Drafts and approvals
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View as Markdownalfred_ writes replies from the thread, in your voice: when you ask, and on its own for mail that needs an answer. You see every draft first and decide whether it goes.
On this page
Two ways a draft starts
- You ask. From an open thread, Home, chat, a text, or Claude and ChatGPT.
- alfred_ writes one as mail arrives. Email drafting is on by default. When an email needs a reply from you, alfred_ drafts one and it waits under Drafts ready on Home and in your morning brief. Nothing is sent.
- Draft a reply saying we can do Thursday
- Reply to Dana’s last email and ask for the signed copy
- Write a short follow-up to Mark about the invoice
alfred_ writes from the thread and what it knows about the people on it.
Reviewing and sending
You see every draft first. You can:
- Send it as it is.
- Change it: edit it yourself, or ask (“shorter”, “warmer”, “mention the deadline”).
- Save it to Drafts in Gmail or Outlook, threaded in the right conversation, to send later.
- Discard it.
On the web and in the iPhone app, a card shows the draft with a button to send. By text, alfred_ ends the draft with “Reply 1 to send, 2 to change it, 3 to cancel”:
| You reply | What happens |
|---|---|
| “1”, 👍, “yes”, “send it”, “go ahead” or “do it” | It sends. |
| “3”, “no”, “cancel”, “stop” or “never mind” | It stops. |
| “2”, or a change like “make it shorter” or “yes and copy Sam” | It changes the draft and shows it again. |
What asks first, and what doesn’t
| Action | Asks first? |
|---|---|
| Sending an email or a reply | Yes |
| A meeting that invites other people | Yes |
| Cleaning up by sender or search, or more than 25 emails | Yes, with a count |
| Changing a repeating task | Yes |
| Archiving, moving, labeling or deleting a few emails you name | No. It’s done and can be undone; deleted mail goes to Trash |
| Looking things up, adding a task, saving a note | No, these only affect you |
| A meeting on your own calendar with no guests | No |
Things you set up yourself
An email you ask alfred_ to write is shown to you first and goes only when you approve it. The exceptions are things you set up yourself:
- An email rule that forwards mail runs on each matching email. Rules can’t reply.
- A routine you’ve told to send without asking.
- A meeting thread you copy alfred_ on: it replies to the people on it with times you’re free. See Suggesting times.
In Claude and ChatGPT, Settings → Privacy → Actions without asking lists the actions you’ve allowed to go ahead there without a preview. Revoke any of them on that page.
Your voice
alfred_ learns how you write from the mail you’ve sent. To steer it, set a writing style and signature for each address under Settings → Email. The same page has the switches for each address: Email drafting, and whether alfred_’s drafts are also copied into your Gmail or Outlook Drafts folder. If you run a business mailbox, Business voice holds the company facts and tone for replies from it.