Set up email auto-forwarding

Overview

Each Ortto account includes a Talk inbox where emails forwarded from an external address are received. These emails appear as conversations in the agent UI, allowing users to manage customer queries efficiently.

Using an email address (such as help@yourbrand.com), enables handling customer inquiries originating from both email and the Talk widget.

• Learn more about setting up email addresses.

Additionally, ensure automatic forwarding is enabled through the email provider or DNS host. Below are guides for popular providers and hosts to help with configuration:

• Google Workspaces (recommended)
• Google Groups
• Microsoft Outlook
• DNS email forwarding.

Learn more about disabling email auto-forwarding.

Google Workspaces

For Google Workspaces, we recommend using email routing to automatically forward emails to your Ortto Talk inbox. Email routing ensures that original email messages are sent unchanged to Ortto, while providing your Google Administrator with full control over routing.

Follow these steps to set up email routing for Google Workspaces:

1. Log in to admin.google.com as a Google workspace administrator with access to the Admin console.
2. Navigate to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Default routing in the Admin console.
3. Click on Configure or Add another rule.
4. In the Add setting modal:
   • Select Single recipient under Specify envelope recipients to match, and enter the email address you want to route to Ortto.
   • Under If the envelope matches the above, do the following, choose Modify message. Select Change envelope recipient and enter your Ortto Talk email address (e.g., "inbox@yourinstance.orttotalk.com").
   • For Spam, select Bypass spam filter for this message to prevent valid emails from being sent to spam.
   • Under Options, select Perform this action on non-recognized and recognized addresses.
5. Click Save to complete the rule setup.

Once you've configured email routing in Google Workspace, send a test email from the configured address in Ortto to ensure everything is set up correctly.

Google Workspaces tips and troubleshooting

Setting up email routing in Google Workspaces is generally straightforward, but it's important to consider a few key points:

• Email routing requires careful configuration. Ensure your setup is accurate to avoid potential issues like dropped emails.
• Test your setup thoroughly by sending emails from external accounts not associated with your domain. During testing, consider adding extra recipients to the routing rule to capture emails that may not reach Ortto.
• If you encounter issues where your routing rule fails and emails are being dropped, try deleting the rule and setting it up again. Sometimes, this simple action can resolve minor errors or corruptions and lead to a successful setup.

Google Groups

If you already use Google groups, you can forward the group’s emails to Ortto for centralized management.

Forwarding Group emails is recommended if you need to keep copies in your Google mailbox (emails first land in the Group mailbox before forwarding to your Talk inbox). Alternatively, for direct routing to Ortto without retaining copies, consider setting up email routing in Google workspaces.

When forwarding Group emails, it’s best to limit group membership to ensure only the Ortto Talk mailbox receives emails. This helps prevent duplicate emails in both your Talk inbox (as conversations) and group members' individual inboxes, assuming they are agents.

Here’s how to set up Google group email forwarding:

1. Start in Ortto:
   • Begin setup for a new email address via Settings > Inbox > Email addresses > Incoming Email > Add Email. Add the group’s email address.
   • Or, revisit a partially-set up email address via Settings > Inbox > Email addresses, then click on the more icon > Edit for an email address with the status of Setup.
2. Once on the Set up email auto-forwarding page in Ortto, copy the Ortto Talk email address provided under Forward incoming mail to.
3. Log in to admin.google.com as a Google workspace administrator with access to the Google group.
4. Click on Groups in the Admin console and select the desired group from the list.
5. Under Members in the group dashboard:
   • Click Add members.
   • Enter your Talk mailbox address (e.g., "inbox@yourinstance.orttotalk.com") and click Add to group.

Once configured, return to Ortto and send a test email from the group address to verify the setup is correct.

Microsoft Outlook

To forward emails from Microsoft outlook to your Ortto Talk inbox, follow these steps:

1. Start in Ortto:
   • Begin setting up a new email address via Settings > Inbox > Email addresses > Incoming Email > Add Email.
   • Alternatively, edit a partially set-up email address via Settings > Inbox > Email addresses, then click the more icon > Edit for an email address with the status of Setup.
2. Once on the Set up email auto-forwarding page in Ortto, copy the Ortto Talk email address provided under Forward incoming mail to.
3. For Outlook on desktop:
   • Open Outlook and ensure you're viewing the mailbox from which you want to forward emails.
   • Go to the Home tab, click Rules > Create rule.
   • Click Advanced options in the Rules wizard.
   • Select the condition sent to <your Outlook email address> and add any additional conditions needed.
   • Click Next.
   • Choose forward it to people or public group.
   • Edit the rule to add your Ortto Talk email address under Rule address.
   • Click OK, configure any exceptions if necessary, then click Next.
   • Name the rule and select Turn on this rule.
   • Click Finish to complete the rule setup.
4. For Outlook on the Web (browser):
   • In your Outlook mailbox, click the gear icon for Settings, then click View all outlook settings.
   • Navigate to Mail > Forwarding in settings.
   • Select Enable forwarding and enter your Ortto Talk email address.

After configuring email forwarding in your Outlook mailbox, return to Ortto and send a test email from the configured address to ensure everything is set up correctly.

DNS email forwarding

You can set up email forwarding for your domain using DNS (Domain Name System). The process varies slightly depending on your DNS provider, but generally involves creating an email alias that forwards to your Ortto Talk inbox.

Here’s how to do it with popular providers:

1. Google Domains:
   • Go to your Domain dashboard and navigate to Email > Email forwarding.
   • Add your Ortto Talk inbox address as an email alias.
   • Learn more about forwarding from email aliases.
2. Namecheap:
   • Log in to your Namecheap account, go to Domain list > Manage.
   • Select Email forwarding under the Advanced DNS tab, then configure forwarding in the Domain tab.
   • Learn more about setting up free email forwarding.
3. CloudFlare:
   • Access your Cloudflare dashboard, go to the Email tab, and click Configure email routing.
   • Create a Custom address and set up forwarding to your Ortto Talk inbox.
   • Learn more about enabling email routing.

Most DNS providers automatically handle the necessary updates to MX (mail exchange) records in the background, simplifying the setup without requiring manual configuration.

Once configured, any emails sent to your domain will be forwarded to your Ortto Talk inbox, streamlining your communication management.