Reply intents explained
Understand the reply intents Tantra assigns, from interested to unsubscribe request, and how they map to the tone badges in your inbox.
Open in Tantra
These open the app in a new tab. You may be asked to sign in.
Overview
When a prospect sends a real reply, Tantra's classifier assigns it one of nine intents. The intent captures what the prospect meant, from clear interest to a request to be left alone. This article lists every intent and shows how it appears in your inbox.
How it works
Tantra reads the reply's subject and the first part of the body, then picks the single best-fitting intent along with a confidence score. When it is unsure, it prefers a catch-all rather than guessing. If the AI classifier cannot produce a result, Tantra keeps the tone guess from its keyword pass. For the detection and timing detail, see Reply detection and intent classification.
The AI intent only overrides the keyword guess when the classifier is confident. Below that confidence, the reply keeps the keyword-based tone.
The nine intents
| Intent | What the prospect is signaling | Inbox tone |
|---|---|---|
| Interested | Wants to talk, asks a question about your offer | Positive |
| Referral | Points you to a colleague or names someone else to contact | Positive |
| Not interested | Explicit disinterest, without asking to opt out | Negative |
| Objection, pricing | Pushback specifically on price, budget, or cost | Negative |
| Objection, timing | Interested but bad timing, such as "next quarter" | Neutral |
| Unsubscribe request | Explicit opt-out, such as "remove me" or "stop" | Negative |
| Out of office | An out-of-office auto-responder | Neutral |
| Auto response | A generic auto-reply or ticket acknowledgement | Neutral |
| Other | Anything that does not fit cleanly | Neutral |
How intents appear in the inbox
The inbox summarizes each reply with two badges:
- A classification badge on every message: reply, bounce, auto response, unsubscribe, or other.
- An intent badge on incoming real replies, showing the tone: positive, negative, or neutral.
The tone badge is the intent rolled up into one of three colors, using the mapping in the table above. The full nine-way intent also drives automation, such as automatic unsubscribes and outbound webhooks, so your other tools can react to the precise intent.
What happens next
- A positive reply, such as interested or referral, is the one to act on first. Follow up from your mail client.
- An unsubscribe request can trigger an automatic opt-out. The keyword-based opt-out is on by default. The AI-based opt-out is off by default. See Suppression lists and unsubscribes.
- Out-of-office and auto-response replies do not stop the sequence, because the prospect has not actually answered.
- Any real reply moves the prospect to a replied state and stops further steps. See Enrollment lifecycle and statuses.
- The intent also feeds each prospect's lead record. See Manage leads, stages, and scores.
Best practices
- Sort your triage by tone: work positive replies first, then objections, then negatives.
- Treat objections as openings, not rejections. A timing objection is neutral for a reason.
- Connect an LLM provider so replies get a precise intent rather than only a tone. See Connect your own LLM provider.
Common mistakes
- Reading a neutral tone as a rejection. A timing objection and an out-of-office are both neutral but mean very different things.
- Assuming "not interested" opts the prospect out. It is negative but not an opt-out on its own.
- Expecting the nine detailed intents as badges in the inbox. The inbox shows a tone badge and a classification badge. The detailed intent drives automation behind the scenes.
FAQ
Where do I see the exact intent?
The inbox shows a tone badge, positive, negative, or neutral, and a classification badge. The precise nine-way intent is used for automation such as auto-unsubscribe and webhooks.
Why is a pricing objection negative but a timing objection neutral?
A pricing objection signals resistance to the offer. A timing objection signals interest with bad timing, so Tantra keeps it neutral rather than negative.
Does an unsubscribe request always opt the prospect out?
A clear opt-out phrase triggers an automatic unsubscribe by default. An AI-detected unsubscribe request only opts them out if you turn that setting on.
What is the "other" intent?
A reply that does not fit any category cleanly. Tantra prefers "other" over a wrong guess.
Are referrals treated as positive?
Yes. A referral maps to a positive tone, since the prospect is handing you a warm next step.
Related articles
Was this article helpful?
Related articles
- Reply detection and intent classificationLearn how Tantra polls your mailboxes to detect replies, links them to the right campaign, and classifies each one with AI and a keyword fallback.
- Manage leads, stages, and scoresTrack prospects in Tantra's leads view, set stages, read the automatic engagement score, and open a lead's activity, notes, and campaigns.