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Table of Contents

Email Overview

Joshua Lim Updated by Joshua Lim

Email Logo

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.

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