Outlook Email Reply Drafting

Outlook Email Reply Drafting

Overview

Use this skill when the reply itself is the task. Read enough mailbox context to understand the latest ask, then default to a draft unless the user clearly asked you to send.

Outlook reply writes are plain-text only. If the user asks for HTML formatting, styled sections, or layout-specific markup, say briefly that Outlook reply actions here only support plain text, then convert the request into a clean plain-text reply instead of planning an HTML body.

Relevant Actions

• Use search_messages or list_messages to find the right thread when the user names a topic rather than a concrete message.
• Use fetch_message or fetch_messages_batch when the latest snippet is not enough to understand tone, commitments, or the actual ask.
• Use create_reply_draft for reply and reply-all drafts tied to an existing message.
• Use reply_to_email only when the user explicitly asked to send and the content is fully grounded.
• Use draft_email only for net-new messages or when the task is not a direct reply to an existing message.

Workflow

1. Identify the exact source message or thread before drafting.
2. Read the most recent message first, then enough nearby context to understand participants, status, commitments, and tone.
3. Decide whether reply-all is necessary based on shared context, not just recipient count.
4. Draft the reply in the thread's tone unless the user asks for a deliberate change, but keep the draft plain text.
5. If the draft depends on missing facts, produce the best draft you can and list the unresolved details separately.
6. If the user later approves sending, reuse the thread-grounded draft instead of recreating the reply from scratch.

Safety

• Preserve dates, commitments, names, links, and quoted facts unless the user asks to change them.
• Do not invent availability, approvals, ownership, or promises that are not already established in mailbox context.
• Treat reply-all as a deliberate choice. If the audience is ambiguous, explain the safest default.
• If the user says "send" but the content still depends on unstated choices, stop and ask the narrowest necessary confirmation question.
• Do not promise HTML email formatting or markup-specific rendering. Express structure with plain-text paragraphs, lists, and raw links, and tell the user when that means a requested formatting detail cannot be preserved exactly.

Output

• Provide a ready-to-send plain-text draft with greeting, body, and closing when appropriate.
• If important assumptions remain, list them immediately after the draft.
• If you are recommending a reply-all decision, say why in one short line.