| You get | A list of open threads, oldest first, with a follow-up drafted for each |
|---|---|
| Stays with you | Sending, prices, discounts, anything you'd be held to |
| You need | Your sent mail, an agent, and a computer that stays on |
| Rough cost | Your AI plan, or a few dollars a month on a pay-as-you-go key (a rough estimate) |
| Skip it if | You have a handful of open threads at a time |
1What it looks like handed off
Follow-ups are the job everyone means to do and nobody has time for. The supplier who said "end of the week" two weeks ago. The lead who asked for a price and went quiet. Handed off, you get a short list each morning of who you're waiting on, and a polite nudge drafted for each one, in your words. You send the ones you want.
| Waiting on | Since | |
|---|---|---|
| Northside Print: proofs they said would come Friday. | 8 days | Draft ready |
| A lead from your website asked for a price for weekly cleaning. You sent it; no reply. | 6 days | Draft ready |
| Your accountant asked for last quarter's receipts. | 4 days | That one's on you |
| A customer asked for a 15% discount to go ahead. | 3 days | Left for you: a price decision |
Threads it skipped: 3 marked "closed" in your tracker.
2The job, end to end
- Each morning the agent looks through your sent mail for threads where you were the last to write.
- If you keep a list of leads or orders (a spreadsheet, or a CRM it can read), it checks that too, and skips anything marked done or lost.
- It keeps the threads older than your waiting time, for example four working days for a vendor and three for a lead.
- For each one it drafts a short follow-up in the same thread, using what was actually said: the date they promised, the price you sent.
- It lists them oldest first, and marks the ones that need a decision from you instead of a nudge.
- You send the drafts you agree with. When a thread is finished, you mark it, or tell the agent and it updates your list.
3What stays with you
- Sending
- Every nudge is a draft until you send it. Out of the box, it asks before it spends money or sends anything.
- Prices and discounts
- It repeats a price you already sent. It never offers a new one, a discount or a deadline.
- Tone with people you know
- A nudge to a long-time supplier reads differently from one to a stranger. You can tell it who to leave alone entirely.
- When it's unsure
- If a thread is ambiguous (did they already reply by phone?), it lists it without a draft and says why.
4When it gets something wrong
- It nudges someone who already answered
- Usually because they replied by phone, text or from a different address. The draft sits there; you delete it. Tell it about the other address and it won't happen again.
- It gets a detail wrong
- A wrong date or amount in a follow-up is embarrassing, not costly, because you read it first. Each draft quotes the line it's based on, so checking takes seconds.
- It misses a thread
- Threads that started on the phone or in person aren't in your mail. Add them to your list and it will track them too.
- It sounds like a robot
- Give it three follow-ups you've written yourself as examples. On upkeep, I tune that for you.
5What it costs
| Item | What it means |
|---|---|
| Your AI plan | A ChatGPT or Claude subscription can cover Codex or Claude Code. On a pay-as-you-go key, my rough estimate is a few dollars a month: it reads only the open threads, not your whole inbox. |
| The agent | OpenClaw and Hermes are free and open source; Claude Code and Codex come with their subscriptions. |
| A computer that stays on | The same one that runs your other jobs. Nothing extra if you already have one. |
| A list, optional | A spreadsheet of leads or orders works. You don't need a CRM. |
| Your time | A couple of minutes a day to read and send. |
Doing it yourself
- Install an agent on a computer that stays on, and connect your mail with read and draft access, with sending set to "ask first".
- Decide your waiting times: how many days before a vendor, a lead or a customer gets a nudge.
- Write the instructions: find threads where you wrote last, skip anything closed, draft a short follow-up in the same thread, never offer a new price or discount, and list the ones that need a decision.
- Give it three of your own follow-ups as examples of your tone.
- Schedule it each morning and read every draft for the first two weeks.
Budget an afternoon to set it up (a rough guide), more if you connect a CRM.
6When not to bother
- A handful of open threads. Gmail's "nudges" setting already brings back emails you haven't had a reply to, and Outlook can flag a message for follow-up. Both are free.
- You already run a CRM with reminders. Use its reminders. An agent helps only if the drafting itself is what you put off.
- Most follow-ups happen by phone. An agent that only sees email will miss most of the job.
If a $20 subscription does it, I'll tell you. The agent is worth it when you have enough open threads that some slip every week, and each one that slips is a lost job or a late delivery.
7Want this running on your own computer?
I'll set it up, and keep it running if you like. On a Mac mini, a Windows PC or Omarchy, with the agent you use or want: OpenClaw, Hermes, Claude Code, Codex or another. Out of the box, it asks before it spends money or sends anything. Tell me about the job and I'll quote it. If a $20 subscription does it, I'll tell you. You keep the computer, the accounts and the setup.
Tyler Mayberry, who runs Cirlet (formerly Animas)
Cirlet sets up assistants and teaches teams at independent insurance agencies nationwide. Monthly live training and lifetime learning-library access are included. Open the team training library.