How automatic Lead Score works and how to interpret lead ratings

Vitor

Vitor

Last updated on Oct 27, 2026

At Papo, the automatic Lead Score uses artificial intelligence to analyze each contact's conversation history and assign a rating from 1 to 5 stars. This score reflects the lead's buying potential and helps your team prioritize the hottest contacts, directing support and sales efforts where there is the greatest chance of conversion.

What automatic Lead Score is

Automatic Lead Score is a lead qualification feature built into Papo's CRM. Instead of relying only on each salesperson's manual perception, the AI reads the interactions recorded in conversations (WhatsApp, Instagram, email and other connected channels) and assigns a rating from 1 to 5 stars to each contact. The higher the rating, the stronger the sign of interest and readiness to buy.

Papo also lets you adjust this rating manually, in case the team has information the AI did not capture — such as a promising phone call or confirmation that the lead has already closed a deal.

Summary of scoring features

Feature What it does When to use it
Automatic AI rating Analyzes open conversations and assigns 1 to 5 stars To quickly qualify every contact in an inbox
Individual re-rating Processes a contact again after new messages To update the rating after a relevant interaction
Lead ranking Lists all contacts ordered by score To identify at a glance which contacts in the base are hot
Manual rating Lets you set or reset the rating from 1 to 5 stars For quick adjustments when the team has external context

How automatic rating works

Automatic rating is triggered by the user inside the Papo panel. Instead of analyzing contacts one by one, you can rate all open conversations in an inbox at once:

  1. In the left panel, click the “Rate open conversations” option.
  2. Choose the desired inbox.
  3. Start the rating.

The AI processes each conversation individually and assigns a star rating to the corresponding contact. Each conversation rated consumes one AI credit from your account.

In addition to batch rating, you can re-rate a specific contact after a new conversation. On the lead's profile, the details panel shows the current score and offers the option to process that contact again. You can also set the traffic source (for example, campaign, video or organic traffic) to understand where the best-performing leads come from.

How to interpret the 1- to 5-star rating

The 1- to 5-star scale works as a thermometer of the lead's interest:

Rating Practical interpretation Recommended action
1 star Cold lead, no sign of buying at the moment Keep in nurture or remove from the active funnel
2 to 3 stars Warm interest, needs further qualification Schedule a follow-up, offer relevant materials
4 to 5 stars Hot lead, high purchase intent Prioritize immediate support, hand over to the salesperson

When you analyze the account's lead ranking, you quickly see which contacts deserve immediate attention. Papo organizes the entire base by rating, allowing the team to focus energy on the leads most likely to convert — instead of spending time on those still at the beginning of their journey.

Automatic Lead Score vs. manual rating

Situation Best approach Reason
Rating many contacts at once Automatic rating The AI processes all open conversations quickly (consumes credits)
Adjusting a specific lead's rating after a call Manual rating Immediate adjustment, without consuming credits, reflecting external information
Lead closed a deal or was disqualified Reset manually (1 star) The AI may not interpret the change in context; a manual reset is more accurate
Lead started interacting again after a while Automatic re-rating New messages provide new signals for the AI to recalculate the score

When a manual rating is set, it overrides the score generated by the AI. This applies to the CRM, to segments and to automations that use Lead Score.

Who it is useful for

  • Sales teams and SDRs who need to know which leads to approach first.
  • Support managers who want to distribute hot contacts to the right salespeople.
  • Companies with a high volume of conversations that cannot manually qualify every lead.
  • White label resellers who want to deliver a prioritization intelligence layer to their clients.

Frequently asked questions

Is the automatic rating updated on its own?

No. Rating is triggered when you request it — whether by rating open conversations in batch or by re-rating a specific contact. To keep ratings up to date after new interactions, you need to run a new rating.

Does automatic rating consume credits?

Yes. Each conversation rated by the AI consumes one AI credit from your account. Manually adjusting the rating, on the other hand, does not consume credits.

Can I change a lead's rating manually?

Yes. On the contact's profile, you can set a manual rating from 1 to 5 stars. This rating then applies in place of the automatic score until it is changed again or re-evaluated by the AI.

What does a “hot” lead mean in Papo?

A hot lead is one with a high rating (4 or 5 stars), indicating a strong buying signal. It should be treated as a top priority in the sales funnel.

How can I view the ranking of all leads?

Papo lets you analyze all contacts at once and generate a ranking by rating. This makes it easy to identify the most promising contacts in the base without opening each profile individually.

What happens if I reset the rating manually?

By setting 1 star manually, you reset the lead's classification. The contact is then treated as cold and no longer appears in filters and segments that require higher ratings.

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