Categories are how Ellie decides what to do with each incoming email. Every email that arrives in your connected inbox is classified into a category, and the category type determines whether Ellie writes an auto-draft reply.
Category types
Reply Required 🔄
Emails that need a direct written response. Ellie writes an auto-draft reply for every email that lands in a Reply Required category when auto-draft is on.
Default examples: "to respond", "client enquiry", "sales lead"
Informational 📋
Emails for your awareness only — status updates, newsletters, notifications, reports. Ellie does not draft replies for Informational emails.
Default examples: "fyi", "notification", "marketing", "other"
Action Required ⚡
Emails that need you to do something other than reply — a form to fill in, a review to leave, an invoice to approve. Ellie does not draft replies for Action Required emails.
Default example: "action required"
Default categories
When you connect an account, Ellie creates these categories automatically:
| Category | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| to respond | Reply Required | Emails that ask a direct question or request a written reply |
| fyi | Informational | Emails shared for your awareness — no reply expected |
| notification | Informational | System alerts, confirmations, automated messages |
| marketing | Informational | Promotional or marketing emails |
| action required | Action Required | Emails asking you to complete a task, form, or approval |
| other | Informational | Everything that doesn't fit elsewhere |
How Ellie categorises emails
Ellie looks at each incoming email and considers:
- Subject line — keywords and intent patterns
- Email body — what the sender is actually asking
- Sender — whether it's a person, a system, or a service
- Recipient field — whether you're in the TO or CC field (CC emails are usually Informational)
- FYI language — phrases like "for your information" or "just to let you know"
Ellie compares this against your category descriptions and assigns the most appropriate one.
Categories are per account
If you have multiple connected accounts (e.g. work Gmail and personal Outlook), each account has its own set of categories. You can customise them independently — your work account might have a "client enquiry" category that your personal account doesn't need.
Creating and editing categories
Go to app.tryellie.com/accounts → click your account → click the Categories tab.
To add a category:
- Click Add Category
- Give it a name (e.g. "Partnership enquiry")
- Write a description — Ellie uses this to decide whether an email belongs here. Be specific: "Emails from potential business partners or affiliate organisations asking to collaborate" works better than "Partnership emails"
- Choose the type: Reply Required, Informational, or Action Required
- Save
To edit a category:
Click the pencil icon next to any category. You can rename it, update the description, or change the type.
To disable a category:
Toggle it off. Disabled categories are ignored during classification.
Tips for better categorisation
- Be specific in your descriptions. The more precise your description, the more accurately Ellie categorises. If emails are landing in the wrong category, the description is usually the fix.
- Assign Roles to categories. If you wear multiple hats, map a specific Role to each category. See Assigning a role to a category .
- Use "Action Required" to suppress unwanted auto-drafts. Emails like meeting invites, LinkedIn notifications, or review requests usually do not need a direct reply — put them in an Action Required category to stop Ellie drafting replies for them.