How this helps you
Each new lead arrives with research already done, so your first reply is better informed.
Create a routine that runs when an email arrives at your +leads alias. For each lead: research the person and their business on the public web, then send me a brief with who they are, what the business does, size and location if public, anything relevant to [my service], and a suggested first reply as a draft. Link every source. Do not reply to the lead.
Fill in: [my service]: what you sell, so the research focuses on fit.
What they did
@melvindvivas set a Gmail filter that forwards new leads to his Bot's own email address. The Bot then researches each potential client and their business before he replies. The official changelog adds the pieces that make this a hands-off routine: routines can read the Bot's inboxes (0.75.2), a routine on a tagged address like name+leads@ runs only for that tag's mail (0.71.2), and emails arriving in a Bot's own inbox keep each link's web address so it can open them.
Who it's for: Freelancers, agencies and small businesses that get inbound leads by email.
How to try it
- Ask your Bot to claim its own email address if it hasn't already.
- Ask it for a tagged alias for leads, for example yourbot+leads@ (see the plus-address tip).
- In Gmail, create a filter that matches your lead emails (for example from your contact form's sender) and forwards them to that alias. Gmail asks you to confirm the forwarding address; ask the Bot to read the confirmation email in its inbox.
- Create a routine triggered by email to the +leads alias, using the prompt below.
- Send yourself a test lead and check the brief before letting it run on real ones.
- Keep replies as drafts so you send them yourself.
What to expect
A short brief per lead with sourced facts and a draft reply waiting for you.
Common mistakes
- Forwarding everything. Filter to leads only so the routine doesn't run on newsletters.
- Letting the Bot reply to leads directly before you have checked a few briefs.
- Skipping the Gmail forwarding confirmation, so nothing arrives.
Related tips
- Give your Bot its own email address: Ask your Bot to claim an address so you can forward or CC it, and so it can sign up for accounts itself.
- Ask for plus-addressed aliases on your Bot's email: Your Bot can send from tagged addresses like name+shop@, and a routine on that tag runs only for its mail.
- Triage and reply to email from the chat: Ask for a brief of emails that need replies, then answer them in one line each.
- Register for Do Not Call: The Bot registered his number and clicked the confirmation email itself.
- Route Bird customer messages to a webhook routine: Bird's official plugin plus a Grok Bot webhook routine lets incoming Apple Messages or emails wake a Bot that drafts the reply for you to check.
- Two Bots that research leads and draft first emails while you sleep: One Bot finds the right person at each target company, a second writes a personal first email as a draft, and you review the pile each morning.
- Connect Clay and build sales workflows from one sentence: With the Clay plugin, your Bot searches, enriches and researches companies and contacts in Clay, then finishes the steps Clay can't do alone.
Worth knowingThe Gmail confirmation step is standard Gmail forwarding behaviour; we haven't verified the exact wording in the Bot's inbox. Builds on the 9 Oct update that gave every Bot its own email address.
Learn more: How to Use Grok Bot: A Beginner's Guide (2026) · All Grok Bot connectors tips