# Email automations

> Automatically reply to, draft, assign, star, or close incoming email, and handle Shopify order requests.

Source: https://brandwise.ai/help/email/email-automations
Last updated: 2026-09-30

Email automations decide what happens when a new email arrives: an AI reply, a draft for review, an assignment, and more. You can also let the AI handle common Shopify order requests.

## Open email automations

1. Go to **AI Assistant > Automation > Email**.
2. Pick your mailbox in the sidebar.

Owners and members with the **Manage connected pages** permission can change these settings.

## Choose which emails to automate

| Card | Applies to |
|---|---|
| **All Emails** | Every incoming email |
| **Needs Reply** | Only emails the AI identifies as needing a reply |
| One card per email Smart Label | Emails with that [Smart Label](https://brandwise.ai/help/ai-knowledge-base/smart-labels) |

Actions on **All Emails** also apply to the other cards and show there as **From all**. Turn a card's switch off to pause everything on it.

## Add an action

On a card, click **Add action** and pick one. Changes save as you make them. To remove an action, click the X on it.

| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Auto Reply** | Sends an AI reply |
| **Auto Draft** | Writes an AI reply for your team to review in the inbox |
| **Mark as Starred** | Stars the ticket |
| **Assign to team** | Assigns the ticket to the teammate you pick |
| **Close Ticket** | Closes the ticket |

A card can't have both **Auto Reply** and **Auto Draft**, and **Auto Draft** can't be combined with **Close Ticket**.

## Shopify actions

With a Shopify store connected, Smart Label cards also list Shopify actions:

- **Cancel & refund order**
- **Change shipping address**
- **Refund order**

These let the AI act on an order when the customer asks for it. They only take effect alongside **Auto Reply** or **Auto Draft**. With **Auto Reply**, the AI makes the change in Shopify and sends its reply. If the change fails, the reply is saved as a draft instead of being sent. With **Auto Draft**, the change is suggested on the draft, and a teammate reviews it and clicks **Execute**.

> **Warning:** Cancellations and refunds made by **Auto Reply** happen without a person checking them first. Try them with **Auto Draft** before switching to **Auto Reply**.

## Good to know

- AI replies and drafts use your [knowledge base](https://brandwise.ai/help/ai-knowledge-base/knowledge-base) and [AI credits](https://brandwise.ai/help/account-billing/ai-credits).
- What happens when the AI isn't confident about an email (the **Incoming email** fallback) and how long it waits before replying are set in **Global Settings** under **AI Assistant > Automation > Email**. See [Settings for all automations](https://brandwise.ai/help/ai-knowledge-base/automation-settings).