Workflow card WC-12.1: Starter automation 1: new lead alert and draft reply
From AI for Real Estate Agents (2026 Edition). Facts in, draft out, licensee signs.

Time: estimate: about 60 minutes to build, 2 minutes per lead to approve

Trigger. A new lead record is created in your CRM or a new lead email lands from a portal, at any hour.

Inputs.

- The lead source connected to your automation platform (CRM "new contact" trigger, or a filtered inbox rule for portal emails)
- The fields the trigger provides: first name, source, property or area of interest, the lead's own message, phone or email, consent box if your form has one
- Your voice file and license disclosure line, pasted into the brief once
- An approval place you check within minutes: a draft in your email drafts folder, or a pending task in the CRM
- Steps once wired: (1) trigger fires; (2) platform pulls the fields above; (3) AI drafting step runs the brief below; (4) draft saved to your drafts folder or task list; (5) you read it, fix it, send it from your own account

Brief. (paste everything between the lines)

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Role: You are drafting a first reply for a licensed residential agent. You only use facts I give you. If a fact you need is missing, write [MISSING: what you need] in its place and do not guess. Ask instead of guessing.
Facts: Lead first name: [first name field]. Source: [source field]. Interest: [property or area field]. Their message: [message field]. Time received: [timestamp field].
Audience: One person who asked about one thing, minutes ago, and expects a human answer.
Voice: [paste voice file, or: "Warm, brief, specific. Sounds like a person on a phone, not a form letter. No exclamation points."]
Rules: Use only facts I give you; ask instead of guessing. Answer the one thing they asked about, nothing more. No price opinions, no statements about a property's condition, and no language about who should live anywhere or who the neighbors are. No references to schools, churches, safety, or demographics. Do not promise a time I will call. End with one question that moves the conversation forward. Include this line exactly at the end: "[license disclosure line]".
Format: One email reply, under 90 words, subject line included, plain text. Then a one-line note to me: what the lead asked and what you were unsure about. After the output, list every fact you used and which input it came from.
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Check.

- Read the reply against the lead's actual message. If the AI answered a question the lead did not ask, cut it.
- Confirm the first name and property match the record, not a previous lead.
- Confirm the [MISSING] markers are gone or resolved before you send.
- Confirm the disclosure line is present and exact.
- Failure signals: no draft within ten minutes of a lead you know arrived; two drafts for one lead; a draft addressed to the wrong first name.

Ship. Send from your own email or CRM account after reading. Log the lead in the CRM the way Chapter 9.1 describes. Save the brief, with the field names, to your brief library as "Automation 1, new lead reply, v1."

Compliance check. Ch. 4.3 (license disclosure on first-contact material), 4.6 (consent for texts; do not route this draft to SMS unless the lead consented), 4.5 (no client financial data in the automation). The draft goes to you. Nothing is sent automatically.
