> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tuco.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Replies & Inbox

> See and use replies from your recipients in Tuco, your CRM, and your own workflows. Built into Tuco AI iMessage automation — works with HubSpot, Salesforce.

## What Reply Handling Gives You

Tuco doesn’t just send messages—it also **captures replies**, links them back to the right lead and conversation, and makes them available to you:

* In the Tuco UI (inboxes, timelines, and campaign views).
* Through APIs and exports.
* Via webhooks you can plug into your own systems.

From your point of view, replies become a first‑class signal you can use to:

* Route conversations to humans.
* Update CRM timelines.
* Trigger follow‑ups or automations.

You never need to manage how replies are matched internally; Tuco handles that.

***

## How Replies Show Up in Tuco

When a recipient replies on a supported channel:

* The reply is attached to:
  * The relevant **lead**, where known.
  * The originating **campaign** or message, where a match is clear.
* The reply content and timestamp are visible:
  * In the Tuco app (conversation view, lead history, campaign stats).
  * Through public APIs and exports.

Typical things your team can see:

* Last reply content and time for each lead.
* Whether a reply was part of a specific campaign step or a one‑off message.
* Which line and channel the reply came back on.

***

## Using Replies in Your Workflows

Replies are especially powerful when you connect them to your own tools.

### In your CRM

By consuming reply events (see `/api-reference/message-webhooks`), you can:

* Add timeline entries with:
  * Reply text.
  * When it was received.
  * Which campaign or message it refers to.
* Update fields like:
  * “Last replied at”.
  * “Reply sentiment” (if you classify it).

This gives sales and support teams a complete picture of conversations without leaving the CRM.

### In your automations

Replies can be treated as triggers for:

* Moving a lead to the next stage in your funnel.
* Creating tasks for an owner to respond.
* Stopping or skipping later campaign steps for that lead.
* Performing routing (for example, assigning conversations by region or product line).

You decide the rules in your own systems; Tuco provides reliable events with stable identifiers.

***

## Reply Webhooks (Conceptual Overview)

When you enable reply webhooks, Tuco sends a notification to your backend whenever a new reply is recorded.

At a high level, each event includes:

* **Which message** was replied to (when known).
* **Which lead** it relates to (when known).
* **Which workspace and line** own the conversation.
* **The body of the reply**.
* **Timestamps** so you can order events in your own logs.
* **`repliedAtUtc`** — when the reply was received (UTC). Always present.
* **`parentMessages`** — the last 2 outbound messages you sent to that lead (campaign-scoped when the reply is in a campaign, otherwise last 2 in the workspace). Omitted when none exist.

All of this is backward compatible: existing fields are unchanged; new fields are additive. When a reply is **outside a campaign**, `repliedAtUtc` is still set, and `parentMessages` (when present) are the last 2 messages you sent to that lead in the workspace.

For concrete field names and shapes, see `/api-reference/message-webhooks`. Those schemas are the stable contracts you should integrate against; you do not need to know anything about the internal bridging or storage layers.

***

## Behavior When No Perfect Match Exists

In real life, you may see replies that:

* Come from a contact you messaged long ago.
* Come from a slightly different address or number than the one you used.
* Don’t clearly match a recent outbound message.

From your perspective:

* Tuco will still try to associate the reply with:
  * The closest known lead.
  * The most relevant recent conversation.
* When a clean match isn’t possible, Tuco:
  * Avoids guessing in ways that would corrupt your data.
  * Still preserves the raw reply information where it can be safely attached.

Because of this, you can trust that:

* When a reply is shown as belonging to a lead or campaign, Tuco has already done the heavy lifting to match it.
* You’re not exposed to the internal matching heuristics—only to outcomes that are safe to build on.

***

## Patterns for Classifying Replies

Many teams treat replies as more than just free‑form text. Common patterns include:

* **Interest level**
  * “Interested”, “Not now”, “Not interested”.
* **Intent**
  * “Book a meeting”, “Ask a question”, “Negotiate pricing”.
* **Compliance**
  * “Opt‑out” or “Unsubscribe” messages (see `/features/compliance-and-optouts`).

You can implement classification:

* In your own backend by:
  * Examining reply text from webhooks.
  * Applying your own NLP models or rule‑based logic.
* In your CRM using:
  * Formulas or automation workflows acting on the reply content and tags.

Tuco’s responsibility is to deliver the raw reply in a consistent format and context; your responsibility is to decide how to interpret and act on it.

***

## Operational & Analytics Use Cases

Once replies are flowing reliably, you can:

* **Measure engagement**
  * Reply rates per campaign, per segment, or per rep.
  * Breakdown of classifications (e.g. positive vs negative replies).

* **Improve targeting**
  * Identify segments that consistently reply positively.
  * Suppress or adjust campaigns for segments with high complaint or opt‑out replies.

* **Refine content**
  * Compare reply patterns across different templates.
  * Use replies to inform future copy and cadences.

All of these insights come from the data Tuco already exposes; you never need to access any internal worker endpoints or logs.

***

## Best Practices

* **Normalize identifiers upstream**
  * Store phone numbers in a consistent format (e.g. E.164).
  * Lowercase emails before storing.
  * This makes reply‑to‑lead matching more accurate.

* **Keep one source of truth for routing**
  * Decide in your own systems how replies:
    * Are assigned to owners.
    * Affect deal or account stages.

* **Respect consent and expectations**
  * Use reply content to:
    * Honor opt‑outs quickly.
    * Avoid over‑messaging after clear “not interested” replies.

* **Log and monitor**
  * Capture reply events in your logging and analytics tools.
  * Watch for sudden changes in reply volume or tone that may indicate an issue with a campaign or template.

Handled this way, Tuco’s reply features give you a reliable **feedback loop** for your outreach, while keeping all underlying implementation detail safely abstracted away.