Autopilot Playbooks

⚠️ This feature is in managed access. Add your name to the waitlist to request access, and we’ll reach out as we have capacity.

Use Autopilot Playbooks to automatically handle complex scenarios with guided logic and teammate handoff. Playbooks allow you to configure workflows using a mix of defined steps and natural language instructions to handle variability in customer responses effectively.

With Playbooks, you can:

• Automatically handle back-and-forth conversations with customers, coordination with third-party systems, and documenting resolution progress on the conversation for internal teams

• Dynamically navigate edge cases

• Seamlessly hand off to teammates

• To manage Playbooks, you must be a Front company admin or have the Rules and macros - Create and edit permission.

• You must have access to the Autopilot add-on and have been granted access to the Playbooks feature.

• You must have shared inboxes selected in the Inboxes with Front AI enabled setting in the Front AI page in workspace settings.

A Playbook consists of four sections:

• Steps let you describe your process using a mix of defined steps and natural language instructions.

• Context explains when to run this Playbook and how to handle it.

• Inboxes lets you choose where this Playbook can run.

• Escalation configures what happens when handoffs are needed.

Once configured, you’ll see a Playbooks indicator in applicable conversations.

You’ll see actions the Playbook has taken in the conversation history and comments, depending on your configuration.

Playbooks support different types of steps to build your automation workflow.

Define specific data you want to collect from your customers. e.g., account ID, order number, email address, invoice in PDF format.

Provide instructions for how to reply to customers. You can include dynamic variables and reference previously collected information.

Send requests to APIs that you've configured in your developer settings to fetch or update data in external systems. See this article to learn more about application requests (Connectors).

Perform additional conversation actions like adding internal comments or moving conversations to different inboxes. Use the slash / key to add actions, @ to reference variables.

Write a conditional statement to run specific steps if true (multiple Then conditions available).

Step 1

Click the gear icon, navigate to workspace settings, then select Playbooks in the sidebar.

Step 2

Click Create Playbook.

Step 3

Configure the steps you want the Playbook to take when it is triggered.

In this example, when customers ask for an update regarding their booking information, we want our Playbook to automatically send customers a reply.

Step 1

In the Name field, enter the internal name for the Playbook.

Step 2

In the Response guidelines field, use natural language to explain how the Playbook should respond to an inbound message.

Step 3

Use the Automatically send messages setting to control whether replies are sent automatically or require human review.

• Toggle on: Playbook auto-sends each reply to customers immediately

• Toggle off: Creates drafts that users must review and send from the inbox

⚠️ Do not toggle this setting off if you're using this Playbook with Autopilot Resolve.

Step 4

Use the Allow Autopilot to run this Playbook automatically setting to choose how your Playbook is activated.

• Manual trigger (toggled off): Teammates can trigger Playbooks directly from the inbox on a conversation. This is always enabled as long as the Playbook is enabled for that inbox.

• Allow Autopilot to run this Playbook automatically (toggled on): Playbooks trigger automatically based on inbound messages and inquiry detection.
  ⚠️ This trigger type is required if you're using this Playbook with Autopilot Resolve.

When toggled on, use the Trigger instructions field to define specific phrases or scenarios the Playbook should act on.

Select the shared inboxes where you want the Playbook to trigger. Playbooks only work in shared inboxes with Autopilot enabled. You can manage by navigating to workspace settings, select Front AI, then edit the Inboxes with Front AI enabled setting.

Configure actions for when this Playbook escalates to a human. You can move the conversation to a different inbox and add tags.

These actions trigger when the Playbook encounters a technical error or when a customer explicitly requests a human handoff.

Once you’re finished creating your Playbook, click Create.

You can also click Test at the top of the page to manually enter information to simulate how the Playbook will run against an incoming message.

Click Test at the bottom of the panel, and you’ll see results containing automated responses and indicators stating whether or not the Playbook would trigger.

• Write clear, specific guidelines to help the Playbook understand context and execute properly.

• Use internal comments as checkpoints to track automation progress.

• Always include a human handoff step for complex issues that require agent review.

• Test your Playbook thoroughly before enabling auto-replies.

Yes. Playbooks are part of the Autopilot add-on. You must have access to the Autopilot add-on and have been granted access to the Playbooks feature. Add your name to the waitlist to request access, and we’ll reach out as we have capacity.

This feature is available for the following channel types: Email, Portal, Slack, SMS, WhatsApp (native), WhatsApp (via Twilio), Yalo WhatsApp.

• To use Autopilot with custom channels, please reach out to your account manager or Front's support team.

• To use Autopilot with a chat-like experience, we recommend setting up Autopilot Resolve. Add your name to the waitlist to request access, and we’ll reach out as we have capacity.

Only English is officially supported at this time. While it is possible to use this feature with other languages, unexpected results may occur. In general, Front AI will respond to a single inbound message in the same language. However if multiple languages are used at any point in the conversation messages there's no guarantee that it'll make the language choice a human would. Our AI vendors support 40+ common languages.

No. Playbooks only apply to shared inboxes. As a workaround, you can create a shared inbox that only an individual can access and move conversations from the individual inbox to the new shared inbox.

Playbooks use the following information to generate replies:

• Dynamic variables

• Information previously collected from the user

• Previous messages from the same conversation

• Knowledge sources configured in your Front AI workspace settings

Playbooks look at the following information:

• Dynamic variables

• Information collected from the user

• Previous messages from the same conversation

• Knowledge sources configured in your Front AI workspace settings

When a “Reply” step is placed next to a “Collect information” step, the Playbook will merge both steps into a single outbound message to the recipient.

Playbooks skip Collect information steps if any previous message already includes all the required information, and runs through the next step in the Playbook. This accelerates response times and eliminates unnecessary back-and-forth replies.

See this article for additional AI FAQs.

Contact us at autopilot@front.com for pricin