out of the reply and checked, and the creator moves from interested but missing details to ready to ship.

## Does Cheerful send replies automatically?

Only if you choose to. Each campaign has one of three reply-automation levels, and Manual is the default.

| Level | What happens to a drafted reply |
| --- | --- |
| Manual (default) | Every reply is drafted and held for your review before sending. |
| Semi-auto | Simple opt-in replies are sent automatically. Replies with questions are drafted for review. |
| Fully automated | All replies are generated and sent automatically without review. |

Even on the automatic levels, a draft falls back to review when the creator only reacted with an emoji, when the thread cannot be confirmed as belonging to the campaign, or when a newer message has arrived since the draft was written. Replies to Instagram DMs are never sent automatically at any level; they are always drafted and held.

## How do follow-ups work, and when do they stop?

There are two kinds, and both are off unless the campaign turns them on.

- A follow-up sequence for creators who have not replied to first contact. You write up to five follow-ups when you set up a campaign, each sent a set number of days after the previous email, three days by default, by email or Instagram DM. They send as replies in the same thread, and all pending follow-ups for a creator are cancelled the moment that creator replies.
- Follow-up drafts in an ongoing conversation. When your message was the last one and the creator has gone quiet, Cheerful drafts a nudge after a gap, three days by default and up to three times. These are drafted for review, and are skipped if anyone on your side has already replied.

Follow-ups draw on the same daily sending budget per mailbox as first-touch outreach. A reply to a creator who has written to you is not held back by that budget.

## What does Slack do in the reply flow?

Slack is for alerts and gifting orders, not for approving drafts. With the Cheerful for Slack app connected, a campaign posts to its channel when creators reply. Sales campaigns alert on every reply; other campaigns alert when a reply is flagged interested or asks a question. Gifting orders can be approved, skipped or edited straight from the Slack message. Drafted email replies are reviewed and sent in Cheerful.

## What this does not do

- Reply automation is set per campaign, not per message type. The one built-in split is Semi-auto, which auto-sends opt-ins and holds questions.
- Instagram DM replies are never sent automatically.
- Drafted email replies cannot be approved from Slack; Slack handles reply alerts and gifting-order approvals.
- Drafts follow the rules you wrote. A constraint that is not in the campaign rules or a creator’s custom fields is one the drafter does not have.
- Follow-up sequences are capped at five steps when a campaign is created.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Cheerful reply to influencers automatically?**

Only if the campaign is set to. The default, Manual, drafts every reply and holds it for review. Semi-auto sends simple opt-ins automatically and holds questions; Fully automated sends every reply. Instagram DM replies are always held.

**Does Cheerful stop following up when a creator replies?**

Yes. Any reply from the creator cancels all of their pending follow-ups.

**How many follow-ups can Cheerful send?**

Up to five in a campaign’s follow-up sequence, three days apart by default, each as a reply in the same thread. In an ongoing conversation that goes quiet, Cheerful drafts up to three nudges for review.

**Are replies sent from my own email?**

Yes. Replies go from the mailbox you connected, as normal replies in the existing thread, so the creator sees one conversation with your address.

**Does Cheerful reply in other languages?**

Yes. Drafts are written in the language of the creator’s message.

**Can I approve replies in Slack?**

No. Slack gets reply alerts and gifting-order approvals. Drafted email replies are reviewed and sent in Cheerful.

## Keep reading

- [Reply to influencer emails automatically](https://www.cheerful.ai/docs/guides/reply-to-influencer-emails-automatically)
- [Is it safe to send outreach from your own Gmail?](https://www.cheerful.ai/docs/guides/is-it-safe-to-send-influencer-outreach-from-gmail)
- [Outreach and negotiation](https://www.cheerful.ai/features/outreach)
- [Where does Cheerful find creators?](https://www.cheerful.ai/docs/guides/where-does-cheerful-find-creators)

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