| name | reply-classifier |
| description | Read reply emails and classify them by intent (interested, objection, not now, unsubscribe) with recommended next actions. |
Reply Classifier
Task
Read incoming reply emails from outbound campaigns and classify each by intent. Output a categorized list with recommended next actions so your team responds fast and appropriately.
Input Requirements
- Reply emails in one of these formats:
- CSV with columns:
from_email, from_name, subject, body, received_date, campaign_name
- Raw email text (for single-reply classification)
- File path to a folder of
.eml or .txt files
- Copy frameworks from your CLAUDE.md (for generating suggested responses)
Instructions
- Read each reply and classify into one of these categories:
| Category | Description | Response SLA |
|---|
| Interested | Wants to learn more, asked a question, agreed to meet | Within 1 hour |
| Objection | Raised a concern but didn't shut the door (budget, timing, competitor, authority) | Within 4 hours |
| Not now | Timing isn't right but didn't say never ("circle back later", "not a priority right now") | Acknowledge + set reminder |
| Referral | Pointed you to someone else ("talk to my colleague", "reach out to X") | Within 2 hours |
| Unsubscribe | Wants to be removed ("remove me", "stop emailing", "unsubscribe") | Immediate - remove and confirm |
| Out of office | Auto-reply, OOO message | No action - re-engage after return date |
| Not relevant | Wrong person, wrong company, spam, bounce notification | Archive |
-
For each classified reply, generate:
- Category and confidence level (high / medium / low)
- Suggested response using your copy frameworks:
- Interested → propose a specific time, keep momentum
- Objection → acknowledge, address with one line, soft re-ask
- Not now → confirm, offer a resource, set a future date
- Referral → thank them, ask for an intro or permission to use their name
- Unsubscribe → confirm removal, professional close
- CRM action: what to update (deal stage, next step, contact status, task)
-
Flag edge cases: replies that are ambiguous or could be read multiple ways → mark as "needs human review"
Output Format
CSV with columns:
from_email, from_name, company, received_date, category, confidence, suggested_response, crm_action, campaign_name
Plus a summary:
Total replies processed: N
- Interested: N (respond within 1 hour)
- Objection: N (respond within 4 hours)
- Not now: N (set reminders)
- Referral: N (follow up on referral)
- Unsubscribe: N (remove immediately)
- Out of office: N (no action)
- Not relevant: N (archive)
- Needs human review: N
Save to: ./data/replies/classified_[DATE].csv
Reply Routing
- Interested + Referral replies: Route to Slack
#replies channel within 1 minute for fastest response. Include: sender name, company, reply snippet, suggested response, and CRM action.
- Objection replies: Route to Slack
#replies with suggested rebuttal from copy frameworks.
- Unsubscribe: Auto-log in Google Sheets exclusion tracker (or CRM) - no Slack notification needed.
- Gmail integration: If using Gmail MCP connector, Claude Code can draft response emails directly in Gmail based on the suggested responses above. Review before sending.
Configure Slack webhook: set SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL in your .env file.
Example Usage
/reply-classifier
Input: ./data/replies/inbox_export_march_10.csv
Output:
Total replies: 24
- Interested: 5 → respond ASAP
- Sarah Kim (DataFlow): "This looks relevant. Can you send a one-pager?"
→ Suggested: "Sure thing, Sarah. Here's our one-pager [LINK]. Happy to walk through it live - does Thursday 2pm work?"
→ CRM: Move to "Engaged", set task for Thursday
- Objection: 3
- Mike Chen (Acme): "We just signed a 2-year deal with [COMPETITOR]."
→ Suggested: "Makes sense - [COMPETITOR] is solid for X. Where we're different is Y. Worth keeping in touch for when the renewal comes up?"
→ CRM: Set "Competitor" field, set reminder 18 months out
- Not now: 6
- Alex Rivera (CloudCo): "Not a priority this quarter."
→ Suggested: "Totally get it. I'll circle back in Q3. In the meantime, here's a relevant case study if useful."
→ CRM: Set follow-up task for July 1
- Unsubscribe: 2 → remove from all sequences immediately
- Out of office: 4 → no action, earliest return: March 17
- Referral: 1 → follow up on referral to VP Engineering
- Not relevant: 2 → archive
- Needs human review: 1 → tone unclear, may be sarcastic
