Email Triage AI Agent Workflow

Typical problems this workflow solves

• A shared inbox where routing depends on one experienced operator reading every message first
• Slow first-pass handling because ownership, urgency, and sender type are not standardized
• Low-risk emails that could be drafted quickly still wait behind complex exceptions

Workflow steps

1. Receive inbound email
2. Identify sender type, topic, and urgency
3. Classify into queue or workflow path
4. Draft low-risk response or forwarding note
5. Escalate exceptions, sensitive cases, or low-confidence emails

Required inputs

• Mailbox categories
• Routing rules
• Approved reply patterns
• Sensitive-topic escalation rules
• Representative inbox samples from the real workflow

Outputs and delivery artifacts

• Queue taxonomy and routing rules
• Intent labels and urgency handling logic
• Low-risk draft reply patterns
• Escalation triggers and review notes

When the workflow must escalate

• Legal, finance, HR, complaint, or reputation-sensitive topics
• Threads with unclear ownership or conflicting context
• Any case where confidence is weak or a commitment could be irreversible

Boundaries

• Do not send irreversible commitments automatically
• Do not auto-handle legal, finance, HR, or complaint-sensitive threads
• Do not silently guess the correct queue when confidence is weak

Use when

• Shared inboxes have recurring routing patterns and queue ownership can be made explicit
• The team wants faster first-pass handling without removing review for sensitive threads

Do not use when

• Almost every email requires bespoke senior judgment
• The team has no stable routing categories or no approved reply patterns
• The real need is live chat operations rather than email workflow triage