Set up the email channel

Summary

You set up the email channel on the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console. The screen has the title Customer entry points. Select the Email tab on that screen. There you name the configuration, copy the address that receives mail from the Receiving e-mail table, publish the DNS records for each domain in that table, and choose which address sends mail with Use for sending. You publish the DNS records before you choose the send-from address, because an address can only send from a domain whose records are already live. KonversAI sends and receives this mail through our email delivery provider.

Who can do this

A Tenant Admin. On the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console, only a Tenant Admin can add an address, remove an address, run a forwarding test, or start a DNS check. KonversAI answers Only tenant admins can modify email engagement configs. to anyone else. The DNS panel shows Only tenant administrators can trigger a DNS reverification. in place of the button.

Before you start

Make sure your tenant has the email feature. Email is a per-tenant feature flag. When the feature is off, the Email tab on the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console shows Email is not enabled for this tenant yet. Reach out to support to opt in., and Conversations → Email is missing from the left sidebar. Contact support to switch the feature on.

Get access to the DNS host for the domain you want to send from. You must add several records there. You cannot finish the sending part of the set-up without that access.

Decide which address customers write to. You can use the ingress address that KonversAI generates for you. You can also keep your own address, such as support@yourcompany.com, and forward mail from it. Forwarding needs a rule in your own mail server, and the rule must keep the sender address of each message.

Steps

1. Select Settings in the left sidebar of the KonversAI console, then select Entry-points. Select the Email tab.
2. Open the existing configuration, or select + to add one. Type a name in Config name. The name is required and internal, and no customer sees it. Keep Enable this email engagement config checked.
3. Open Receiving e-mail. The first row in the table is the ingress address KonversAI generated for this configuration. Copy it with the copy button next to the address. Any email sent to that address goes into this configuration. The row shows Used for sending until you choose another address.
4. Add your own address in Receiving e-mail if you want to keep it. Type the address in the empty row, then select Add address. KonversAI shows Enter a valid email address. for text that is not an address.
5. Create a forwarding rule in your own mail server. Forward every message from your own address to the ingress address you copied in step 3. The rule must keep the sender address of the original message, because KonversAI reads that address to work out which customer wrote. For the steps in each mail system, see Forward email from Google Workspace or Forward email from Microsoft 365.
6. Select Test next to your own address in Receiving e-mail. KonversAI sends a test message to that address and waits for the forwarding rule to return it. The status changes to Verified when the message arrives.
7. Read the Domain DNS column in Receiving e-mail. The column shows the state of the domain each address belongs to: Ready, DNS needed, Registering… or Failed. The ingress row shows Not required, because KonversAI owns that domain. Select the badge on your own address to open that domain in the Status for sending emails panel.
8. Read the Status for sending emails panel beside the form. The panel lists Receiving mail, Sending mail and Domain ownership. A red dot with DNS setup required or TXT verification required means work is left. Use the Domain list at the top of the panel to switch between domains when your table holds addresses on more than one.
9. Add every row of the DNS table at your DNS host, under the heading Actions in your DNS host. Each row gives you the record name, the Type, the TTL and a Content value. Use the copy button next to Content so the value stays exact.
10. Select Check DNS after your DNS host publishes the records. Publication can take some minutes. Select Check DNS again if a row is still not active. The Domain DNS badge for that domain changes to Ready.
11. Select Use for sending on your own row if customers should see your own address on replies. The button becomes available once the address status is Verified and the Domain DNS badge is Ready. The row then shows Used for sending. Leave the badge on the ingress row to send from the platform address instead. Select Save if you also changed other fields.

FAQ

Where do I read the emails after the set-up?

Select Conversations in the left sidebar of the KonversAI console, then select Email. That screen holds the email threads the assistant handled. The Conversations → Email item only appears when your tenant has the email feature switched on. The set-up itself stays under Settings → Entry-points, on the Email tab.

What is the ingress address?

The ingress address is the address KonversAI generates for your email configuration. KonversAI shows the address as the first row under Receiving e-mail on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen, with a copy button next to it. Every message sent to the ingress address is processed by that configuration. Point your own forwarding rule at the ingress address.

Can I use my own support address as the from address?

Yes. Add the address under Receiving e-mail, then run Test until the status is Verified. Publish the DNS records that the Status for sending emails panel lists for that domain, and wait for the Domain DNS badge on the row to read Ready. Then select Use for sending on that row. You publish the records first because our email delivery provider refuses to send from a domain whose records are not live, so a reply sent before then never reaches the customer.

How do I forward my own address into KonversAI?

You create a rule in your own mail server that delivers a copy of every message to the ingress address shown under Receiving e-mail on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console. The rule must keep the address each customer wrote from. KonversAI reads that address to work out which customer sent the message, so a rule that replaces it makes every message look like it came from one sender. Two pages have the steps for each mail system: Forward email from Google Workspace and Forward email from Microsoft 365. In any other mail system, use a forwarding or redirect rule on the mailbox, and run the forwarding test afterwards.

Every email conversation shows the same sender. Why?

Your forwarding rule replaces the sender address instead of keeping it. This happens when a mailing list sits between your own address and the ingress address, which is what a Google Group does. The list sends each message again under its own address, so KonversAI reads the list as the customer, and every reply goes back to the list. Replace the list with a rule that keeps the sender address: see Forward email from Google Workspace or Forward email from Microsoft 365. Then select Test again next to your address under Receiving e-mail on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console.

The forwarding test does not complete. What is wrong?

KonversAI shows Forwarding test did not complete in time. Check forwarding rules and try again. when the test message does not come back within two minutes. Check that your mail server forwards to the exact ingress address shown under Receiving e-mail. A test expires after 30 minutes, and the status becomes Expired. KonversAI then shows The forwarding test never arrived back at KonversAI. Check that forwarding from this address is switched on and does not filter mail from us, then run the test again. Select Test again after you correct the rule.

KonversAI shows Your forwarding rule changes the sender address. KonversAI cannot tell your customers apart. Use a routing rule instead of a group or mailing list. when the test message comes back under a different address. A group or a mailing list causes this. Change the rule, then select Test again.

Why is Use for sending disabled on my alias?

Use for sending needs two things on that row, and stays inactive until it has both. The address status must be Verified: select Test next to the address under Receiving e-mail and wait for the forwarding test to finish. The Domain DNS badge must read Ready: KonversAI shows Publish this domain’s DNS records before sending from it. while the badge reads DNS needed, so publish the records the Status for sending emails panel lists for that domain and select Check DNS. KonversAI shows Verify this address before using it for sending. when the address itself is not verified yet.

Why does the domain status not change after I change the send-from address?

The Status for sending emails panel checks the domain of the last saved send-from address. Selecting Use for sending saves that choice at once. If you still see a warning about unsaved edits, select Save on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console.

How do I stop email without deleting the configuration?

Open the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console. Clear the checkbox Enable this email engagement config, then select Save. The card then carries a DISABLED badge. KonversAI ignores inbound mail to the ingress address and sends no replies from that configuration. Your addresses, branding and DNS records stay as they are.

Can I change how the AI replies open and close?

Yes. Open Draft generation guidelines on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console. Greeting instructions guides how a reply opens: tone, salutation style, and when to use the customer’s name. Closing instructions guides the sign-off. Neither field is a fixed signature block. Select Save after you edit them.

Can the assistant send a reply without someone reviewing it first?

Yes, when you describe when that is allowed. Open Autoreply on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console. In Send automatically when, write the situations where an AI reply may go out without a person reading it first. Leave the field empty to review every reply. Anything your description does not clearly cover waits for review. Select Save after you edit the field.

Why does the assistant ask a customer to send back a code?

The assistant answers a customer by email only once it knows the person owns the address they wrote from. Anyone can put any address in the From field of an email, so without that check the assistant could hand an order history or an account detail to whoever asked for it.

Most of the time it knows already. Mail carries a signature that proves which domain sent it, and when that signature checks out the assistant asks nothing. The check cannot pass when a message is forwarded, because forwarding replaces the original signature with the forwarder’s own. Automatic forwarding from a company mailbox into KonversAI is the usual reason.

When the check does not pass, the assistant holds the answer. It replies in the same email thread and asks the customer to reply with a short code included in that message, and it sends nothing else until they do. The reply must come from the same address and must contain the code the customer typed in. A code that appears only in the quoted copy of our message does not count. Once the code matches, the assistant answers the original question in the same thread. The code expires after 15 minutes.

You see this exchange in the email console like any other message.

Do identity checks wait for review?

No, by default. Open Autoreply on the Email tab of the Entry-points screen in the KonversAI console and find Send identity-check requests without review. It is selected by default, so the request for a code goes out straight away.

Keep it selected unless you have a reason not to. The request is a step the assistant cannot get past on its own, and its code expires, so holding it for review leaves the customer waiting on a message there is nothing to edit. The answer that follows the identity check still obeys Autoreply mode. Select Save after you change it.