Smarter Inbox, Happier Customers: How We Built an AI Email Reply Bot with HookPilot
Managing a growing inbox — especially for customer support or lead follow-ups — can be overwhelming. Manual replies eat up time, introduce delays, and make scaling support operations a constant struggle.
So we built something better: a fully automated AI-powered email responder using HookPilot, Gmail, and ChatGPT.
No plugins. No code. Just faster, smarter replies that don’t compromise on tone or accuracy.
Here’s how we did it.
The Problem: Email Overload
Whether you’re dealing with incoming sales queries, support tickets, or demo requests, one thing is consistent — your Gmail inbox fills up fast.
We needed:
- Timely responses without sacrificing quality
- Human-like tone that builds trust
- Flexibility to handle various types of inquiries
- Something that scales — without hiring more agents
Enter HookPilot.
The Automation Flow (HookPilot + GPT-4 + Gmail)
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of our AI Email Reply Bot setup in HookPilot:
1. Trigger: New Email in Gmail
The flow begins every time a new email lands in a designated Gmail label or inbox. HookPilot watches for it in real time.
2. Action: Draft Smart Reply Using ChatGPT
The content of the incoming email is sent to ChatGPT (via OpenAI) with a dynamic prompt like:
“You’re a helpful customer support agent. Write a friendly, informative response to this email. If it’s a sales lead, highlight our key benefits and suggest next steps. If it’s a support issue, offer guidance or request more info.”
HookPilot seamlessly handles the formatting, API call, and variable passing.
3. Action: Send Reply via Gmail
The draft response is reviewed (if manual approval is enabled) or sent automatically via Gmail as a reply.
In under 30 seconds, the customer gets a thoughtful, tailored reply — with zero human input required unless flagged for review.
Use Cases
This automation is incredibly flexible. Here’s how we’re using it:
- Customer Support: “My order hasn’t arrived.” → AI replies with tracking info or next steps.
- Lead Handling: “Can I get a demo?” → AI replies with benefits + call booking link.
- Product Questions: “Does this work on iOS?” → AI pulls product info and answers.
You can even adjust the prompt logic based on keywords, urgency, or sender domain.
Benefits
- Speed: Replies go out instantly, 24/7.
- Tone: GPT-4 crafts polite, brand-aligned responses.
- Scalability: Your support load grows, but your team doesn’t need to.
Customization: You can edit prompts, insert custom replies, or add approval steps with a click.
What About Human Oversight?
For critical or sensitive use cases, we’ve added an optional review step. HookPilot can:
- Save the AI draft to a Slack channel or Google Sheet
- Let a human approve or tweak before sending
This keeps you in control — without slowing things down too much.
Stack Overview
- HookPilot – The no-code workflow engine powering the whole flow
- Gmail API – For triggering on incoming emails and sending responses
OpenAI (ChatGPT) – For context-aware reply generation
Final Thoughts
With HookPilot and GPT-4, you’re not just replying to emails — you’re scaling your inbox with intelligence. Whether you’re a solo founder, a startup support team, or a sales ops leader, this setup frees you up to focus on what matters most.
Ready to build your own AI Email Reply Bot? Start with HookPilot, plug in your Gmail and OpenAI keys, and watch the magic happen.
Hey
I'm Jassim!
DevOps Engineer at Tech4Biz,
contributing to the development and Built a no-code workflow using HookPilot to automate AI Email creation. When a new content link is added to Google Sheets, ChatGPT summarizes it and generates a polished content which is then sent in real-time via API—saving hours of manual work and ensuring consistent.