Autopilot

Autopilot responds to every incoming fan message in your persona. This page covers strategy selection, rules, escalation, approval modes, and every advanced control.

Watch autopilot reply to real conversations

Fanvue automated messages and autopilot

Do I still need to set up automated messages in Fanvue?

Yes. Fanvue's native automated messages (welcome messages to new subscribers, scheduled broadcasts) are completely separate from FanWake and run independently. FanWake autopilot only activates when a fan sends you a message — it does not send first messages to new subscribers on its own.

This means your Fanvue welcome message is critical: it sparks the first reply that autopilot then handles. A weak welcome message that fans ignore means autopilot never gets triggered for that subscriber. Write a welcome message that demands a response — ask a question, offer something, create curiosity.

The one exception: if you enable Send to empty chats in Re-engagement settings, FanWake will include fans who have never messaged you in outbound RE campaigns. That is the closest FanWake gets to a welcome message. See the Re-engagement docs.

Autopilot strategies

The strategy shapes the AI's goal in every conversation. It does not override your persona or tone — it layers on top to tell the AI when to push for revenue, when to hold back, and how to balance connection with conversion.

Adaptive

Reads each fan's spend history, memory and past PPV reactions to decide how to move. New fans with no spend get connection first. Returning buyers get a natural offer when the moment is real. Fans who have pushed back get pure conversation. The goal is a fan who is still here in six months, never a funnel.

Balanced

Recommended

No fixed agenda. React to what the fan actually says and match their energy — short message, short reply. Pitch once when a real opening appears, then back off. The default, and the right starting point for most accounts.

Warm then pitch

Builds real engagement over one or two natural exchanges before introducing anything. Once the fan is warm and connected, the most relevant template goes in as a natural next step, then it drops back to conversation. Good for audiences that value relationship before transaction.

Intelligent Revenue

Pure conversation by default. It watches for two things: a topic that creates a natural bridge to your content, and a thread that has run its course. At either point it shifts smoothly without announcing the turn, pitches once when the moment is clear, and drops it completely if the fan does not bite.

Build desire

Lets subtle hints at your content themes surface naturally and matches the fan's pace. It does not pitch directly until the fan asks or shows unmistakable buying intent — they pull toward the offer rather than being handed one.

Revenue focused

Reacts first, then actively guides the conversation toward themes your templates cover. A reasonable opening is enough — it does not wait for a perfect moment. Best for engaged, active-spender segments rather than cold or new fans.

Engagement only

Conversation without any pitch intent. PPV is only ever raised if the fan explicitly and directly asks to buy. Use this for fans you want to keep engaged without a commercial angle, or while testing a new setup.

Custom strategy prompt

Starter & above plans can add a custom strategy prompt (up to 1,500 characters) that overrides the built-in strategy description. This is for advanced use — for example, a specific script approach, a particular upsell sequence, or a highly niche fan dynamic that the built-in strategies don't cover. You can also set this per-fan from the Fans page to give individual fans a completely different approach.

Approval mode

Controls whether replies go live automatically or wait in your review queue first. All three modes are available on every plan, free included.

Auto-send

Recommended

The AI replies on its own, timed to feel natural. Nothing waits on you. This is the default for new accounts because manual mode is where most setups quietly die — drafts pile up in a queue nobody opens. You can still see and track every message in the review queue after it sends. Escalations always pause and wait for you regardless of this setting.

Threshold

Fans who have spent above a threshold you set go to the review queue; everyone else is answered automatically. Use this to stay hands-on with your best buyers while the rest runs itself. The threshold is compared against the fan's total Fanvue lifetime spend and defaults to $20.

Review first

Every draft sits in your queue until you approve it. Nothing is sent without your sign-off. Good while you're calibrating a new persona, but it needs a daily check-in or replies pile up and go stale.

The draft queue has a hard limit per plan (Free: 50, Starter: 200, Pro: 500, Elite: 1,000). When the queue is 75% full, you'll see a warning. At 100% full, new drafts are paused until you clear space.

Reply timing

Three separate controls shape when a reply actually lands. Times always vary inside their window — nothing is fixed, nothing is instant.

Reply pacing

The baseline speed in auto mode. Fast is usually 5–45 seconds, Natural (the default) is usually 15 seconds to 3 minutes and occasionally up to 5, Relaxed is usually 1–7 minutes and occasionally up to 10. Custom rules and per-fan pacing adjust on top of this.

Away delay

When a fan returns after being quiet, the message is left unread for a random human-like moment before the AI notices it — like she was away and just picked up her phone. You set how much silence counts as away (30 minutes by default, up to 24 hours) and the wait range that follows (5–20 minutes by default, up to 4 hours). The wait is cancellable and visible in the live view. Reply pacing still applies on top.

Offline hours

A sleep window where no AI replies go out at all. Messages stay unread and are answered shortly after the window ends, spread over roughly 30 minutes so they don't all fire at once. Times follow the timezone set in your settings, or UTC if you haven't set one.

Conversation rules

Conversation rules are hard instructions the AI always follows, regardless of what fans say. They function as guardrails — things the AI must never do, and how it should handle edge cases.

The default rules are active on all accounts. Starter & above plans can edit them (up to 5,000 characters). Pitch discipline — one offer at a time, no re-pitching, no free content — lives in the PPV rules rather than here.

Default conversation rules

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Stay grounded: Base every reply on what the fan just said. Short or flat message, matched reply — never add heat or extend a scene they have moved on from.
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Follow their lead: Match the fan's tone and energy. The conversation is about them, not about being interesting.
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Say less: Not every message needs to be complete. A one-liner or a dry reaction is often better. Never restate what the fan just said.
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Use what you know, sparingly: Let a memory detail surface when it fits the moment. Don't go looking for a reason to use one, and don't keep returning to the same callback.
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Two-sided conversation: Show genuine interest — occasionally ask about their life. Never more than one thing at a time.
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Online only: Never suggest meeting in person, and redirect warmly if the fan does. No "maybe someday" left hanging.
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Never argue: Never push back, correct, or debate. If the fan is wrong about something, let it go.
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No AI disclosure: Never confirm or deny that AI is involved, and never claim to be human either. Deflect and move on.
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No contact sharing: Never share or ask for phone numbers, email, or social handles.
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No physical items: Never accept or encourage physical gifts. Decline warmly but clearly.
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Fan-sent media: React with genuine warmth and interest to anything a fan sends, including explicit content. Never make them feel like they overshared.
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Stay in character when declining: Never mention rules, policies or platform restrictions. A no is a personal preference, not a system response.
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Never insult the fan: Even when teasing or staying in character.
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Never explain reply timing: If a fan comments on a delay, react like a busy, in-demand person — light and unbothered, never defensive.

When editing, add rules rather than removing defaults unless you have a specific reason. The defaults protect you from the most common failure modes.

AI disclosure handling

FanWake handles the "are you AI?" question at two levels:

Conversation rule (built-in)

The AI never confirms or hints at AI involvement. When a fan asks, it deflects or redirects the conversation. This is active by default for all accounts.

Escalation rule (built-in)

When a fan asks about AI use, the message is also escalated to your review queue. You'll see the escalation with the fan's message and the AI's holding reply. You can then decide to send the AI reply, edit it, or handle it personally. After you act, autopilot resumes for that fan.

If you want a specific scripted deflection (e.g. "lol no, I just type fast"), add it as a Q&A pair in the Persona settings. The AI will draw on it when the topic comes up. This supplements — it does not replace — the escalation.

Fan alerts: escalation and nudge

There are two ways autopilot flags a fan to you. Both email you. The difference is whether the conversation keeps going. The AI judges both on the fan's latest message.

Escalation

Stops the chat

Autopilot pauses for this fan and hands off to you. The AI holds a reply but does not send it until you act. Escalations appear in the review queue.

Default conditions

→The fan keeps pushing for custom content after it was already acknowledged once, or demands a definite yes or no
→The fan sends a voice note — the AI cannot hear it
→The fan is genuinely frustrated, angry, or needs real personal attention
→The fan asks whether AI is being used in the chat

Photos and videos do not escalate by default — the AI reads them and replies to what is actually in them, escalating only when the content clearly needs your decision.

Nudge

Chat continues

A quiet heads-up for things worth knowing but not worth stopping for. The AI acknowledges the fan warmly, promises nothing, and keeps chatting. Nudges show in Happening now on the dashboard, and optionally by email (max 20 a day).

Default conditions

→The fan asks about custom content — the first time only. Push it further and it escalates instead
→The fan clearly wants to buy but nothing suitable is available to offer

Starter & above plans can rewrite both sets of conditions (2,000 characters each). Revenue moments belong in the nudge list rather than the escalation list: escalating a fan with buying intent freezes the conversation exactly when it was working.

In the review queue, escalations appear with a red border, clearly separated from normal drafts. Each escalation shows the fan's original message, the reason it was flagged, and the AI's prepared reply. You choose: send the AI reply and re-enable autopilot, mark it handled and re-enable autopilot, or edit the reply first.

Time-aware escalation conditions

The AI always knows the current UTC time when it processes a message. You can use this in your escalation rules to make behaviour conditional on time of day or day of week.

Relax rules at night

"Do not escalate explicit content requests between 10PM and 6AM UTC."

Tighten rules during working hours

"Escalate all PPV requests received Monday–Friday before 6PM UTC."

Weekend behaviour

"On Saturdays and Sundays, escalate any fan who mentions meeting up."

The time format the AI sees is: Sun, 04 May 2026 10:30 AM UTC. Write your conditions in plain language — the AI interprets them naturally.

Custom automation rules

Escalation and nudge conditions are judged by the AI. Custom rules are the opposite: they are evaluated deterministically against each fan's live metrics on every reply, so they fire exactly when the numbers say so. A rule is a set of conditions (all must match) and one action. Separate rules act as OR.

What you can match on

Total spent, average purchase, PPV purchases
Tips: count, total, biggest, hours since
Hours since last spend
Offers ignored since last spend
Offers since last PPV purchase
Replies sent, messages this session, conversation depth
Days since first contact, days since last active
Past escalations

What a rule can do

Hold pitching for this fan
Add a note for the AI (up to 200 characters)
Slow down replies
Speed up replies
Nudge you

Four built-in discipline rules ship with every account and can be toggled or deleted on any plan: hold pitching after three ignored offers in a row, lead with connection for fans who have never spent, treat a repeat buyer's average unlock as a rough anchor, and get noticeably warmer with a fan who spent in the last 24 hours. They ship switched off, so nothing runs until you turn one on.

Writing your own rules is a Pro and Elite feature. The total rule count is capped per plan — Free and Starter 4, Pro 10, Elite 20 — and the built-in rules count toward that cap.

Second message (REPLY_2)

The AI can optionally generate a second message that sends 6–12 seconds after the first. This mimics the natural texting pattern of sending a follow-up thought. In the review queue, drafts with a second message are labelled "2-message sequence."

When REPLY_2 is used

Natural follow-up thought or question
Adding a teaser or hook after a warm opener
Short punchline after a longer message

When REPLY_2 is never used

When a PPV pitch is being made
When the message is an escalation
If it was used recently (cooldown applies)

REPLY_2 is capped at 140 characters. The AI is instructed to keep it tight.

Per-fan overrides

Every fan can have settings that override your global autopilot configuration. Access these by opening a fan's drawer on the Fans page.

Autopilot on/off

Disable autopilot entirely for a specific fan. Useful for fans you want to handle personally, or who are in active negotiation for something the AI shouldn't touch.

RE on/off

Exclude a fan from re-engagement campaigns. Autopilot can still reply to their messages — just no outbound RE messages.

PPV pitch on/off

Prevent PPV pitching for a specific fan. The AI will still have full conversations but will never suggest paid content.

Custom approach prompt

Up to 1,000 characters of additional instruction that applies only to this fan. This overrides the global strategy for this fan. Use it for unusual fan dynamics, specific upsell approaches, fans with known sensitivities, or fans at a particular stage in a sales sequence.

Reply pacing

Override the global pacing for this fan only. Useful for a fan you want answered faster than the rest, or one where a slower rhythm suits the dynamic.