Knowledge BaseConcepts & Terminology

Lead Urgency

Urgency tells you when to act on a Todo item. Every item in your Todo view carries one of four urgency levels, determined automatically by Slokoto based on signals from the lead.


Urgency levels

LevelMeaning
Act NowHandle this immediately
TodayHandle before the end of the day
This WeekCan wait a day or two
LowLower priority — no immediate action needed

How urgency is determined

Slokoto uses a triage system that scores each active lead from 0 to 100. The score is built from signals, timing, deal context, and conversation state. Urgency is derived from that score and the specific reason codes present on the lead.

You do not need to set urgency manually. It updates automatically whenever the lead receives a new signal or its state changes.


Triage reason codes

The triage system evaluates ten reason codes and uses them to explain why a lead needs attention. You can see the top reasons on each Todo card as "Why now" chips.

ReasonWhat it means
New messageA customer message is waiting for a reply. This is the highest-priority signal.
Overdue follow upYour team has not followed up within the expected response window (SLA breach).
High valueThe deal has high potential value and has gone quiet.
Recently activeThere was engagement within the last 7 days.
Late stageThe lead is in a proposal or negotiation stage.
Buying intentA signal suggests pricing interest, booking intent, or a request to move forward.
Promised replyYou or your team committed to following up by a specific date.
Re-engagedA previously lost lead has sent a new inbound message.
New leadThe lead was created in the last 3 days.
ColdNo activity for 30 or more days. This lowers the lead's priority.

Priority vs Urgency

These are two related but distinct concepts:

  • Priority (High / Medium / Low) reflects the internal triage score. It answers: how important is this lead overall?
  • Urgency (Act Now / Today / This Week / Low) reflects when you should act. It is influenced by the reason codes, particularly time-sensitive ones like a new message or SLA breach.

A lead can be High priority but This Week urgency — for example, a valuable lead with recent but not immediate activity. A lead can also be lower overall priority but Act Now — for example, a cold lead that just sent a new message.


Inbound pending and Act Now

When a customer sends a message and your team has not yet replied, the lead is marked inbound pending. This is the highest-urgency state in Slokoto. Inbound pending leads are always surfaced at the top of Todo with Act Now urgency, regardless of deal value or score.


How urgency is re-evaluated

Urgency is recalculated automatically when:

  • A new signal arrives from the customer (reply, call, text, click, page view)
  • Your team sends an outbound message or completes an action
  • A Todo action is created, completed, or goes overdue
  • The lead's pipeline stage changes
  • An SLA timer triggers

There is no need to refresh manually. Urgency reflects the current state of the lead.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I change urgency manually?

No. Urgency is computed automatically. If you want to delay action on a lead without affecting its urgency signal, use Snooze to move the item to Upcoming and return it to Todo at a future time.

Q: A lead I consider low priority keeps showing as Act Now. Why?

The most common cause is an unanswered customer message (inbound pending). Even if the deal is small or cold, an unanswered message always triggers Act Now. Reply to the message and the urgency will recalculate.

Q: What happens to urgency when I snooze a lead?

The item moves to Upcoming for the snooze duration. When it returns to Todo, urgency is recalculated based on the current state of the lead at that time.

Q: Can Sales Rules affect urgency?

Yes. You can write a Sales Rule to guide the AI to treat certain situations as higher or lower urgency. For example: "If the customer mentions internal review or procurement, lower urgency until they signal readiness." See the [Sales Rules](sales-rules) article for guidance on how to write effective rules.