Why Some Replies and Follow-Ups Wait for Approval

Summary

Overview: Pippin sends some messages on its own and holds others in the Review Queue until a person approves them. What gets held depends on the automation level you choose in AI Studio, and quotes always wait for approval.

Prerequisites:

• To change the automation level, you must be the Admin.
• To approve held items, any role can use the Review Queue.

How Pippin Decides

1. Pippin writes its reply to the customer as usual.
2. It checks your Automation level:
   • Review every reply: the reply waits in the Review Queue instead of sending. This covers replies on email, SMS, WhatsApp and Messenger, and the AI intro Pippin writes when you add a lead yourself.
   • Supervised: the reply sends right away.
   • Full auto: the reply sends right away.
3. If Pippin wants to share your booking link:
   • Under Review every reply and Supervised, the booking link waits in the Review Queue. On email, Pippin's reply and the link go out together as one email, so under Supervised the reply that carries the link waits with it.
   • Under Full auto, Pippin sends the booking link itself. If that send fails, the booking link goes to the Review Queue instead, so it is never lost.
4. If Pippin drafts a quote, the quote always waits in the Review Queue, under every automation level.
5. Follow-up sequence steps send on schedule under every automation level, including Review every reply. A follow-up step is held only when its wording includes a price that isn't in your knowledge base, a firm date or meeting time, or a promise (for example "guaranteed" or "we confirm"). Held follow-up steps show as Reply items marked Sequence Step in the queue.
6. Web chat and voice calls always answer live, because a person is waiting on the other end. They are not held under any level.
7. A held reply stops waiting on its own when it is no longer needed:
   • If the customer writes again, Pippin drafts a new reply that reads both messages, and the older draft is closed without sending.
   • If someone on your team replies by hand from the Inbox, the pending draft is closed without sending.

Limits

• Quotes always wait for approval, under every automation level.
• Full auto is available on the Growth plan and up. If your plan no longer includes it, booking links wait for approval until you upgrade. Your saved choice comes back when you upgrade.
• Review every reply and Supervised are available on every plan.
• Review every reply does not hold follow-up sequence steps, web chat replies or voice calls.
• Reply items can be edited before sending, and so can the words of a Booking Link item that carries Pippin's email reply (the link itself can't be edited). Quotes and other booking links are approved as they are, or opened from the queue (Open quote or Open costing).
• Appointment Setting workspaces don't send quotes, so they never see quote items.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Choose your automation level (Admin)

1. Go to Settings › AI Studio.
2. Find Routing preferences.
3. Under Automation level, select one option:
   • Review every reply: "Every reply Pippin writes waits in the Review Queue for your approval. Follow-up sequences, web chat and voice still send on their own."
   • Supervised: "AI replies instantly; booking links and quotes wait for your approval."
   • Full auto: "AI replies instantly and sends booking links itself; quotes still wait for approval."
4. The setting saves when you select it. You see "Routing preferences saved."

Step 2: Spot a held reply in the Inbox

1. Open Inbox and select the conversation.
2. When Pippin is holding a reply, the banner reads Pippin drafted a reply and is waiting for your approval.
3. Select Open Review Queue in the banner.

You also get a Waiting for Review notification, and the Review Queue menu item shows how many items are pending.

Step 3: Review and approve an item

1. Open Review Queue from the left menu.
2. The oldest item is at the top. To see one kind of item, click the Replies, Quotes or Booking links chip above the list; click All to see everything again.
3. Each item shows its type (Reply, Quote or Booking Link), the lead's name and how long it has waited, for example 10 minutes ago. An item that has waited 30 minutes or more shows that time in amber. A held follow-up step is a Reply marked Sequence Step.
4. For a reply, read Customer wrote first. It shows the customer's message that the reply answers, next to Pippin's draft.
5. Choose one:
   • Approve & Send: sends the item as it is.
   • Edit Before Sending (replies only): change the text, then select Approve & Send. Select Cancel to stop editing.
   • Open quote or Open costing (quotes only): open the quote to check or change it.
   • Reject: discards the item. Nothing is sent.

Step 4: Answer the customer yourself instead (optional)

1. In the Inbox, write and send your own reply.
2. Pippin's pending draft for that lead closes on its own and is not sent.

Verify It Worked

Success criteria:

• After Approve & Send, you see "Item approved and sent" and the message appears in the conversation.
• After Reject, you see "Item rejected" and the item leaves the queue.
• When nothing is waiting, the queue shows All caught up!

Troubleshooting

Common errors

• "Could not approve this item.": the item may have been approved or rejected by a teammate, or the send failed. Fix: the queue refreshes; check whether the item is still there and try again.
• "Messenger's messaging window has closed — the customer must message you first.": Messenger only allows replies within its messaging window. Fix: wait for the customer to message again.
• The Approve & Send button is greyed out on a costed quote: the quote has a check that blocks sending, listed in red on the item. Fix: select Open costing and fix the check first.
• The Full auto option is greyed out: your plan doesn't include it. Fix: upgrade under Settings › Billing.

Limitations & considerations

• A pending draft is replaced if the customer writes again before you approve it. Always approve from the newest item.
• Customers never see that a message was held; it arrives as a normal message once approved.

Next Steps & Related Resources

• Next steps:
  • How to Approve or Reject Items in the Review Queue
  • How to Choose Quotes or Meetings and the Automation Level
• Related articles:
  • How to Review and Send a Quote Pippin Drafted
  • How Pippin Sends a Booking Link
  • How to Create a Follow-Up Sequence
  • When Pippin Hands a Conversation to a Person
  • What Plans Pippify Offers and What an Outcome Is

Need more help? For more information and assistance, please send an email to support@pippify.ai.

Last Updated: 10/19/2026