Autonomy and approvals
Exactly what your agent does on its own, what waits for you, and how review mode and auto mode change the line between the two.
The two modes
- Review mode — every drafted message waits at Message prepared in the Leads tab until you approve or edit it. Nothing sends without your sign-off. New accounts start in review mode.
- Auto mode (auto-send) — the agent sends prepared messages itself, following your rules and limits.
The switch lives in the Flows tab, on each block — so it's not all-or-nothing. You can auto-send the first message but keep follow-ups in review, or the other way around. Flip it whenever you like; many people run review mode for the first week or two, then switch steps to auto once they trust the agent's writing. To shape what the drafts say before going auto, see Control message content.
Replies are a block too
Your cadence blocks aren't the only thing with a review/auto switch. The Replies & meeting booking block — the last one in your flow — governs what happens after a prospect answers:
- Review (the default, and where every new account starts): your agent drafts the answer, the draft waits in the lead as a Reply to send card, and nothing leaves your account until you press Send.
- Auto: your agent answers the conversation itself. The lead view says so plainly — "Your ninja is handling this conversation and will reply automatically" — and a Stop link on that same line hands the thread back to you at any point (Resume gives it back).
The block also holds your meeting link: paste your booking URL (Cal.com, Calendly, whatever you use) and your agent shares it once a prospect is ready to pick a slot. Leave it empty and it asks for their availability instead. Either way it never confirms a meeting for you — accepting and showing up is yours.
Who does what
| Step | Your agent | You |
|---|---|---|
| Sourcing | Finds people matching your ICP, continuously, in the background. Before inviting someone it usually views their profile and may like one recent post — both visible to them. | Nothing. (Refine targeting anytime via your Ninja or the Flows tab.) |
| Qualification | Evaluates every sourced person against your ICP and your learned rules. | Nothing. Optionally spot-check Not qualified leads and correct the agent. |
| Connection requests | Sends them, within the daily allowance, at safe pacing. Without a note — see The cadence. | Nothing. |
| First message | Drafts it as soon as they accept. | Review mode: approve or edit it at Message prepared. Auto mode: nothing. |
| Follow-ups | Drafts each follow-up on the cadence schedule — on LinkedIn, and by email too if you're on Pro with a mailbox connected. | Review mode: approve each one. Auto mode: nothing. |
| Replies | Stops the follow-up cadence immediately, then drafts a suggested reply. In review it waits for you; with the Replies block on auto it sends the answer itself. | In review (default): the conversation is yours. Edit the draft in the lead view, or reply from your LinkedIn inbox — see Handle replies. On auto: nothing, until you hit Stop on that lead. |
| Meetings | Shares your booking link when a prospect is ready, or asks for their availability if you haven't set one. | Confirm the slot and take the meeting. |
What auto mode does — and doesn't — change
Putting a step on auto answers "if I put it on automatic, what does it send out?": exactly the messages it would otherwise have queued for your approval, written from your Flow's message guidance and your learned rules. You can read past sends anytime on each lead.
What never changes, in either mode:
- The daily allowance and safety pacing always apply.
- A reply always stops the follow-up cadence for that person — instantly, so nobody ever gets a scheduled follow-up on top of a live conversation.
- Replies are answered automatically only if you switched that flow's Replies & meeting booking block to auto. Left in review — where every account starts — nothing is sent to a prospect who answered until you press Send.
- The agent never confirms a meeting for you.
So, am I supposed to be sending these messages?
A common early confusion, so to be explicit: connection requests and cadence messages are the agent's job — you never need to send those manually (in review mode you approve them; in auto mode you don't even do that). Conversations after a reply are yours by default — the agent drafts the answer, hands you the lead warm, and waits for you to press Send. Switch that flow's Replies & meeting booking block to auto and it answers the thread itself, until you hit Stop on a lead.
If you want more of the pipeline off your plate, switch steps to auto. If you want more control, keep them in review. The pipeline itself — sourcing through the first reply — works the same either way.