Can I connect multiple email inboxes to one AskVault workspace?

One. Each AskVault workspace connects one inbox to its Email Assistant. To answer several addresses, forward them into that inbox, or use a separate workspace for each address that needs its own instructions.

Will AskVault reply to spam emails automatically?

AskVault does not reply to automated mail: messages with Auto-Submitted, List-Id or List-Unsubscribe, Precedence bulk/list/junk, or X-Auto-Response-Suppress headers are skipped. Keep your provider's spam filter on so spam never reaches the inbox AskVault reads.

Can the AskVault email bot understand attachments?

Not yet. Attachments are noted in the conversation history but not parsed for content. If a question depends on an attachment, the bot writes a reply acknowledging the attachment and asks the customer to describe what they need.

Can AskVault create tickets in Zendesk or Freshdesk from email replies?

Indirectly. Set the reply-to override to your help desk's email-to-ticket address. The bot's outbound reply creates a ticket automatically, without any direct API integration needed.

How to set up the Email Assistant channel

Written by Joseph Russo, Principal Architect, Networks and Tech, AskVault · Reviewed by Allison Chan

Last updated: June 18, 2026 · 5 min read

How the Email Assistant decides when to reply

The Email Assistant replies automatically, and you control when it steps back:

Confidence floor. Below the floor you set, it escalates to a person instead of replying.
Always-escalate keywords. Emails containing words you list, such as "refund" or "legal", go straight to a person.
Reply cap per thread. After a set number of automatic replies in one thread, a person takes over.
Always CC. Optionally copy a human inbox on every reply so your team sees everything.
Ticket or conversation mode. Ticket mode answers each email on its own; conversation mode reads the earlier messages in the thread.

All of these live in the Email channel's settings under Channels. AI drafts for agents to review Rolling out will add a review-before-send option in the inbox.

Setup with Gmail

Gmail is the most common case. Five steps:

Enable IMAP in Gmail. Open Gmail's settings, go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Turn on IMAP. Save.
Enable 2-Step Verification. Go to your Google account settings, security section, turn on 2-Step Verification. This is required for App Passwords.
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.
Connect in AskVault. Open Channels > Email and pick the Gmail provider. Paste your Gmail address as the username and the 16-character App Password as the password.
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:587). You shouldn't need to edit them.

The bot checks the inbox every 60 seconds, and replies to new emails on the next check.

Setup with Outlook / Microsoft 365

Rolling out Signing in with Microsoft is rolling out and is not on for every workspace yet. See Outlook OAuth for how it works and the permissions it asks for (IMAP.AccessAsUser.All, SMTP.Send, offline_access, openid, email).

Until it is on for your workspace, use IMAP and SMTP with your provider's settings if your Microsoft 365 tenant allows it; see IMAP and SMTP.

Setup with custom IMAP/SMTP

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

Open Channels > Email. Pick Custom IMAP/SMTP as the provider.
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.
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:

AskVault reads the email via IMAP within 60 seconds.
The AI agent runs RAG retrieval against your knowledge base using the email body as the query.
The agent writes a reply grounded in that content.
The reply is sent through your SMTP server. Review-before-send drafts are rolling out.

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

Add a signature in the Email channel's settings in Deploy. There is no default signature or AI disclosure line: if you want replies to say they come from an AI assistant, put that in your signature.

You can add an AI disclosure, a contact email or a 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), set the reply-to address in the Email channel's settings.
Automated mail. The bot skips emails with Auto-Submitted, List-Id or List-Unsubscribe, Precedence (bulk, list or junk) or X-Auto-Response-Suppress headers. Keep your provider's spam filter on.
Auto-reply loops. Out-of-office replies usually carry an Auto-Submitted header, so they are skipped. One that does not carry it would get a reply, so watch the first few days.

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 message against your plan's monthly quota. If you process 1,000 emails a month, you use 1,000 messages.

The bot checks the inbox every 60 seconds. The interval is the same for every workspace.

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. They probably carry one of the automated-mail headers above, as newsletters, notifications and auto-replies do.

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?

One per workspace. Forward other addresses into that inbox, or give each address that needs different instructions its own workspace.

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., [email protected]). 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 reply says "I see an attachment but can't read it; please describe what you need."

Will the bot reply to spam?

It skips automated mail by header (newsletters and notifications usually carry List-Id or Precedence headers). Spam detection stays with your email provider.

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

Test first in the chat playground with real emails you have received, then connect a low-traffic inbox before switching your main one. Review-before-send drafts are rolling out.

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