Anthropic integration
Use this guide to connect Anthropic to ReplyRabbit for a FreeScout mailbox. After setup, ReplyRabbit can use Anthropic as the provider for AI draft replies and related support text that agents review before sending.
Looking for the overview?
Overview
Anthropic is one of ReplyRabbit's cloud AI provider options. You choose it in the mailbox AI Provider settings, paste your Anthropic API key, choose a model option, and save the mailbox.
ReplyRabbit stays responsible for the FreeScout workflow: company context, response style, examples, token budget checks, and reviewable draft output.
For repeated draft work, ReplyRabbit may mark stable Anthropic prompt sections for provider caching. It does this automatically and keeps customer-specific conversation text outside the cached system prefix.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
- A working FreeScout installation.
- ReplyRabbit installed and activated.
- ReplyRabbit Pro or Team, which unlocks all AI providers.
- An Anthropic account with API access.
- An Anthropic API key for the account you want ReplyRabbit to use.
If you are still choosing a provider, read Choosing an AI provider.
Permissions and API keys
ReplyRabbit uses your Anthropic API key only when the mailbox provider is set to Anthropic. The key is stored as a secret and shown masked after saving.
If the key is revoked, rotated, or out of provider credit, update the mailbox settings before generating more drafts.
Connect Anthropic
Open ReplyRabbit settings
In FreeScout, open the mailbox, go to Settings, and choose ReplyRabbit.Choose Anthropic
In the AI Provider card, select Anthropic as the provider.Paste the API key
Paste your Anthropic API key into API Key.Choose a model
Use the latest option unless your team has chosen a specific Anthropic preset or model ID. Use Custom only when you know the exact provider-supported model ID.Set a token budget if needed
Use Monthly Token Budget if you want ReplyRabbit to stop generating after a configured monthly token limit for the mailbox.Save and test
Save settings, open a conversation, and generate a draft. Review the answer before sending it to a customer.
Configuration notes
- Provider: choose Anthropic in the AI Provider card.
- API key: use a key from your own Anthropic account.
- Model: choose latest, a listed preset, or a custom provider-supported model ID.
- Prompt caching: automatic for eligible repeated draft work. There is no Anthropic cache toggle in the mailbox settings.
- Context: keep company context, response style, and examples current so drafts match your support policy.
- Budget: set a token budget when you need a hard monthly stop.
Use cases
- Draft customer replies in FreeScout using Anthropic as the selected cloud provider.
- Compare Anthropic quality against another provider by configuring a test mailbox.
- Keep model and provider choices at the mailbox level instead of changing every support inbox at once.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| Anthropic is disabled in the provider list | Confirm the mailbox is on ReplyRabbit Pro or Team. |
| Invalid API key error | Re-copy the key from Anthropic and confirm it belongs to the account you expect. |
| Model error | Switch to the latest option, or confirm the custom model ID is supported by Anthropic. |
| Cache control or prompt cache error | Use a supported Claude model. ReplyRabbit retries without cache control when Anthropic rejects the cache option, so draft generation should fail open. |
| Drafts stop later in the month | Check the mailbox token budget and provider account billing or credit. |
| Semantic retrieval falls back | Anthropic is not configured as an embedding provider in ReplyRabbit, so choose a supported embedding provider if semantic retrieval is needed. |
For broader fixes, see Troubleshooting ReplyRabbit.
Privacy and security notes
When Anthropic is selected, ReplyRabbit sends Anthropic the prompt context needed for the AI feature. That can include conversation text, company context, response style rules, examples, and related support context.
Use a local provider such as Ollama if your policy requires customer content to stay on your own hardware.
Next steps
- Review the Anthropic integration for FreeScout page when you need the workflow and buying overview.
- Compare provider tradeoffs in Choosing an AI provider before changing a production mailbox.
- Continue with How to set up ReplyRabbit if company context, examples, or budgets still need attention.
FAQ
Do I need an Anthropic API key?
Yes. ReplyRabbit connects to Anthropic with the API key you provide in the mailbox settings.
Is Anthropic available on the Free tier?
No. The Free tier uses OpenAI only. ReplyRabbit Pro and Team unlock Anthropic and the other supported providers.
Can I choose the Claude model?
Yes. Use a configured preset, the latest option, or the Custom field for a provider-supported model ID.
Does ReplyRabbit use Anthropic prompt caching?
ReplyRabbit can use Anthropic prompt caching for repeated draft work when it sees likely reuse. If Anthropic rejects cache control, ReplyRabbit retries the normal prompt.
Does customer data go to Anthropic?
If Anthropic is selected, ReplyRabbit sends Anthropic the prompt context needed for the AI feature.