Executive assistant · Workflow template

Auto-acknowledge new conversations

When someone emails you for the FIRST time on a thread, send a brief automated “got it — I’ll be in touch” reply from your own email address, on the thread. It only fires for real people who’d expect a reply — newsletters, automated mail, and ongoing back-and-forths are skipped.

Gmail

Outlook

Build this in Carly Or copy the prompt ↓

The workflow at a glance

Trigger

New email

Tool

Read thread

Filter

Is new

LLM

Triage

Filter

Worth acking

LLM

Ack

Action

Send reply

How this workflow works, step by step

1 Trigger New email

The workflow starts when Gmail or Outlook signals "new email". Carly is listening continuously, so the run begins within seconds of the event.
2 Tool Read thread

Carly pulls live data from Gmail or Outlook — "Read thread." Whatever's needed for the next step is fetched fresh, not cached.
3 Filter Is new

Carly drops anything that doesn't match: is new. The flow only continues for relevant items.
4 LLM Triage

An LLM step does the thinking: triage. Carly picks the right model for the job and you can swap models per step if you need to.
5 Filter Worth acking

Carly drops anything that doesn't match: worth acking. The flow only continues for relevant items.
6 LLM Ack

An LLM step does the thinking: ack. Carly picks the right model for the job and you can swap models per step if you need to.
7 Action Send reply

Finally Carly takes action in Gmail or Outlook: send reply. This is the thing that actually moves the world.

When to use this template

You want this work to happen consistently without anyone remembering to do it.
You're already using Gmail and Outlook, and the manual version of this is eating real minutes a week.
You want a visible canvas you can audit and edit — not a black-box agent doing things you can't see.

When not to use it

This task only happens once or twice a month — the setup cost won't pay back.
The decision in the middle of the flow needs human judgment every single time, not just on edge cases.
Your stack doesn't include any of the apps above and you don't want to wire a generic HTTP step.

Build it in 10 minutes — copy this prompt

Paste this in an email to and Carly will build the workflow for you.

Hey Carly — set up the "Auto-acknowledge new conversations" template for me and turn it on once it's working. If you need any details from me (like which sender, folder, or channel), just ask. Thanks!

Or open the dashboard →

Apps you'll connect

Carly authenticates these for you over OAuth when she sets up the workflow.

Gmail

Outlook

Questions teams ask before building this

How long does this workflow take to set up?

Most teams have "Auto-acknowledge new conversations" running in under 10 minutes. Copy the prompt on this page into an email to carly@usecarly.com and Carly wires the workflow together for you, including authenticating Gmail.

Can I edit this template after Carly builds it?

Yes. Every workflow lives on the Carly canvas where you can rename steps, change conditions, swap LLM models, add filters, and re-route branches. Templates are starting points, not locked recipes.

What if I use a different tool than the ones in this template?

Carly connects to 200+ tools, plus a generic HTTP node for any API that doesn't have a native integration. Tell Carly your stack when you send the prompt and she'll pick the right connectors.

Does this run automatically once it's built?

Yes. The trigger at the start of the workflow fires automatically — on a schedule, on an inbound email, on a webhook, on a calendar event, whatever this template specifies. Carly handles the listening; you only step in when a step is gated on you.

Does this workflow cost anything to run?

Running the workflow itself — triggers, tool calls, branches, filters, waits — is free with no per-task fees. You only pay for the AI steps in this template (the LLM nodes that classify, write, or decide). Everything around them runs at no cost.