Choose a quick action when intent is simple
The compact reply window offers shortcuts for common intentions such as accepting or declining. These are directions to draft a response, not permission to send it. The conversation supplies what is being accepted or declined. If the decision needs conditions, type them explicitly rather than relying on a checkmark to imply details.
A useful instruction has three parts
- Decision: What do you want to say?
- Facts: Which dates, amounts, or next steps are confirmed?
- Constraints: What must the reply avoid promising or claiming?
You do not need to write a polished email. A short factual brief is usually more useful than a long instruction about how impressive the answer should sound. Tone and length controls handle presentation; the instruction should resolve the business question.
Examples to adapt
Reschedule: “I can do Thursday after 2 pm. Ask them to choose a time. Keep it brief.”
Decline politely: “We can’t take this project this month. Thank them and suggest contacting us again in January. Don’t promise a reservation.”
Request information: “Ask for the order number and a photo of the damaged part. Don’t confirm a refund yet.”
Use a reference: “Explain the return window using the saved policy. Ask when the item arrived if that date is missing.”
Give facts instead of asking the model to guess
“Handle this” leaves availability, policy, and intent open. “Approve a return within the policy, but ask for the delivery date before confirming eligibility” gives a concrete path. Avoid telling the model to invent a tracking number, look at a file it cannot access, or confirm an action that nobody has performed.
Refine deliberately
Read the first result. If it is factually correct but too formal, change the tone or request a warmer version. If a fact is wrong, correct the instruction or source context before regenerating. A refinement request is a new AI operation in Cloud AI and can consume another reply credit. Changing wording manually in Mail does not use an AI credit.
Quick-action customization
Where your installed version exposes editable quick actions, save short instructions for repetitive intentions. Keep account- or customer-specific facts out of a global shortcut. A reusable action such as “Ask for the missing order details” is safer than an action containing a particular customer’s address or refund amount.
When a source conflicts with your direction
Check the Reply context and source document. A selected historical email or old capture may describe a previous state. Update or remove stale material, and state the current confirmed fact. LittleDraft’s checks can flag some conflicts, but they do not establish that every generated sentence is accurate.