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AI inbox triage for fence companies
The office inbox is where good leads go to die under supplier promos. A chat assistant can sort a pasted batch in a minute and tell you what needs a human first.
Keep the tag list short
| Tag | What goes here | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| NEW LEAD | Quote requests, photos of a yard | Estimator, same day |
| REPAIR | Storm damage, leaning post, broken latch | Service lead |
| ACTIVE JOB | Customers with a job on the board | Office manager |
| SUPPLIER | POs, ship notices, backorders | Purchasing |
| COMPLAINT | Anything angry or mentioning a review | Owner, today |
| SAFETY / URGENT | Pool gate not latching, utility hit, injury | Owner, now |
| JUNK | Sales pitches, SEO spam | Nobody |
Prompts
Prompt · Triage a batchAny chat assistant
You triage email for a fence install company. Use only these tags: NEW LEAD, REPAIR, ACTIVE JOB, SUPPLIER, COMPLAINT, SAFETY/URGENT, JUNK. For each email below output: # | Tag | One-line summary | Reply needed today? (Y/N) Put anything about a pool gate, a utility strike, or an injury at the top as SAFETY/URGENT. If you are not sure, say UNSURE. Do not guess. [paste emails with names and phone numbers removed]
Prompt · Draft lead repliesAny chat assistant
For each NEW LEAD above, draft a 3-sentence reply that: 1. Thanks them by first name only 2. Asks for photos of the fence line, gate openings, and any slope 3. Offers our next estimate windows: Tue pm, Thu am No pricing. No promises on dates.
Make it a habit
- Twice a dayCopy the unread batch at 8am and 1pm. Strip phone numbers and addresses.
- TriageRun the triage prompt. Handle SAFETY and COMPLAINT first.
- DraftGenerate lead replies, edit, send from your real inbox.
- LogDrop new leads into your CRM or lead sheet with the tag.
Connected inbox tools. Some assistants can connect to Gmail or Outlook directly. That saves copy-paste but gives the tool more access. Start with copy-paste until you trust the routine.
Shop guardrails
- Never paste full customer card numbers, bank info, SSNs, or gate codes into any chat tool.
- Strip names and addresses when you can. Job number + street name is usually enough context.
- Check the business terms of the plan you pay for. Free consumer tiers and business tiers can treat your data differently.
- A human sends it. Drafts go out only after someone in the office reads them.
- No invented numbers. If the tool gives you a price, lead time, or code rule you did not feed it, throw it out.