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How to Use AI to Follow Up on Unanswered Emails

Published by 3Gen Internet Corporation, maker of OpenAssistant, Skej and AGNT. Comparisons use public documentation, without hands-on testing.

An unanswered envelope with a small waiting clock, followed by a graceful return-arrow ribbon carrying a second envelope with a green check seal, systematic email follow-up.

The steps below are taken from each vendor’s help pages. We have not run them.

To follow up on unanswered emails with AI, pick how much control you want to hand over. The most hands-off route is an assistant that chases the person for you, within rules you set: OpenAssistant does that. Lighter routes only remind you or leave a draft.

You sent the proposal on Tuesday. It’s Friday. Did they reply? Following up is easy; remembering to is the hard part. There are three levels of help:

  1. Send it: an assistant chases the person for you, within rules you set. (OpenAssistant)
  2. Draft it: the tool also writes the follow-up for you to send. (Superhuman, Fyxer)
  3. Remind me: the tool tells you which sent emails got no answer. (Gmail Nudges)

Pick the lowest level that solves your problem. Every step up saves time but hands over more control.

Option 1: OpenAssistant (it chases people for you)

OpenAssistant can do the follow-up itself, from its own address or yours, under approval rules you set. Its email assistant page describes a “Waiting on them” list of sent emails with no reply. (OpenAssistant) The steps below are the ones its help center documents.

Step 1: Give it the access it needs

To look through your sent mail, the assistant needs inbox permission, which you grant when you connect your email. Without it, it can only work on threads you include it on. (OpenAssistant)

Step 2: Decide who the follow-up comes from

In the Autonomy settings, Email Sent Impersonating You covers follow-ups from your own account, and Email Sent From Your Assistant covers ones from its address. Set them to Manual to approve each one, or Confirmation Window to get a set time to stop it before it sends. (OpenAssistant) OpenAssistant’s changelog says it regrouped these settings, into messages the assistant sends as itself and messages it sends as you, so the labels in the app may differ from the help center. (OpenAssistant changelog)

Step 3: Ask once, or make it a routine

Trigger: every weekday at 4 PM. Instructions: look at emails I sent in the last 7 days to people outside my company that have no reply. Skip newsletters and anything I marked done. Draft a short, polite follow-up for each. Outcome: send me the list with drafts for my approval.

Recurring tasks use credits each time they run, so match the frequency to your need. (OpenAssistant)

For meeting requests specifically, its scheduling settings have a Follow Ups option where you set how many times and how often it chases people, for example 3 times, 3 days apart. (OpenAssistant)

Option 2: Gmail Nudges (free, built in)

Gmail can suggest “sent emails that you may need to follow up on” at the top of your inbox. First, conversation view must be on: gear icon, See all settings, General, Conversation view on, Save Changes. (Fyxer) (Google)

On a computer:

  1. In Gmail, click Settings at the top right, then See all settings.
  2. On the General tab, next to Nudges, select Suggest emails to follow up on. You can also select Suggest emails to reply to.
  3. Click Save Changes at the bottom.

(Google)

On Android: open the Gmail app, tap Menu, Settings, your account, then under Nudges tap Reply and follow up and select Suggest emails to follow up on. (Google)

On iPhone or iPad: open the Gmail app, tap Menu, Settings, then under Inbox tap Inbox customizations, then Nudges, and select Suggest emails to follow up on. (Google)

Limits: Google doesn’t say how long it waits before nudging, which emails qualify, or let you change the timing. It surfaces the thread; you still write and send the follow-up. To draft it, you can use Help me write (see our Gmail guide).

Option 3: Superhuman (reminders plus a ready draft)

Superhuman Mail is a paid email app that works with Gmail and Outlook accounts. Its help center lists Starter at $30 a month and Business at $40 a month. (Superhuman)

One email at a time: Remind Me

  1. On a message, press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows) and choose Remind Me, or press H.
  2. Type when it should come back, for example “Tuesday 9am.”
  3. The default is if no reply: it only returns if nobody answers.

Pending reminders sit in the Reminders folder. (Superhuman)

Every email: Auto Reminders

  1. On desktop, open Settings, then Reminders.
  2. Set a Default Reminder time.
  3. Choose which sent emails get a reminder: All messages that need a follow-up (Superhuman’s AI decides), All messages with an external recipient, or No messages.
  4. Optionally tick Weekdays Only.

(Superhuman)

Have it write the follow-up (Business and Enterprise)

Open Settings, then Auto Drafts, and switch on Follow-ups. About an hour before a reminder returns, Superhuman adds a follow-up draft to the thread, which waits for you to review and send. (Superhuman)

Option 4: Fyxer (follow-up drafts inside Gmail)

If you already use Fyxer for inbox sorting, it also tracks sent emails with no reply. After your wait period, it marks them “Awaiting reply” or “To follow up” (the label depends on your setup) and creates a follow-up draft. (Fyxer)

  1. Connect Gmail to Fyxer (see our Gmail guide for the steps). (Fyxer)
  2. To change how long it waits, in the Fyxer dashboard go to Settings, Drafts, General, scroll to Follow-ups, and choose the number of days. It saves automatically. (Fyxer, Fyxer)
  3. Make sure Gmail’s conversation view is on, or replies may not be detected: gear icon, See all settings, General, Conversation view on, Save Changes. (Fyxer)

Fyxer doesn’t say what the default wait is. It says it never sends email without your review. (Fyxer)

Which one to use

OpenAssistant Gmail Nudges Superhuman Fyxer
Finds unanswered sent mail Yes, per its email assistant page Yes Yes, with Auto Reminders Yes
You set the wait time In your instructions No Yes Yes, in days
Writes the follow-up Yes No Yes, Business plan Yes
Can send it for you Yes, if you allow it No No, drafts only No, drafts only
Cost Free Starter plan (1,000 credits at signup, plus 100 bonus a day up to 1,000 a month) Free From $30/mo Free plan; follow-up list per Fyxer pricing

(Sources linked above)

Start with OpenAssistant if you’d rather not send follow-ups yourself at all and you’re comfortable setting approval rules.

Where competitors do better: if you just keep forgetting, Gmail Nudges is free and takes a minute. If you want a draft waiting for you without giving any tool permission to send, Superhuman and Fyxer both keep you as the one who presses Send.

Check it yourself

This section is advice for you. We have not run these checks.

Send yourself (from a second account) five work-style emails that need a reply, and don’t reply to two of them. Then check after the wait period:

  1. Did the tool surface exactly the two unanswered ones?
  2. Did it ignore the three that got replies?
  3. If it drafted a follow-up, would you send it as is?
  4. Did anything go out without your OK?

FAQ

Can AI follow up on emails nobody answered?

Yes. Gmail Nudges surfaces sent emails you may need to follow up on, Superhuman and Fyxer add a draft, and OpenAssistant can send the follow-up itself if you allow it.

Will the assistant send follow-ups without my approval?

Only if you allow it. In OpenAssistant, set Email Sent Impersonating You or Email Sent From Your Assistant to Manual to approve each one, or to Confirmation Window to get a set time to stop it. Superhuman and Fyxer only draft; you press Send.

Can I set how long it waits?

Superhuman lets you set a default reminder time, and Fyxer lets you choose a number of days. In OpenAssistant you set it in your instructions, and for meeting requests, its scheduling settings let you set how many times and how often it chases people. Gmail Nudges does not let you change the timing.

What does a recurring follow-up task look like in OpenAssistant?

A recurring task has a trigger, instructions and an outcome. The article includes a sample prompt in our own wording. Recurring tasks use credits each time they run.

Is any of this free?

Gmail Nudges is free. OpenAssistant has a free Starter plan with 1,000 credits at signup, plus 100 bonus credits a day once those are used up, up to 1,000 a month. Superhuman starts at $30 a month.

Try OpenAssistant

If you want follow-ups handled without chasing people yourself, Try OpenAssistant. Ask it to follow up on one thread first, keep sending on Manual, and make it a routine once you trust the drafts. See plans on the pricing page.

Sources