Email Integration
Forward mail into AlonChat and approve drafts before anything is sent. This is not a live auto-reply channel.
Email#
This page covers deploying email. The Deploy card is marked Beta. AlonChat receives only the mail you forward. It does not read an inbox you did not forward, and it never sends a reply by itself.
Turning on drafts is not live auto-reply. A draft waits in Activity until you approve it.
What this setup does#
| Included | Not included | |
|---|---|---|
| Create the AI inbox | An AlonChat address your provider can forward to | A replacement for your public email address |
| Forwarding | Copies of the messages you choose to forward | Old mail that was never forwarded |
| Let AI draft replies | A draft prepared from your sources | Sending that draft |
| Reply sender | The From address used after you approve | A second way for mail to arrive |
| Gmail, when offered | Send-only use of a Gmail address | Reading, deleting, or managing that Gmail inbox |
Email does not import chat history. Only Messenger and Instagram can do that. Email is also not Google Calendar.
Set it up#
- Open Deploy → Email.
- Create the AI inbox. You can name it, or let AlonChat generate the name. Customers still write to your normal address. This address is only where forwarded copies go.
- Choose Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or another provider and follow the instructions on that page.
- Keep a copy in the original inbox when the provider offers it.
- Finish the provider's verification. For Gmail, the code also appears on the AlonChat page once it arrives.
- Choose how approved replies are sent.
Yahoo forwarding is often limited to Yahoo Mail Plus or Access + Forwarding, and it is not offered in every region. If the control is missing, use Yahoo's own help, which the Email page links.
| Sender | When to use it |
|---|---|
| AlonChat address | No extra domain setup |
| Business domain | You add the address, publish the DNS records AlonChat shows, and wait until the domain is verified |
| Gmail | Only when Connect Gmail is available. It sends from that mailbox and does not read it |
If Gmail says it is unavailable, use the AlonChat address or a verified business domain. If Gmail later says Reconnect required, sending from Gmail stays paused until you reconnect or choose another sender. AlonChat does not silently switch the From address.
Drafts#
Let AI draft replies prepares a reply when a forwarded message arrives. The draft waits in Activity under Email. You can edit it, approve it, or reject it. With the toggle off, forwarded mail is still logged and no draft is created.
Escalations can decide that a person should handle a thread. Approving a draft is still what sends it.
You can also set the display name, the signature, and whether the reply quotes the original message. Test Email checks the sender you selected. It does not prove that forwarding works. Send a real message to your normal inbox and confirm the forwarded copy arrives.
What this is not#
| Looks similar | Difference |
|---|---|
| Live chat auto-reply | Email never sends without approval |
| A Gmail inbox connection | Forwarding is the only way mail gets in |
| Google Drive or Google Sheets | Those connections do not receive email |
| Chat-history import | Not available for email |
Threads stay in the Email view in Activity, with the sender shown as a normal name and address. They are not used as training data.
Before customers rely on it#
- Teach the business in Sources.
- Forward one real test message and confirm it appears in Activity.
- Read the draft before you approve it.
- Check the From address on the sent test.
- Keep a person available for billing, legal, and complaint threads.
If a draft never appears#
- Email is enabled and forwarding is verified.
- Let AI draft replies is on. Remember that "on" still waits for approval.
- The test was sent to the inbox that forwards, not only to the hidden AI address.
- The selected sender is verified or connected. A paused Gmail sender does not mean the draft was sent from somewhere else.
- The agent has a source that can answer the question. See Training Your Agent.