Check for an existing reply before an agent answers
Researched
What it does
Make your AI agent search sent mail and notes for an existing reply before it drafts an answer to a lead, so leads never get two replies.
Who it is for
Teams where both people and an agent answer leads from email, forms and other channels.
Tools
Claude or ChatGPT with a Gmail connector
Your lead notes or CRM export
The agent's standing instructions
Steps
Decide where replies can live: sent mail, a shared inbox, CRM notes.
Add the check from the prompt below to the agent's instructions, before any drafting step.
Keep approval on. Anthropic says its Google Workspace connectors ask before sending by default.
Test it: answer a test lead yourself, then ask the agent to handle the same lead. It should stop.
Ask teammates to log phone and text replies in the notes, since the agent cannot see those otherwise.
Review the log of stopped drafts weekly to see where leads are coming in twice.
The prompt
Before drafting any reply to a lead, do this check:
1. Search my sent mail and the lead notes for this person's name, email and phone from the last 7 days.
2. If anything was sent: STOP. Do not draft. Log: lead name, what was sent, by whom, when.
3. If nothing was sent: draft a reply for my approval and say which places you searched.
4. If you cannot search one of the places, say so and do not draft.
Lead: [PASTE LEAD]
Tips
Phone and text replies are invisible unless someone logs them.
Search by email and phone, not just name.
Stopped drafts are useful data on duplicate lead sources.