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About Email channel

When you sign up for a Freshchat account, you will automatically receive a default email address in the format [email protected] (also known as a wildcard support address) to handle your support conversations. All emails sent to this address will be converted to conversations in the Conversation Inbox. 

In addition to the default Freshworks mail server, you can add multiple support email addresses and choose public email servers like Microsoft Office 365 or other custom email servers to manage your email transactions for both incoming and outgoing communications in Freshchat.

Currently, you can set up email in Freshchat via:

• Freshworks email server
• Microsoft Office 365
• Other custom server

Features supported in email

Before you begin:

Here are a few things to note before you set up email:

• You can add multiple emails and choose Freshworks or Microsoft email servers to manage your email communications. 
• You can do this for incoming, outgoing, or both email transactions.
• When you set up a mailbox, emails from the mailbox's inbox (both read and unread) are fetched and converted into conversations. Replies on Freshchat will be also sent via these custom mail servers. 
• By default, older emails from the last 7 days will be fetched and converted into conversations.

Set up emails using the Freshworks mail server

1. Log in to your account as an administrator.
2. Go to Admin Settings > Channels > Support Email > Add new email.
   
3. Click Freshworks mail server.
   
4. Enter the Support email name and add your email alias.
   
5. Configure your incoming and outgoing Email systems. 
   • Incoming email system
     Set up forwarding rules for incoming mails so Freshchat can start capturing emails sent to this address as conversations.
   • Outgoing email system
     Configure the email server for outgoing emails. You can choose your outgoing mail server as Freshworks email server or Microsoft Office 365. 
6. Click Save. Proceed to Email verification.

   
   

Verify Emails

If you use the Freshworks email server to send outgoing mails or have set up email alias (different reply-to address), perform the following steps for verification:

• Verify emails
• Configure DKIM

Verify emails

1. On the Email list page, click on the Verify button next to the email address you want to verify.
   
2. To verify emails, click Send. You will receive a verification email.  Click on the link in the email to verify. 
3. You can check the verification status on the Email list page.

Configure DKIM

DKIM adds a signature to emails to verify their source, preventing impersonation and reducing spam. 

1. To configure DKIM, click Configure DKIM. You will be redirected to the Email Domains page, where you can add domains. For instructions, see How to verify your domain for better email deliverability.
2. Once verified, you will see the status on the Email list page.

Note: DKIM verification is available only from Growth plans. If you are on the free plan, you cannot verify and configure DKIM for the emails,

Set up emails using Gmail 

You can bring your existing Gmail or add a new email on the Google Email server to manage incoming, outgoing, or both incoming and outgoing email transactions.

1. Log in as an administrator.
2. Go to Admin > Channels > Support Email > New Support Email.

3. Select Gmail, log in with your Gmail credentials, and authorize (read/write/delete) access to Freshchat.
   

4. Once permission is granted, your Gmail will be successfully added to Freshdesk. 
5. You can view the email on the Email list page and edit it again to modify the details or change the server used for incoming or outgoing transactions.

Set up emails using Microsoft Office 365

1. Log in as an administrator.
2. Go to Admin > Channels > Support Email > New Support Email > Microsoft Office 365.
   
3. Sign in to your Microsoft account and authorize Freshchat to access your emails (Read / Write / Delete).
4. If you are already logged in to your account, you will directly land on the permissions page, where you can grant the required permissions.
   
5. Once the permission is granted, the mail server is ready to use.

Set up emails using other custom mail servers

In addition to  Freshworks mail server and Microsoft Office 365, you can choose other custom servers to manage your email transactions, for incoming, outgoing, or both.

To add a support email via a custom Email server:

1. Log in as an administrator.
2. Go to Admin > Channels > Support Email > New Support Email > Custom.
   
3. Enter the Support Email name.
4. Add the email address.
5. Proceed with the following sections to configure settings for Incoming and Outgoing server details.

Configure incoming and outgoing server details

Enter the following details:

1. Incoming Email Server: Enter the IMAP server name from where the incoming mails have to be fetched. 
2. IMAP Port: Enter the port details. For details on ports used on different email servers, see the section SSL and port details.
3. Use SSL: To establish a secure connection, ensure that you select the Use SSL option.
4. Login details: 
   • Choose the Authentication method based on your server settings. The options are Plain, Login, CRAM-MD5.
     Note: The authentication method varies for different email servers. Ensure that you choose the correct authentication method.
   • Enter the username and password of your email account.
     Note: If you want to use a custom mail server for both your incoming and outgoing emails, fill in the details for both incoming and outgoing email server settings.

Note: If you want to use the custom mail server for both your incoming and outgoing emails, fill in the details for both incoming and outgoing email server settings

Configure additional settings

Post email setup and successful verification, you can choose to have a different mail server configured for your outgoing emails or use an email alias. 

You can also configure additional settings, for example, you can automatically route conversations from the email you have set up to specific groups.

Configure a different incoming/outgoing email server

1. Click on the Configure button next to the mail server on the email list page.
   
2. You can edit your email name and address.
3. You can also configure a different incoming/outgoing
4. Choose a different mail server and perform re-authorization.
5. Save configuration.

Note: If you change the incoming mail server, you will not be able to reply to existing conversations.

General Settings

Under General Settings, you can configure CSAT surveys and assign conversations from email to specific groups.

Enable CSAT surveys

1. On the Email list page, click Configure next to the email. 
2. Under General Settings, enable CSAT. For more details on setting up CSAT surveys, refer to Building a CSAT survey for your messaging channels.
   
3. Click Save.

Assign conversation to group

1. Under Assign to group, select the group to which you want to route the conversations coming from email.
   
2. Click Save.

Handling errors

Here are some of the common errors you might encounter while connecting to a mail server. 

SMTP / IMAP error

This could occur due to:

• Incorrect configuration, such as invalid port number, and wrong credentials
• Invalid TLS certificate
• Mailbox IP restrictions

For Microsoft Office 365 users

To correct this error in Microsoft Office 365, ensure that IMAP is enabled in Microsoft Office 365 settings. For instructions, see Enable IMAP and SMTP settings Troubleshooting Email Errors in Freshchat.

SSL and port details

How does SSL secure your mail server?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) enhances security by encrypting the data exchanged between a client (such as a browser or email client) and a server. This encryption ensures that sensitive information, such as login credentials, emails, and personal data, is protected from interception by unauthorized parties.

By converting plain text into encrypted ciphertext, SSL prevents attackers from accessing or tampering with the information during transmission. Additionally, SSL provides server authentication, which verifies the identity of the server you are communicating with. 

This helps prevent impersonation attacks, such as man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, where an attacker pretends to be the intended server to steal data. Together, these features ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity, creating a secure channel for communication and building trust between users and servers.

How to find port details?

The following table provides the list of SMTP and IMAP settings for a few common email providers. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and if you don't find the required information, check with your email provider.

Agent experience

Once the email setup is complete, your agents can access all customer interactions, irrespective of the channel, and have truly personalized conversations.

• All incoming emails are clearly marked with a source label as "Email" in the left pane of the Inbox, making them easy to identify.
• Agents can view each email in a conversation format.
• Using the reply editor, agents can draft responses, add CC and BCC recipients (up to a total of 25), format text, and include emojis, images, canned responses, and FAQs. Files can also be attached to enhance responses.
  Note: The maximum number of recipients in the CC and BCC fields that can be added is 25.
• Customers will receive the response as an email, and agents can track the delivery status directly in Freshchat.

Tips and best practices

• You can configure advanced Email settings to customize your emails. For example, you can allow your agents to send outbound emails to customers. For more information, see Configure Advanced Settings.
• If the password for the support email account is modified, it is important to re-authenticate using the updated password within Freshchat. Failure to do so will result in emails not being converted into tickets.
  If you’re unsure about the setup, check with your email service provider or IT administrator.