Front Inbox Rules vs Sequences vs Macros: When to Use Which (2026)

The four tools, in one sentence each

Before the detail, the shape of the decision. Each tool answers a different question about who starts the work and when.

• Rules are reactive. Something happens in an inbox — a message arrives, a tag is added, a conversation is assigned — and Front runs actions automatically, with no human in the loop. This is your routing and triage layer.
• Sequences are outbound and scheduled. You pick a list of recipients and Front sends a multi-stage email cadence over days, stopping the moment someone replies. This is prospecting and structured follow-up.
• Macros are manual and instant. A teammate clicks once and Front performs a bundle of actions — tag, move, reply with a template, assign, notify — on the open conversation. This is a shortcut for a repeatable multi-step process a human decides to run.
• Message templates are the raw material. They are reusable text with dynamic variables that a teammate inserts into the composer by hand. A macro can use a template; a template on its own does nothing until someone picks it.

Rules: reactive automation that runs itself

Rules are the engine that works while nobody is looking. Per Front's guide to rule triggers, conditions, and actions, every rule is a When (trigger) → If (condition) → Then (action) sentence: an event wakes the rule, a test narrows it, and Front performs one or more actions automatically. Workspace rules live under Settings → Rules and macros, on the Rules tab.

Reach for a rule when the trigger is an inbound event and you want zero human involvement: route billing questions to the billing inbox, auto-tag anything from a VIP domain, assign round-robin, or auto-archive newsletters. Rules are deterministic and dependable — they do exactly what you tell them, in the order you set, every time. Front documents the full model in Understanding rules, and we go deep on it in Front rules explained. The key property: rules run themselves. No click required.

Sequences: outbound cadences that stop on a reply

Sequences point the other direction. Where a rule reacts to inbound mail, a sequence is proactive outbound outreach to a list of people. Per Front's Understanding sequences, a sequence has 1 to 10 stages (labelled A through J), each stage sent as a reply to the previous one, with a per-stage delay like follow up in 7 days if no reply.

Three specifics decide whether a sequence is the right tool:

1. It is outbound and list-based. You upload recipients (a single sequence is capped at 200 addresses) and Front works through the cadence for each one.
2. A reply ends it. If a recipient replies to any stage, subsequent stages stop sending to them — so a genuine response never gets a robotic follow-up. (Out-of-office auto-replies do not count as a reply.)
3. It is rate-limited on purpose. Front adds a delay between sends to stay under provider limits — roughly 7.5 seconds between emails on Gmail and Office 365, so a full 200-recipient sequence takes about 25 minutes to go out per Front's sending-limit doc.

Sequences are a Professional-plan-or-above feature. Personal sequences send from an individual inbox with an email channel; workspace sequences send from a shared inbox. Use a sequence for sales prospecting, renewal nudges, or onboarding drips — never for reactive support triage. More in Front sequences explained.

Macros vs message templates: manual, one-click, human-decided

Macros and templates are the manual side of the house — a teammate chooses to run them. They are also the pair people mix up most.

A macro is a one-click bundle of actions on the conversation a teammate has open. Per Use macros to accelerate your workflows, a single macro can move the message to another inbox, add or remove tags, reply using a message template, create a draft, assign or notify a teammate, update a custom field, reopen or archive, or fire a webhook — all at once. Macros are created under Rules and macros → Macros, and are a Professional feature (company-wide macros are Enterprise).

A message template is narrower: reusable text with dynamic {{variables}} — {{recipient.name}}, {{user.name}}, custom contact fields — that a teammate inserts into the composer by typing {{ to autocomplete, per Front's variables guide. A template does not perform actions. It just supplies text.

The relationship is the clarifier: a macro can include "reply using a message template" as one of its steps. So a template is a building block; a macro is the assembled workflow that may use it. If all you need is consistent wording, use a template. If you need "tag it, move it, reply with the right text, and mark it done" in one press, use a macro.

The decision guide

The clean test: inbound and automatic → rule. Outbound and scheduled → sequence. Manual multi-step shortcut → macro. Reusable text → template.

The honest limits — and where an AI layer fits

Every one of these tools shares the same ceiling: they match patterns and follow scripts; they don't understand meaning. A rule can route "refund" by keyword but can't tell that "I was double-charged and want my money back" is also a refund. A macro replies with the same template text for everyone who fits the scenario — it can't tailor the answer to this customer's actual order. A sequence sends fixed copy on a timer. A template is, by definition, boilerplate.

There is plan friction to name too, and it is fair to credit Front's native features while being honest about it. Sequences and macros both require Professional or above; company macros and dynamic template variables are Enterprise; and the most powerful rule actions (load balancing, webhooks, company rules) are gated by tier as well. Front's automation also assumes the collaborative shared-inbox context — sequences send from shared inboxes, macros act inside them, and features like collision detection only matter because teammates share the work. That is Front's whole model, not a flaw, but it means a solo mailbox uses a fraction of this. See how the pieces fit in Front shared inbox explained and what Front actually is.

This is the seam where an AI agent layer belongs — not replacing rules, sequences, macros, or templates, but doing the reasoning-heavy part they structurally can't. The category of AI agents for customer service exists precisely for the work a keyword match or a canned template can't do. Macha is one such layer: it runs on top of the Front you already use through the Macha–Front connector — it does not replace Front, your inboxes, your rules, or your macros. Keep rules routing, sequences following up, and macros saving clicks. Then Macha's agent reads the routed conversation, understands intent rather than keywords, pulls a real order or account status through a custom tool that turns your REST API into something the agent can call, and drafts or sends a grounded reply. A macro tags and moves a message in one click; an agent then actually resolves it. Macha's credits are consumed per AI action, never per resolution — deterministic automation and AI reasoning have different costs, and it's honest to price them that way.

The division of labour: let Front's four tools be the deterministic, human-driven layer, and add an agent on top for the part a pattern-match can't do — reading the conversation and answering it well.

FAQ

What's the difference between a Front rule and a sequence? A rule is reactive: it fires automatically on an inbound event (a message arrives, a tag is added) and performs actions like routing or tagging with no human involved. A sequence is proactive outbound outreach — you upload a list of up to 200 recipients and Front sends a 1-to-10-stage email cadence on a schedule, stopping for anyone who replies. Rules are inbound triage; sequences are outbound follow-up.

What's the difference between a macro and a message template? A message template is reusable text with dynamic variables that a teammate inserts into the composer by hand — it performs no actions. A macro is a one-click bundle of actions (tag, move, assign, reply, archive) on the open conversation, and one of those actions can be "reply using a message template." A template is a building block; a macro is the assembled workflow.

Which Front automations need a paid plan? Rules exist on all plans, though limits and advanced actions scale by tier. Sequences and macros both require the Professional plan or above. Company-wide macros and dynamic template variables (application objects) require Enterprise. Check Front's plans — that's Macha's pricing, but Front documents its own tier gating on each feature's help article.

When should I use a macro instead of a rule? Use a rule when you want the action to happen automatically on an inbound event with no human deciding. Use a macro when a teammate should choose to run a repeatable multi-step process on a conversation they're looking at — the difference is human-in-the-loop. If you find yourself clicking the same macro on every conversation that matches a pattern, that's a sign the logic could become a rule.

Can I add AI to Front's automation without replacing Front? Yes. An AI agent layer like Macha connects to Front as a live connector and runs on top of your existing rules, sequences, macros, and templates — it doesn't replace them. Your automations keep doing their deterministic work; the agent reads the conversation, understands intent, and drafts or sends a grounded reply that boilerplate can't.

Ready to turn "routed, tagged, and followed up" into "actually answered"? Start a free trial of Macha and connect it to your Front in minutes.