# Drafts and approvals

alfred_ 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.

Source: https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email/drafts  
Updated: 2026-10-24

## 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](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email/rules) that forwards mail runs on each matching email. Rules can't reply.
- A [routine](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/routines) 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](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/calendar/suggesting-times#does-alfred_-send-times-without-asking-me).

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.