Automated triage uses rules and AI classification to sort incoming mail by urgency and required action before a person sees it.
What good looks like#
- Done: Classify by action needed: reply, read, schedule, approve, ignore.
- Done: Route newsletters and notifications out of the primary view.
- Done: Flag messages from key contacts and threads you started.
- Done: Generate a summary for long threads so triage is possible without opening them.
What bad looks like#
- Seen in audits: Filters that hide important mail from unknown senders (new clients).
- Seen in audits: No review loop for misclassified messages.
How to move from bad to good#
Work through the good list in order and re-verify after each change. Most teams find one or two items from the bad list already present; fixing those usually produces the largest improvement.
Frequently asked questions#
How does AI triage decide what is important?
Signals include sender relationship, whether you are in To or CC, question marks and deadlines in the body, and thread history.