> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.daylit.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Smart reply handling: how Daylit reads, sorts, and answers customer replies > Daylit reads every customer reply and its attachments, flags tone, recognizes disputes and their reasons, answers routine questions, and keeps disputed invoices out of dunning. ## Purpose Every reply to a collection email is either a question, a commitment, a problem, or a payment. Sorting them by hand takes hours. Daylit reads each reply the moment it arrives, along with any attached documents. It works out what the customer needs and handles the routine replies for you. Only the conversations that need a person reach your team. **When to use:** Smart reply handling works in the background on every inbound email once your mailbox is connected in **Settings → Integrations**. Use this page to understand what Daylit does with replies and how to tune it. For working the cases that replies create, see [Collection cases](/collections/collection-cases). **Example:** Orion Electric Supply replies to a past-due reminder. They say they're frustrated that INV-1041 was billed at the wrong price, and they attach their purchase order as a PDF. Before **Jobin (AR manager)** at **Acme Corporation** opens the email, Daylit has already: * Shown a **Frustrated** badge on the message, with the sentence that shows it. * Read the PDF, found the invoice number, and linked the thread to INV-1041. * Suggested a dispute case tagged **Dispute: Pricing Issue**, with the playbook your team uses for pricing disputes. Once Jobin accepts the case, he can tell Daylit to skip INV-1041 in regular collection program reminders while the dispute is open. Orion's other invoices keep getting reminders as normal. ### Flowchart ```mermaid theme={null} %%{init: {"theme":"base","themeVariables":{ "fontFamily":"Plus Jakarta Sans, -apple-system, sans-serif", "background":"#fefdf8", "primaryColor":"#ffffff", "primaryTextColor":"#3d0c11", "primaryBorderColor":"#e8e5df", "lineColor":"#3d0c11", "secondaryColor":"#fef9c3", "tertiaryColor":"#fefdf8" }}}%% flowchart LR S([Customer replies]) --> A[Daylit reads message and attachments] A --> B{What does the customer need?} B -- Routine question --> C[Reply drafted or sent for you] B -- Dispute --> D[Case suggested with dispute reason] D --> E[Disputed invoices skip program reminders] B -. Anything else .-> F[Suggested case or action for review] C --> G([Team focuses on exceptions]) E --> G classDef current fill:#3d0c11,color:#fefdf8,stroke:#3d0c11,stroke-width:1px; classDef active fill:#fef9c3,color:#3d0c11,stroke:#3d0c11,stroke-width:1px; classDef ghost fill:#fefdf8,color:#3d0c11,stroke:#e8e5df,stroke-width:1px; class A current; class G active; ``` ## What Daylit does with every reply | Capability | What you get | Where you see it | | - | - | - | | **Sentiment badges** | See at a glance when a customer is frustrated, upset, or going through hardship. | On inbound messages in the thread, case conversation, and activity timeline | | **Attachment reading** | Daylit reads attached invoices, remittances, statements, and purchase orders, and links the email to the right invoices. | The scan icon next to each attachment | | **Dispute reasons** | Disputes are tagged with a specific reason, so the right playbook is suggested. | Badges such as **Dispute: Pricing Issue** on cases and suggestions | | **Inquiry auto-reply** | Routine requests, such as an invoice copy or payment instructions, get answered quickly and consistently. | **Settings → Outreach → Auto-reply** | | **Dispute outreach control** | Disputed invoices can skip regular collection program reminders while you resolve the dispute. | The **Collection program** section on a dispute case | ## Read the room with sentiment badges Tone matters in collections. A customer who mentions a bereavement needs a different reply from one who is just running late. Daylit reads the tone of each inbound email and shows a badge when the message isn't neutral. | Badge | What it means | | - | - | | **Frustrated** | Annoyed or impatient, but still engaged. | | **Angry** | Clearly upset with you, but not abusive. Handle with care. | | **Distressed** | Upset, anxious, or overwhelmed. Handle with care. | | **Vulnerable** | Mentions illness, bereavement, job loss, or serious hardship. Handle with care. | | **Hostile** | Abusive or threatening. Handle with care. | Neutral, businesslike emails don't get a badge, so the ones that do stand out. Hover over a badge to see the exact sentence from the email that shows the tone. Sentiment is there to inform your team. It doesn't change what Daylit does on its own: it never pauses a sequence, holds a reply, or changes your queue order. ## Attachments read for you Customers often put the important details in an attachment: a remittance advice listing what they paid, a copy of the invoice they're questioning, or a purchase order. Daylit reads these documents so you don't have to open each one. * **What it reads:** PDFs, including scanned PDFs, and JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images. * **What it finds:** Invoice numbers, purchase order numbers, amounts, and dates. * **What it does with them:** When Daylit is confident about an invoice number, it links the email thread to that invoice on the customer's account, so the conversation shows up wherever you look at the invoice. Daylit never creates new invoices from an attachment. Attachments also help Daylit tell whether a dispute includes supporting documentation. To see what Daylit read from a file, click the scan icon next to the attachment in the email. The **Extracted from** window lists any invoices Daylit found and shows the full text. Click **Copy text** to copy it. If the file is still being read, the window updates by itself when it's done. **Your documents stay private.** Attachments are processed inside Daylit's secure AWS environment and are never sent to outside AI services or shared through links. The text Daylit reads is encrypted and stored with the same protection as your email messages. Other companies can never see it. ## Disputes recognized and tagged with a reason "I'm disputing this invoice" can mean many things. When a reply is a dispute, Daylit tags it with the most likely reason. Your team sees the problem right away, and Daylit can suggest the playbook that fits. Daylit's built-in reasons include **Pricing Issue**, **Quantity Mismatch**, **Quality / Return Claim**, **Payment / Credit Issue**, **Delivery Issue**, **Billing Error**, **Duplicate Invoice**, **Tax & Fees Issue**, and **Missing Documentation**. **Other Dispute** is the catch-all. You can turn built-in reasons on or off and add your own reasons in **Settings → Cases**. The reason shows on the case badge, for example **Dispute: Pricing Issue**. If Daylit gets it wrong, change it from the **Reason** dropdown on the case. For setup details, see [Dispute reasons](/collections/collection-cases#dispute-reasons). ## Routine questions answered automatically Requests for an invoice copy or payment instructions are easy to answer but tedious to keep up with. Inquiry auto-reply drafts the answer the moment the request arrives, or sends it for you. Daylit recognizes these inquiry types and tags them on cases and suggestions, for example **Inquiry: Invoice copy**: | Inquiry type | Typical request | | - | - | | **Invoice copy** | "Can you resend invoice INV-2207?" | | **Statement** | "Please send our current statement." | | **Payment instructions** | "How do we pay you by ACH?" | | **Payment confirmation** | "Did you receive our payment last week?" | | **Other** | Any other information request. Daylit flags it for your team but doesn't draft a reply. | For each type, choose how Daylit responds: * **Off:** Daylit tags the email but doesn't prepare a reply. * **Create draft:** Daylit leaves a reply draft in the thread for you to review and send. * **Auto-send:** Daylit sends the reply after a short wait, which you can cancel. While a reply is waiting, the thread shows **Sending shortly at** and the scheduled time, with **Send now** and **Cancel** buttons. Sent replies carry an **Auto** label. **Built-in safety checks:** Auto-send only goes out on its own once Daylit has confirmed it answers that type of question accurately for your company. Until then, Daylit saves the reply as a draft for your review. Daylit only sends a payment confirmation when it can find the posted payment or a paid invoice. Otherwise it leaves the email for your team. ### Ask for missing details automatically Sometimes a customer replies with half the information you need. For example, they promise to pay but don't say when. In the **Missing information** card, Daylit can ask the follow-up question for you on **Dispute**, **Promise to pay**, and **Wrong contact** replies. For promises to pay, choose what to ask for: **When they expect to pay**, **How much they plan to pay**, or **Which invoice it covers**. After a short wait, Daylit sends the question and opens a case marked as awaiting the customer. It asks only once per thread. ### Set up auto-reply Go to **Settings → Outreach** and select the **Auto-reply** tab. In **Inquiry templates**, set each inquiry type to **Off**, **Create draft**, or **Auto-send**. Start with **Create draft** if you want to review a few replies before turning on Auto-send. Expand **Email template** for a type to edit the subject and body. Type **@** to insert your **Invoice List** or **Payment Instructions** snippet. Click **Save template**. Turn on **AI wording** if you want Daylit to adjust the wording to fit each conversation. In **Missing information**, choose a response for **Dispute**, **Promise to pay**, and **Wrong contact**. For promises to pay, choose what Daylit should ask for. **How you know it worked:** The next matching inquiry gets a reply draft in its thread, or a scheduled reply with **Send now** and **Cancel** buttons if you chose Auto-send. Auto-reply sends the body of the email only. It doesn't attach invoice PDFs. To share invoice details, use the **Invoice List** snippet in your template. You can edit snippets in **Settings → Snippets**. ## Keep disputed invoices out of regular reminders Nothing damages a customer relationship faster than an automated past-due reminder for an invoice they're actively disputing with you. On any dispute case, you can tell Daylit to skip the disputed invoices in regular collection program reminders. The customer's other invoices keep getting outreach as normal. When the dispute closes, those invoices go back into their programs from where things stand that day. Daylit doesn't catch up by sending the reminders that were skipped. For step-by-step instructions, see [Pause collection program outreach on disputed invoices](/collections/collection-cases#pause-collection-program-outreach-on-disputed-invoices). ## Availability | Capability | How to turn it on | | - | - | | **Dispute reasons** | On for every workspace. Manage reasons in **Settings → Cases**. | | **Inquiry auto-reply** | Configure in **Settings → Outreach → Auto-reply** when it's enabled for your workspace. | | **Sentiment badges** | Enabled by Daylit for your workspace. Contact your Daylit team to turn it on. | | **Attachment reading** | Enabled by Daylit for your workspace. Contact your Daylit team to turn it on. | | **Dispute outreach control** | Enabled by Daylit for your workspace. Contact your Daylit team to turn it on. | ## Troubleshooting Badges only appear on emails from customers, and only when the tone isn't neutral. Most businesslike emails won't have one. If you've never seen a badge, sentiment may not be enabled for your workspace yet. Contact your Daylit team. Daylit only links an invoice automatically when it's confident about the invoice number and the invoice exists on that customer's account. Click the scan icon to see what Daylit read. If the invoice is missing, link it yourself with **+ Link** in the **Invoices** area of the case. Attachment reading may not be enabled for your workspace. Contact your Daylit team. Daylit reads PDFs and JPEG, PNG, and TIFF images. Other file types, such as spreadsheets or Word documents, don't show extracted text. This is expected at first. Auto-send only goes out on its own once Daylit has confirmed it answers that inquiry type accurately for your company. Until then, the settings page shows that replies are held for your review. Review and send the drafts from the thread. Open the case and choose the correct reason from the **Reason** dropdown in **Details**. The case shows a **Manually corrected** badge. If a reason is often confused with another, review its definition and example phrases in **Settings → Cases → Dispute reasons**. Inquiry auto-reply may not be enabled for your workspace yet. Contact your Daylit team. ## Related pages * [Collection cases](/collections/collection-cases): Work the dispute, inquiry, and promise-to-pay cases that replies create. * [Collection programs](/collections/collection-programs): Set up the regular reminders that disputed invoices can skip. * [Collection sequences](/collections/sequences): Build the playbooks Daylit suggests for each dispute reason. * [Inbox](/collections/action-center): Review and send drafted replies and other actions. * [Integrations](/settings/integrations): Connect the mailbox Daylit reads replies from. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.