how do I create my first campaign?

open the campaigns page and click 'create campaign'. choose your objective type (venue booking, product promotion, or custom outreach), fill in the details, discover contacts, and activate. iris drafts personalized messages for each contact using AI.

how does contact discovery work?

iris uses Google Maps, web scraping, and social media to find leads based on your criteria. specify your target location, business type, and filters, and iris finds relevant contacts with emails and social handles for your campaigns.

how do I connect my social accounts?

go to settings and click 'connected accounts'. you can link Twitter and Instagram via OAuth. once connected, iris can send DMs and track conversations across all channels.

do I need any technical skills to use iris?

no. the entire app is point-and-click - you describe who you want to reach, iris finds them, drafts messages, and routes replies. the API and MCP server are available if you want to script things, but they're optional. if you can use Gmail you can use iris.

how is iris different from Apollo, Lemlist, or Instantly?

iris drafts every message from scratch per contact instead of personalizing a shared template, treats Instagram and Twitter DMs as first-class channels alongside email, and threads every reply into one inbox per contact. see the comparison pages at /compare for side-by-side breakdowns.

what are objective types?

campaigns are driven by objectives: 'book DJ gigs' and 'host events' for venue outreach, 'promote a product' for AI-analyzed product marketing with auto-generated target profiles, and 'custom outreach' for your own criteria. iris infers the right objective from your goal description in chat - you don't pick it manually.

how does AI message generation work?

when you activate a campaign, iris uses Claude to draft personalized emails for each contact. it considers the contact's business, your campaign objective, and any product analysis to write relevant outreach. you review and approve drafts before they're sent.

can I customize email templates?

yes. use variables like {{business_name}} and {{contact_name}} to personalize. you can also let the AI generate templates based on your campaign objective and target audience.

how many contacts can I target per campaign?

campaign size scales with your plan. starter campaigns hold 30 contacts, pro hold 40, premium hold 60. each contact gets about 8 message slots (initial outreach plus follow-ups across email, Instagram, and Twitter), which is why a 30-contact campaign carries 240 messages.

can I pause or cancel a campaign mid-send?

yes. open the campaign, hit pause, and iris stops queueing new drafts immediately. anything already in the review queue stays there - you can approve, edit, or discard. resume the campaign anytime; it picks up where it left off.

how do I duplicate a successful campaign?

from the campaign detail page, click 'duplicate'. iris copies the objective, brand voice, target profile, and channel settings into a fresh campaign with no contacts attached, so you can run discovery against a new region or audience without rebuilding the brief.

how do I import existing contacts?

go to contacts and click 'import'. upload a CSV with columns for business name, email, phone, website, Instagram, and address. download the template first to get the correct format.

what data sources does discovery use?

iris discovers contacts via Google Maps (location-based business search), social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter), and web scraping. each source returns different data: Maps gives addresses and phone numbers, social gives handles and follower counts.

how does fit scoring work?

every discovered contact gets a 0-100 fit score against your campaign brief. iris weighs the match between the contact's profile (business type, location, social signals, listed services) and your objective + target profile. you can sort or filter the discovery results by fit score before adding contacts to a campaign.

can I exclude contacts I've already messaged?

yes. iris dedupes against your contact history so a contact already reached in a prior campaign isn't silently re-added to a new one. you can also unselect contacts in the discovery review step before activating a campaign.

is the contact data legal to use?

iris pulls from public sources (Google Maps listings, public Instagram and Twitter profiles, company websites). every outreach email includes a per-contact unsubscribe link as required by CAN-SPAM, and one click flips the contact's status to opted_out across email, Instagram, and Twitter so iris stops sending on every channel. for GDPR jurisdictions you remain the data controller; keep your campaign briefs compliant with local rules.

what channels does iris support?

email (via SendGrid), Instagram DMs, and Twitter DMs. each channel has its own adapter for formatting, rate limits, and delivery tracking. the orchestrator picks the best channel per contact based on available handles.

what happens when someone replies?

replies are tracked in the unified inbox. email replies come through SendGrid inbound webhooks, Twitter and Instagram DMs come through platform webhooks. AI can help draft responses, which you review before sending.

what is the email sending limit?

message limits are per campaign, not global. starter: 240 messages per campaign, pro: 320, premium: 480. each campaign's cap scales with its contact size (8× contacts) to cover initial outreach plus follow-ups across email, instagram, and twitter. the number of campaigns you can create per billing period determines total capacity.

what is humanized pacing?

iris staggers sends with a randomized delay between each message instead of blasting an entire campaign at once. delays are tuned per channel: email is the fastest, Instagram and Twitter DMs are slower to stay well under platform thresholds. the goal is a cadence that doesn't trip platform anti-spam.

do you support LinkedIn?

not currently. iris sends across email, Instagram DMs, and Twitter DMs. LinkedIn outreach isn't supported yet because LinkedIn's API restricts third-party messaging to specific partner programs.

how do I tune the tone of AI drafts?

the campaign brief drives the tone. when you describe the campaign objective and target audience, iris uses that context (alongside the contact's profile) when prompting Claude. there is no separate per-contact 'persona' field - the campaign brief is the lever.

what happens to bounced emails?

iris records hard and soft bounces from SendGrid webhooks. hard bounces (invalid address) mark the contact as undeliverable so iris stops sending to that address. soft bounces (full inbox, temporary delivery failure) are recorded but don't block future sends. bounce status shows next to each contact in the conversation view.

how does iris handle email deliverability?

iris sends from your verified sender email through SendGrid and paces sends with randomized delays between messages. you keep ownership of your sender reputation: iris doesn't pool many users' sends through one shared address.

what stops my emails from landing in spam?

the biggest factors are sender authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC on your domain), the content itself (spam-trigger words, excessive links, large images), and engagement signals (opens, replies, low spam complaints). iris drafts plain conversational text by default and embeds a single unsubscribe link, both of which help. set up SPF/DKIM through the verify-sender-email guide before running a real campaign.

what is the unsubscribe flow?

every iris outreach email contains a per-contact unsubscribe link in the footer. one click flips the contact's status to 'opted_out' and stops every future send across all channels - email, Instagram DM, and Twitter DM - automatically. the contact stays in your database for audit purposes but is excluded from all campaign send queues.

what plans are available?

iris offers starter, pro, and premium plans with monthly and yearly billing. each plan caps the number of campaigns and the size of each campaign (contacts and messages); AI drafting and response analysis are bundled in. see the pricing page for current rates.

is there a free plan?

yes. the free tier includes one campaign per month so you can run a real outreach end-to-end before paying. AI drafting, discovery, and the unified inbox all work on free - the cap is on campaign volume, not on the features you can try.

what counts as a campaign for billing?

a campaign is a single outreach project with one objective and one target audience. activating a campaign consumes one of your monthly campaign credits. duplicating a campaign without activating it is free; only activation counts. saved drafts and paused campaigns don't consume additional credits.

do unused campaigns roll over?

no. campaign credits reset at the start of each billing period and don't accumulate. if you need more campaigns in a given month, upgrade temporarily - changes take effect immediately and prorate against the period.

how do I upgrade or cancel?

go to settings > billing to manage your subscription. you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel anytime. cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing period.

does iris have an API?

yes. iris has a REST API at api.iris-ai.dev with 80+ endpoints covering campaigns, contacts, conversations, messages, discovery, AI, analytics, billing, and webhooks. authenticate with API keys (is_live_...) or agent payment protocols (x402, MPP).

how do I get an API key?

go to settings > API keys and click 'generate key'. choose the scopes you need (read, write, generate, send, delete, admin) and set an expiration. the raw key is only shown once, so save it securely.

what are x402 and MPP?

x402 and MPP are agent payment protocols that let AI agents use the iris API without an API key. x402 agents pay per-campaign ($2.25). MPP agents buy credit packs (5 for $12.00). each campaign credit covers the starter envelope: 30 contacts and 240 messages, with AI drafting bundled in. credits never expire and are refunded if campaign creation fails.

is there an MCP server for AI agents?

yes. the iris MCP server exposes campaigns, contacts, discovery, drafting, and analytics as MCP tools that Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP clients can call directly. installation and tool reference live at /docs in the iris app.

where is the full API documented?

/docs in the iris app has the full reference - resources, endpoints, parameters, request/response schemas, error codes, code examples, and rate limits. agent-readable formats are available at /llms.txt, /llms-full.txt, and /openapi.json. the .well-known/x402 endpoint advertises pricing for x402 agents.

can I receive webhooks for inbound replies?

yes. configure a webhook subscription at /api/v1/webhooks and iris pushes events for inbound messages, campaign state changes, message status updates, and discovery completions to your endpoint. each delivery is signed with HMAC so you can verify it's from iris.

how do I track campaign performance via API?

the analytics endpoints provide open rates, click rates, response rates, and conversions. filter by date range and campaign. webhook subscriptions can push events to your server in real-time.

my campaign drafts aren't generating, what's wrong?

drafts run through QStash as a background job after activation, so there can be a short delay. if drafts haven't appeared after 5 minutes, check (1) the campaign has at least one selected contact, (2) your AI generation usage hasn't hit the plan limit, and (3) the activity feed on the campaign page for any error messages. if the issue persists, contact support with the campaign ID.

a contact replied but I can't see it in the inbox

for email, check that the verified sender's reply-to domain is configured to forward to iris's inbound webhook (the verify-sender-email guide covers this). for Instagram and Twitter DMs, the inbound webhook needs the platform's app review approval, which iris handles - if a known-good reply is missing, contact support and include the platform handle and approximate timestamp.

email sender verification is stuck on 'pending'

SendGrid emails the verification link to the address you added, not to your iris account. check that mailbox (and spam folder) and click the link. if the link expired, return to settings > channels and click 'resend verification'. verification is a one-time step per sender address.

a connected social account is showing as disconnected

OAuth tokens expire when the platform rotates them or you revoke iris from your platform settings. go to settings > connected accounts, click 'reconnect' on the affected platform, and complete the OAuth flow again. iris re-encrypts and stores the new token automatically.

channels

email

personalized outbound and reply tracking from your verified sender email.

iris drafts a one-to-one email for each contact, sends from your verified sender email, and routes every reply back into a unified inbox alongside Instagram and Twitter conversations.

channel

pacing

humanized

best for

cold outreach, warm follow-ups

account connection

verified email

features

AI-drafted per contact

every email starts from the contact's profile and the campaign brief. no merge tokens, no template blast.

reply, open, and click tracking

iris records delivery, opens, clicks, replies, bounces, and unsubscribes so you can see who engaged and who didn't.

inbound reply threading

replies attach to the originating conversation automatically, so the inbox stays threaded across long exchanges.

approval workflow

every drafted message lands in a review queue. approve as-is, edit inline, or regenerate before anything leaves your inbox.

unsubscribe-compliant

a per-contact unsubscribe link is embedded in every send. one click stops all future outreach automatically.

how it works

verify your sender email

add the address you want emails to come from in settings → channels. SendGrid sends a verification link to confirm you own the address. one-time, two minutes.

create a campaign

pick an objective (book DJ gigs, host events, promote a product, or custom outreach), select target contacts, and activate.

review the drafts

iris drafts a personal email for each contact and queues them for review. edit anything that doesn't sound like you.

approve and send

approved drafts go out with humanized pacing. replies show up in the unified inbox.

tips for email

keep subject lines under 50 characters: short subjects survive mobile preview clipping
personalize beyond the name field. referencing recent activity or specific work outperforms generic openers
space out sends rather than queueing them all at once. randomized delays between messages keep the cadence from looking automated
cap follow-ups so you don't burn the relationship. two well-spaced touches beat five rapid-fire ones

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