What is draft mode?
Draft mode means the agent may write the message and must stop before send. A person sends. Draft-only is the same rule. It is a form of human in the loop aimed at outbound words.
Also called: draft-only
In plain English
The dangerous moment is the send, not the typing. Draft mode keeps the typing and removes the send from the agent. Shadow mode is different: the agent runs beside the real process and you compare later, without showing a draft to approve each time. Do not mix the names. Draft mode means the customer cannot see it yet. Prove that. Send a test that should have stayed in the queue and check the customer's side, not only your screen. Label the queue so the team knows drafts are waiting. A draft that sits for a week is a broken promise to the person who filled the form. Either review daily or do not offer the instant reply.
How an owner would use it
Use draft mode for anything a customer has not already agreed to receive as a fixed template. Keep templates you approved in a normal automation. Review the draft queue often enough that it does not become a second inbox nobody opens.
Common mistakes
A draft folder nobody checks is a silent failure, and staff will route around it with a personal chat. Draft mode that still has a send tool connected is not draft mode. Do not tell customers a human checks every note if the queue is unattended for days.
A worked example
A martial arts studio
Trial-class replies wait in the draft folder
This is an illustration, not a customer result. Inquiries get a draft that uses the trial time from the sheet and the studio's actual address. The draft sits in a shared box. The front desk sends it or fixes the class. The agent cannot press send.
Related terms
Prompts and guides
Questions owners ask
What is draft mode?
Draft mode lets an assistant prepare a message and requires a person to send it.
How do I turn draft mode on in practice?
Do not give the agent a send tool. Deliver the draft to a box a named person owns, and decide how fast that box must be cleared.
When should I leave draft mode?
Only for a message whose words were approved in advance, such as a reminder template, and only after those sends have been correct without edits.
Product guides are on AI apps for business.