Automatic replies

Whether Sparky answers comments and messages on its own, drafts them for someone to approve, or does nothing. Set per platform, with one switch that stops everything.

/brands/{brand}/social/automationAnyone with access to the brand can read it. Changing anything needs Manager or Owner.

The brand pause

One switch at the top, Allow automations, and a banner saying which of three states the brand is in: replies are live, no responders are on, or the brand is paused.

Pausing stops more than replies. No scheduled posts go out and no automatic approvals happen either, which is what makes it the right control during a problem rather than turning responders off one at a time.

Nothing is lost by pausing. Each responder keeps its own setting and resumes exactly as it was.

Responders

One row per platform and surface, grouped into comments and direct messages, with a summary of how many are live. Each row says in plain words what is currently true of it: not connected, not set up, off, paused with the brand, drafting for approval, or sending automatically.

Control	What it does
Connect	Shown when the platform has no account yet. Takes you where connecting happens.
Configure	First-time setup. Replying starts switched off, so nothing goes out before you have read the settings.
Draft or Send	Whether replies wait for approval or go straight out. Risky messages are held for review under either setting.
Active	Turns one responder on or off without touching the others or the brand pause.
Settings	Tone, language, reply limits, keywords to skip, and instructions.

A row with work waiting shows a count that links straight to that queue.

Draft or send

The choice is about how much you trust the account, not how much you trust Sparky. On a busy support account, draft mode turns replies into a review queue and nothing surprises you. On a low-risk account answering the same three questions, send mode is what makes it worth having.

Either way, a comment or message the responder judges risky is held for a human rather than answered. Send mode is not a promise that everything goes out unread.

A responder that fails repeatedly on the same conversation backs off, widening the gap each time, rather than retrying every cycle for a day.

Worth knowing

Editors and Members see this page with every control disabled. Changing a responder needs Manager or Owner.

Responder runs do not queue behind your own automations, because inbound messages arrive on a clock you do not control.

Keyword rules are set per post, on the engagement page, and take precedence over the general instructions here.