Who this is for: Recruiters and Admins configuring when sequences stop automatically based on recipient behaviour.
What the stopping rule does
The Stop sequence if response is received toggle controls whether Recruiterflow automatically halts a sequence for a recipient the moment they reply or book a meeting. It is the most impactful setting in the sequence — it determines whether outreach continues past a positive signal or stops the moment engagement happens.
The default is ON. For most recruiting outreach, this is the right setting — you don't want automated follow-ups going out to a candidate who already wrote back.
Where to find it
The toggle lives in two places:
During sequence creation — in the sequence details modal under the Settings section
After launch — in the Settings tab inside the sequence, under Sequence Stopping Rules
What counts as a response
The stopping rule is triggered by two events:
A reply via any outbound channel — Email (automated, manual, or marketing), Social Message, or SMS. The reply does not need to come through the same channel as the step that prompted it.
A meeting booked via Recruiterflow during the sequence period or within the 90-day attribution window after the last step.
Task step completions do not trigger the stopping rule. Only inbound messages and meeting bookings do.
When the toggle is ON
The sequence stops automatically for the recipient the moment a reply or meeting booking is detected. The recipient moves to Responded or Meeting Booked status and no further steps execute.
This happens regardless of which step the recipient is currently on, which channel the reply came through, or whether the reply was to a sequence email specifically — any inbound reply from the recipient to the sender stops the sequence.
Example: A recipient is on Step 4 of a 7-step sequence. They reply to the Step 2 email (late). The sequence stops immediately. Steps 5, 6, and 7 never execute.
When the toggle is OFF
The sequence continues running regardless of whether the recipient responds. Steps execute on their configured schedule even after a reply is received.
When to use this: Marketing email sequences or broad announcement campaigns where a reply doesn't mean the person wants to be removed from the flow. Also useful for sequences where you want the full cadence to run regardless of engagement — though this carries the risk of over-contacting recipients who have already responded positively.
Response tracking still works when the toggle is OFF — tick marks still appear in the Responded columns of the Overview tab. The sequence just doesn't stop. See Understanding How Sequence Metrics Are Calculated for the full response attribution logic when Stop on Response is OFF.
Changing the toggle on an active sequence
The toggle can be changed at any time on a running sequence from Sequence Settings → Advanced Settings.
Turning it OFF mid-sequence: Recipients who reply after this point will no longer have their sequence stopped automatically. Recipients who already responded before the toggle was turned off remain in Responded status — they are not retroactively restarted.
Turning it ON mid-sequence: Applies only to future replies. Recipients who already replied while the toggle was OFF are not retroactively stopped — their sequence continues running unless you manually stop it.
Manually stopping a recipient who responded
If the toggle is OFF and a recipient replies, you can still stop the sequence for them manually from the Recipients tab — use Actions → Stop Sequence on their row. This is a permanent action and cannot be undone.
AIRA intelligent reply detection and stopping rules
AIRA's intelligent reply detection works alongside the Stop on Response toggle — they are separate systems that respond to the same event (an inbound reply) in different ways.
The Stop on Response toggle asks: did a reply arrive? Positive reply detection asks: is this reply positive? These happen independently.
Stop on Response is ON + positive reply detected: The sequence stops (because a response was received) and the positive reply stage movement fires (because AIRA classified it as positive). Both happen as a result of the same reply.
Stop on Response is OFF + positive reply detected: The sequence keeps running — subsequent steps continue executing on schedule. But the positive reply stage movement still fires. The candidate advances in the pipeline even though the sequence has not stopped.
Stop on Response is ON + reply is not positive (OOO, neutral, negative): The sequence stops because a response arrived. The intelligent reply stage movement fires and moves the candidate to the assigned stage because AIRA classified the reply as negative/unclear.
Recommendation: For sequences where you're using positive inteligent stage movement, keep Stop on Response ON. Running a sequence past a positive reply while also auto-advancing the candidate's stage creates a conflicting signal — the pipeline says "interested" while outreach keeps going. Turn Stop on Response OFF only if you have a deliberate reason to continue the sequence after engagement.
AIRA intelligent reply detection has no effect on what the toggle considers a response. Any inbound reply — positive, negative, or neutral — triggers the Stop on Response rule if the toggle is ON. Only the stage movement distinguishes between positive replies and others.
See How Intelligent Reply Detection Works for the full breakdown of what AIRA classifies as positive, neutral, and negative.