Quick Start
What is respond.io?
Setting Up an Account
Connecting Channels
Inviting Your Teammates
Getting Contacts to Message You
Automated Welcome and Away Messages
Responding to Messages
Glossary of Terms
Channels
WhatsApp Business Platform (API) Quick Start
Getting Ready for Inbound Conversations
Getting Ready for Promotional Messaging
WhatsApp Official Business Account (Green Tick)
Grow your WhatsApp Audience by Maximizing Entry Points
Get WhatsApp API Account for Government Agencies
Meta Business Verification
WhatsApp Message Templates
WhatsApp Pricing
WhatsApp Business Platform (API) Channel Configuration
WhatsApp Messaging Limits
Change Your WhatsApp Business Display Name
Migrating from WhatsApp Personal or WhatsApp Business App
Phone Number Migration to respond.io WhatsApp Business Platform (API)
Turn-off WhatsApp Number Two-Step Verification
WhatsApp Cloud API
360dialog WhatsApp
Twilio WhatsApp
MessageBird WhatsApp
Vonage WhatsApp
Phone Number Migration to WhatsApp Cloud API
Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger Overview
Facebook Messenger Quick Start
Facebook Chat Plugin
Facebook Private Replies
Facebook Message Tag
LINE
Viber
Telegram
Google Business Messages
Website Chat Widget
Website Chat Widget Overview
Website Chat Widget Quick Start
Install Website Chat Widget on WordPress
Install Website Chat Widget on Shopify
Install Website Chat Widget on Wix
Install Website Chat Widget on Joomla
Install Website Chat Widget on Squarespace
SMS
Custom Channel
Channels Overview
Product
Dashboard & Reporting
Dashboard
Reports Overview
Reports: Conversations
Reports: Responses
Reports: Resolutions
Reports: Messages
Reports: Contacts
Reports: Assignments
Reports: Leaderboard
Reports: Users
Reports: Broadcasts
Messages
Messages Overview
Assignment and Closing a Conversation
Custom Inboxes
Interacting with Respond AI
Using AI Assist
Contacts
Contacts Overview
Contact Details
Merge Suggestions
Contact Activity
Contact Channels
Contact Import
Segments
Broadcasts Module
Workflows
Workflows Overview
Workflow Triggers
Workflow Steps Overview
Step: Send a Message
Step: Ask a Question
Step: Assign To
Step: Branch
Step: Update Contact Tag
Step: Update Contact Field
Step: Open Conversation
Step: Close Conversation
Step: Add Comment
Step: Jump To
Step: Wait
Step: Date & Time
Step: HTTP Request
Step: Add Google Sheets Row
Dynamic Variables
Workspace Settings
Managing a Workspace
Workspace Settings: General
Workspace Settings: Users
Workspace Settings: Teams
Workspace Settings: Channels
Workspace Settings: Contact Fields
Workspace Settings: Integrations
Workspace Settings: Closing Notes
Workspace Settings: Snippets
Workspace Settings: Files
Workspace Settings: Data Export
Workspace Settings: Data Import
Workspace Setting: Respond AI
Workspace Settings: Growth Widgets
Organization Settings
Organization Overview
Organization Settings: General
Organization Settings: Users
Organization Settings: Workspaces
Organization Settings: WhatsApp Fees
Organization Settings: Billing & Usage
User Account
Mobile App
Installing respond.io Mobile App
Messaging From Your Mobile
Managing Notifications On Your Mobile
Configuring Mobile App Settings
Help Menu
Handling Inbound Conversations
Managing Spam
Create Automated Welcome and Away Messages
Get Contacts’ Consent for Personal Data Collection
Create Automated Chat Menus
Collect Contacts’ Emails and Phone Numbers
Route Contacts by Shifts
Route Contacts by Team Functions
Route New & Returning Contacts
Route VIP Contacts
Assignment Strategy: Automatic Contact Distribution & Load Balancing
Assignment Strategy: Unassign Agents after Conversations Closed
Converse with Customers
Understand the Individual: Get a Complete View of the Customers
Collaborate Internally: Simplify Customer Escalation with Automation
Collaborate Internally: Transfer Contacts to the Next Shift Automatically
Respond Intelligently: Optimize Agents’ Productivity in the Messages Module
Support Use Cases
Inbound Support: Identify Contacts by Email and Phone Number
Inbound Support: Enrich Customer Data from a CRM or other Business Software
Inbound Support: Route Customers to the Right Team Automatically
Inbound Support: Auto-Assign Customers to a Team or Dedicated Agent
Send Outbound Support Messages
Support: Closing Conversations
Supervising Your Support Agents
Reporting for Support
Send CSAT to Customer and Save Data in Google Sheets or CRMs
Sales Use Cases
Inbound Sales: Collect Leads' Email and Phone Number
Inbound Sales: Enrich Contact Data and Qualify Leads
Inbound Sales: Routing Leads
Inbound Sales: Auto-Assign Leads to Sales Agents
Sending Outbound Sales Messages
Track Productivity by Closing Conversations
Supervising Sales Agents
Reporting for Sales
Broadcasts Use Cases
Sending a Simple Broadcast
Start a Workflow Based on Broadcast Response
Troubleshooting a Failed Broadcast
Integrations
Dialogflow
Dialogflow Overview
Dialogflow: Connecting to Dialogflow
Dialogflow: Creating a Chatbot
Dialogflow: Managing Intents
Dialogflow: Parameters
Dialogflow: Events
Dialogflow: Response Templates
Dialogflow: Custom Payloads
Dialogflow: Fulfillment Webhook Request
E-Commerce & CRM Integrations
E-Commerce Integration: Shopify
E-Commerce Integration: BigCommerce
E-Commerce Integration: WooCommerce
E-Commerce Integration: Magento
CRM Integration: HubSpot
CRM Integration: Salesforce
CRM Integration: Pipedrive
CRM Integration: ActiveCampaign
Zapier
Make (formerly Integromat)
Developer API
Webhooks
Partnership
We love to hear from you!
Table of Contents
Email Overview
Updated
by Joshua Lim

When using the respond.io platform for email messaging, it's important to understand what email is and how it works. Email is short for electronic mail and is a way for users to exchange information over telecommunications. This can include text, files, images, or other attachments that are sent through a network to a specified individual or group of individuals.
Connecting Email
Gmail Inbox
If the inbox to be connected to is a valid Google Workspace account, it can be connected to the platform with some extra configuration. Please refer to this page on how to connect to Gmail.
Other Email Providers
Not using Gmail? Don't worry, the inbox can be connected via IMAP/SMTP. There is an option for non-Gmail users whether other email providers can be connected by providing some credentials and configuring a forwarding rule.
Channel Capabilities
The channel capabilities of different Email channels are listed below:
Message Status Availability
The message status availability for different Email Channels is shown in the table below:
Channel | Sent | Delivered | Read | Failed |
Google Workspace | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Other Email | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Supported File Types
Google Workspace supports images with a maximum file size of 10 MB.
Metadata Received by Channel
Different channels provide different sets of Contact's metadata to the respond.io platform. The list of Contact's data you’ll be able to obtain from different Email channels is shown in the table below:
Channel | Metadata Received by Channel |
Google Workspace | Email Address |
Other Email | Email Address |
Text Formatting
For email channels, the platform provides a rich text editor in the message composer to assist you in formatting your message by making text bold, underlining it, embedding links, adjusting alignment, changing color, and more.
Channel Limitations
Email Channels have a distinctive communication style that differs from messaging Channels. In particular, content style in email is typically expected to be more formal, long, and slow compared to instant messaging Channels, which tend to be short, casual, and quick. Therefore, when using the email Channels on the respond.io messaging platform, there are certain limitations that users should be aware of.
- Email broadcasting is not supported on respond.io as the broadcast module is designed for sending broadcasts over messaging Channels. Email broadcast has a different infrastructure as well as requirements and rules to avoid domain being flagged. Thus, consider using messaging Channels for broadcasts.
- Dialogflow's chatbot is not supported for email Channels on respond.io due to Dialogflow's intent text input limit. For more advanced and user-friendly automated replies to conversations, consider using Workflows.
- When using the Ask a Question step in Workflows, you may experience some limitations such as a new email thread you created will have a blank subject and each question you ask will be sent as a separate email instead of in a single email thread. This is because email and the Ask a Question step feature are not compatible technically. We do not recommend using the Ask a Question step with the email channel. However, if you are interested in having this feature available, you can upvote the feature request here.
FAQ and Troubleshooting
Can I send an email to multiple recipients (cc, bcc)?
Yes, you can send emails to multiple recipients by either copying them or blind copying them. For more information, please refer here.
Can I add my custom signature when sending out emails?
You have the option to add your preferred signature, which can be customized for all users using dynamic variables. Our rich text editor allows you to format the signature according to your preferences, and you can even include an image if desired.
Feeling stuck? Do not fear.
Need assistance? Contact us for support. Help is here!This is the text block that will appear when the button is clicked.
Google Workspace Quick Start
Related Articles
Other Email Quick Start
Connect respond.io to an email inbox and start receiving emails on the platform.
Dialogflow Overview
Get an overview of how to use Dialogflow with respond.io.
Organization Overview
Learn how to create and view an Organization, as well as access the Organization settings.