Create and use message templates

Save the messages you write again and again, then drop them into any conversation in one click. A template can be used word for word, with the contact's details filled in, or rewritten by AI to fit the conversation.

Create a template

1. Open any conversation from Inbox → Messaging.
2. Click the sparkles icon in the toolbar under the message field.
3. Click Manage templates at the bottom of the list.
4. Click Create.
5. Fill in the Create Message Template window:
   • Name: what you'll see in the list, for example Follow-up or Meeting request.
   • Template: your message. Click a variable button under the field to insert it where your cursor is.
   • Type: Static (The template will be used as is) or AI (The template will be reworked by our AI depending on the context and the contact).
6. Click Save.

Use a template in a conversation

1. Open the conversation.
2. Click the sparkles icon, then click a template. Each one shows its name, its type (static or ai) and the start of its text.
3. Writing… shows while the text is prepared, then it appears in the message field.
4. Read it, edit it if needed, and click Send.

A template never sends anything by itself. You always review the message first.

Variables

These are the only variables Swimlane recognises:

• {{firstName}}: first name
• {{lastName}}: last name
• {{fullName}}: first and last name
• {{company}}: current company
• {{title}}: current job title
• {{headline}}: LinkedIn headline
• {{location}}: location

Syntax rules:

• The buttons insert double braces, like {{firstName}}. Single braces work too: {firstName}.
• Case, spaces inside the braces and underscores don't matter: {{ FirstName }}, {first_name} and {firstname} all give the first name.
• An unknown variable is sent as typed. {{city}} or {{prénom}} reaches your contact with the braces, exactly as written.
• A missing value becomes empty. If a contact has no company on record, {{company}} is replaced with nothing. Write sentences that still read well in that case, or check the contact before sending.

Static or AI?

• Static: the variables are replaced with the contact's details and the rest of the text stays exactly as you wrote it. Use it for messages where the wording matters, such as an offer, a link or a precise question.

• AI: your template serves as a model. The AI writes a variant that keeps its idea and structure, and adapts it to the contact and the conversation. It uses:

  • the contact's first name, last name, headline and location
  • the last 5 text messages of the conversation, and writes in their language
  • your context from Settings → Personalization and your writing style

  It adds emojis only if your template has some. With no previous messages, it writes an opening message. For an AI template, the company and job title fields are not passed to the AI, so a {{company}} there can only be filled from what the headline says.

Edit or delete a template

In Manage templates, click the pencil icon to edit a template or the bin icon to delete it. Deleting asks for confirmation.

Good to know

• Templates are personal. Teammates don't see yours.
• No limit on the number of templates.
• Templates in campaigns. A campaign message step can use one of your templates through its Template (optional) field. The step then uses the template's current version each time it sends, so editing a template changes what the campaign sends next. Editing the step's message text removes the link. If you delete a template a campaign uses, the step sends the text saved when the template was picked.
• In the inbox, variables only work through templates. Typing {{firstName}} directly in the message field sends it as is.
• Example templates. Your account may already contain examples such as Follow-up or Meeting Request. They are AI templates you can edit or delete.
• Troubleshooting: "Failed to generate message content" means the text couldn't be prepared. Try again, or use a static template.