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How to set up the Email Assistant channel

Written by , Founder, AskVault · Reviewed by Aashiq
Last updated: · 5 min read

Two modes: auto-reply or draft-for-review

Before you connect, pick which behavior you want.

Auto-reply mode. The bot reads incoming emails and sends replies automatically without a human in the loop. Use this for high-volume, low-stakes inboxes where speed matters (FAQ-style questions, order-status lookups, shipping inquiries). Risky if the bot might hallucinate; safe if the knowledge base is solid and the strictness mode is set to refuse-when-uncertain.

Draft-for-review mode (recommended for most teams). The bot drafts replies but doesn't send them. Drafts appear in a queue inside AskVault's dashboard. A human reviews, edits if needed, clicks send. Same speed gain (no typing), human-in-the-loop safety.

Switch between modes in Deploy > Email > Mode. Most production deployments start in draft mode and switch to auto-reply on a per-intent basis (e.g., auto-reply for "what's your address?" but draft-for-review for billing questions).

Setup with Gmail

Gmail is the most common case. Five steps:

  1. Enable IMAP in Gmail. Open Gmail's settings, go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Turn on IMAP. Save.
  2. Enable 2-Step Verification. Go to your Google account settings, security section, turn on 2-Step Verification. This is required for App Passwords.
  3. Generate an App Password. In your Google account security settings, find App Passwords. Generate a new one for AskVault. Google shows you a 16-character password; copy it. You only see it once.
  4. Connect in AskVault. Open Deploy > Email > Add Inbox. Pick the Gmail provider preset. Paste your Gmail address as the username and the 16-character App Password as the password.
  5. Click Test Connection. AskVault logs in via IMAP, then via SMTP, both round-trip in a few seconds. If both work, click Save.

The IMAP and SMTP servers are auto-filled by the Gmail preset (imap.gmail.com:993 and smtp.gmail.com:465). You shouldn't need to edit them.

The bot starts checking the inbox every 60 seconds. New emails get processed; drafts (or replies) appear within 60 to 120 seconds of arrival.

Setup with Outlook / Microsoft 365

Outlook supports modern OAuth via Microsoft 365. The flow is similar to Slack's OAuth.

  1. Open Deploy > Email > Add Inbox. Pick the Outlook provider preset.
  2. Click Connect with Microsoft. A new tab opens with Microsoft's OAuth consent screen.
  3. Sign in with the Microsoft 365 account. Grant the requested permissions: Mail.Read and Mail.Send. No other scopes.
  4. You're redirected back to AskVault. Connection is active. No app password needed.

Outlook OAuth handles token refresh automatically, so you don't have to rotate credentials manually. App passwords are also supported if your IT policy disallows OAuth, but OAuth is recommended.

For Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise accounts, your tenant admin may need to approve the AskVault app first. Send them the consent URL from Deploy > Email > Outlook Setup if you hit a "needs admin consent" message.

Setup with custom IMAP/SMTP

For Zoho Mail, Fastmail, SES, or any other provider:

  1. Open Deploy > Email > Add Inbox. Pick Custom IMAP/SMTP.
  2. Enter the connection details. IMAP host (usually imap.yourprovider.com), IMAP port (usually 993 for TLS), SMTP host, SMTP port (usually 465 or 587), and the inbox credentials.
  3. Test and save.

The form has TLS toggles for both IMAP and SMTP. Modern providers use TLS by default; the only providers that need TLS off are old self-hosted mail servers (not recommended for production).

How the bot replies

When an email arrives in the connected inbox:

  1. AskVault reads the email via IMAP within 60 seconds.
  2. The AI agent runs RAG retrieval against your knowledge base using the email body as the query.
  3. The agent drafts a reply that quotes the relevant content and cites sources by adding "Sources: [link to doc]" at the bottom.
  4. In auto-reply mode, the reply is sent via SMTP. In draft mode, it appears in Live Chat > Conversations filtered by Email channel, ready for human review.

Reply emails preserve the original threading: the bot's reply has the right In-Reply-To and References headers, so it shows up as a thread continuation in the customer's inbox.

Email signatures

Customize the bot's email signature under Deploy > Email > Signature. Default is:

Best, Acme Support (via AskVault AI assistant)

You can change the disclosure language, add a contact email, link to your website. The signature is appended to every reply.

Compliance considerations

Three things to know:

  • Reply-to address. By default, replies go back to the address that sent the email, so customers can keep the thread alive. If you want replies routed to a different address (e.g., your CRM's email-to-ticket address), configure it under Deploy > Email > Reply-to override.
  • Spam filtering. The bot doesn't reply to emails marked as spam by your provider. Spam handling stays in the provider's hands.
  • Out-of-office detection. If an incoming email looks like an auto-reply (subject contains "out of office", "vacation", "automatic reply"), the bot doesn't respond. Stops auto-reply loops.

Limits and pricing

Email is included on the Growth plan and above. Free and Starter don't include the Email Assistant. Growth+

Each AI-generated reply counts as 1 query against your plan's monthly quota. If you process 1,000 emails a month, you use 1,000 queries.

The bot checks each inbox every 60 seconds. For higher-frequency polling (e.g., 10-second cadence), reach out to support@askvault.co. Most teams find 60 seconds is fine.

Common pitfalls

IMAP login fails. App Password is wrong or 2FA isn't enabled on the source account. Regenerate the App Password and try again. For Gmail specifically, you cannot use your regular password (Google disabled it for IMAP in 2022). App Passwords are mandatory.

SMTP login fails after IMAP works. Provider has separate SMTP credentials or requires a different port. Check your provider's SMTP docs and update the form.

Bot doesn't reply to some emails. Check for the out-of-office detection (above). Also check Deploy > Email > Filters for any rules that exclude certain senders or subjects.

Bot replies but customer doesn't get the message. SMTP send succeeds but the email is being filtered. Check your domain's SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. The bot sends from your inbox address, so the deliverability is governed by your domain reputation.

FAQ

Can I connect multiple inboxes?

Yes. Each AskVault workspace can have multiple email channels (support@acme.com, sales@acme.com, billing@acme.com as three separate channels). Each routes to the same knowledge base by default, but you can configure per-channel system prompts for tonal differences.

Does the bot create tickets in Zendesk / Freshdesk / Help Scout?

Indirectly. Set the reply-to override to your help-desk's email-to-ticket address (e.g., tickets@acme.zendesk.com). The bot's reply creates a ticket in the help desk automatically.

Can the bot understand attachments?

Not yet. Attachments are noted in the conversation history but not parsed for content. PDFs, screenshots, and DOCX in incoming emails are skipped. If a question depends on attachment content, the bot's draft says "I see an attachment but can't read it; please describe what you need."

Will the bot reply to spam?

No. The bot skips messages flagged as spam by your provider. It also has a built-in heuristic to skip suspected newsletter / marketing emails.

How do I migrate from a different help-desk that has AI auto-reply?

Use draft mode initially. Run both tools in parallel: your old tool sends auto-replies, AskVault drafts replies for review. Compare quality side by side. When you're confident, disable the old tool, switch AskVault to auto-reply mode.

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