The five switches: Auto comment, connect, DM, follow-up and reply
Pick the steps Allen handles. Anything you switch off, you do yourself. What each switch does when it is on, what happens to anything already lined up when you turn it off.
2 min read
"What Allen does for you" sits at the top of the Communications page: five switches in the order a conversation moves. The rule is simple. Anything you switch off, you do yourself, and Allen holds rather than throws away what it had lined up.
1. Auto comment
On: Allen comments on posts from people in your audience every weekday. This is Autopilot, the same switch as on the Autopilot page. Off: Allen finds posts and drafts comments, and you post them from Today.
2. Auto connect
On: Allen sends connection requests to people who fit your audience, within the daily limit. Off: Allen sends no connection requests and stops looking for new people. Requests already lined up wait; nothing is cancelled.
3. Auto DM
On: once someone accepts, Allen sends the first message. Off: Allen sends no first messages and no follow-ups. Anything already lined up waits.
4. Auto follow-up
On: if someone does not answer the first message, Allen follows up twice, a few days apart. Off: Allen sends the first message only. Follow-ups already lined up are marked "follow-ups are off" on the Activity tab.
5. Auto reply
On: Allen answers replies and new incoming DMs in your voice and, with a calendar connected, books the meeting. Off: Allen drafts a suggested answer for you on the Replies tab and sends nothing. Any reply already lined up is cancelled, not held, so nothing goes out after you flip this off. Reminder messages to people who agreed a time are off too.
Two more switches, in "How Allen sends"
- Only reach out to people Allen commented on. On by default. See "Who Allen reaches out to".
- Dry run. Off by default. On, Allen lines everything up and sends nothing, so you can watch a day's plan before it is real.
The big pause
The status line at the top of the page has one Pause button. It stops every step at once and keeps everything queued. Resume when you like.
A common setup
Many people start with Auto comment, connect, DM and follow-up on, and Auto reply off for the first week, so they read Allen's suggested answers before letting it talk on its own. Once the answers read right, they turn Auto reply on.
Related questions
Still stuck?
A person will answer.
Allen is built by a small team and we read every message. Business-day replies usually come within a few hours.