followups

name	followups
description	Track sent messages awaiting responses across communication channels
compatibility	Designed for Vellum personal assistants
metadata	{"emoji":"📨","vellum":{"display-name":"Followups","category":"messaging"}}

Track messages sent on external channels (email, Slack, WhatsApp, etc.) that are awaiting a response.

Lifecycle

Each follow-up moves through these states:

• pending -- waiting for a response
• overdue -- past the expected response deadline with no reply
• nudged -- a reminder was sent after becoming overdue
• resolved -- a response was received or the follow-up was manually closed

Auto-Deadline

When expected_response_hours is set, the follow-up automatically becomes overdue after that window. If a contact_id is provided, the contact's importance score can inform grace period decisions.

Resolution

Follow-ups can be resolved in two ways:

1. By ID -- resolve a specific follow-up directly
2. By conversation -- provide channel + conversation_id to auto-resolve all matching pending follow-ups (useful when a response arrives on a conversation)

Tips

• Use followup_list with overdue_only: true to find conversations that need attention.
• Attach a reminder_schedule_id to link a recurring reminder schedule to a follow-up.
• Filter by channel, status, or contact to narrow results.