Although an English version was recorded, executives at Toshiba-EMI insisted to promote herself in the Japanese market, so she wrote it the region's respective language.

Upon its release, "Automatic" received positive reviews from music critics, who commended Utada's vocal abilities and production style.

Born and raised in New York City, Utada had her first solo experience in professional recording with Cubic U, a pseudonym used for her earlier English language work.

[2] Executives at the company worked with her to become classified as a singer-songwriter instead of an idol singer, but prompted her to write and record songs in Japanese rather than English.

[3] From the bunch, Utada solely wrote "Automatic" in Tokyo, and recorded a demo tape in mid-1998—which then appeared on the special 15th Anniversary edition of her album First Love (1999).

[4][11] The cover art for the mini CD was a shot from the accompanying music video, which has the singer sitting on the yellow sofa.

[12] Furthermore, the artwork used for the standard CD single was yet another shot from the clip, this time with Utada standing in the blue room wearing white clothes.

A journalist of CD Journal awarded it a special star recognition, praising Utada's "full of emotions" and vocal abilities.

Although they did feel that the sound was "generic", the review stated that the production was "flexible" and "pleasant", whilst noting her professional abilities at 15 years old at the time.

[7] Kano, writing for Rockin'on Japan magazine, examined the singles ability to re-ignite J-pop globally, and praised her vocal performance in the track.

"[8] While reviewing her greatest hits album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.1 (2004), Hayashi, reporting for OngakuDB.com, was surprised by "Automatic"'s longevity, stating that it seemed as if it had been released "just yesterday".

[19] By the end of 1999, Oricon ranked the single at number 22 on her year-end chart, with estimated sales of 772,080, making it the seventh highest entry by a female artist—five of which were claimed by the singer.

[21] This release claimed an additional 1,290,700 units, making this Utada's best-selling physical single; it was listed at number five on Oricon's year-end chart for the same year.

[22] It was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for physical shipments, and gold for 100,000 ringtone cellphone purchases.

The second verse and chorus showcases Utada in a small blue room lit by a LED light, and superimposed the song's title on various scenes.

[30] The following year, Utada hosted an MTV Unplugged series which had her performed the number as one of the closing songs; it was featured on the live album/DVD, and premiered throughout various Japanese music television shows.

[36] Ten years later, Jamaican reggae group Sly and Robbie and Unitzz released an English language cover of the song.