Set up email auto-forwarding

Each Ortto account has a Talk inbox which is used to receive emails forwarded from an external address. Emails delivered to your Ortto Talk inbox are created as conversations in the agent UI, so they can be managed by your agents/teams.

Using an email address allows you to receive and manage customer queries originating from email (for example, where a customer emails you at help@yourbrand.com), in addition to queries originating from the Talk widget.

Add the email address from which you want to forward emails to Ortto at Settings > Talk widget > Email addresses. Learn more about adding and configuring email addresses.

In addition to configuring your email address in Ortto, you need to enable automatic forwarding via the email provider or DNS host. Below are guides for popular providers and hosts to get you started:

NOTE: Ensure your custom email domains are set up in Ortto to avoid emails being sent from Ortto’s default domain. You may also need to update your sender policy framework (SPF) record to help support email deliverability.

Should you wish to disable email auto-forwarding, learn more about it here.


Google Workspaces

Routing (redirecting) email from a Google Workspace is our recommended way to auto-forward emails to your Ortto Talk inbox. The main reason we recommend using email routing is because it sends the original email messages unchanged to your Talk inbox, and offers your Google Administrator top-level access to control email routing.

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that because email routing will send all your incoming mail directly to Ortto, you will not have access to copies of the emails in your Google mailbox (unless you add an additional recipient to the routing configuration). If you prefer to have a copy of each email remain in your inbox, consider setting up email forwarding from a Google Group instead.

The following steps performed for Google Workspaces need to be carried out by a Google Workspace administrator with access to the Admin console.

To set up email routing for a Google Workspace:

  1. Navigate to admin.google.com and login as the Google Workspace Administrator who has access to the Workspace account.
  2. In the Admin console, navigate to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Default routing.
  3. Click Configure or Add another rule.
  4. In the Add setting modal:
    1. At Specify envelope recipients to match, select Single recipient. Then at Email address, type the email address you’re routing to Ortto.
    2. At If the envelope matches the above, do the following, select Modify message. Under Envelope recipient, select the Change envelope recipient option. At Replace recipient, type your Ortto Talk email address (e.g. "inbox@yourinstance.orttotalk.com").
    3. At Spam, we recommend selecting the Bypass spam filter for this message option. This is to ensure that Google doesn’t accidentally put valid emails in your spam folder (which will not be routed to Ortto).
    4. At Options, select the Perform this action on non-recognized and recognized addresses option.
    5. Click Save to finish the rule setup.

Once you have configured your Google Workspace for email routing, return to the email address setup in Ortto to send a test email to check that everything is set up correctly.

NOTE: We recommend configuring your domain’s sender policy framework (SPF) record to include Ortto as a trusted server. Learn more about configuring your SPF record under Custom domains.

Google Workspaces tips and troubleshooting

While email routing for Google Workspaces is fairly straightforward to set up, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Email routing can be quite sensitive. Take care to ensure your setup is correct, as an incorrect configuration can result in dropped emails.

You should test your setup thoroughly, including sending emails from outside email accounts (not related to your domain). While testing, it’s a good idea to add an additional recipient/s to the routing rule to catch emails in case they aren’t coming through to Ortto.

If you find that your routing rule is not working and is resulting in dropped emails, try deleting the rule and setting it up again. Sometimes a small error or corruption can occur, and deleting then re-setting the rule can result in a successful setup.


Google Groups

If you have an existing Google Group you can forward the group’s emails to Ortto.

Forwarding a Group’s emails is recommended if you need to retain copies of the original emails in your Google mailbox (as the email will land in the Group mailbox, then be forwarded to your Talk inbox). Conversely, if you don’t need or want to keep copies of incoming emails, you can set up email routing for Google Workspaces instead.

If forwarding a Group’s emails, we recommend you limit your group members so that the Ortto Talk mailbox is the only group member. This is to help minimize emails sent to the group appearing in both your Talk inbox (as conversations) and group members' inboxes (assuming the group members are agents).

NOTE: Group members should not modify or reply to emails sent to the group in Google, as this will affect the associated conversations in Ortto. Once an email sent to the group has been created as a conversation in Ortto, it should only be replied to and managed in your Ortto inbox.

The following steps performed for Google Groups need to be carried out by a Google Workspace administrator with access to the Admin console.

To forward Google Group emails to Ortto:

  1. Start in Ortto by:
    • beginning the setup for a new email address: via Settings > Inbox > Email addresses > New email address. Add the group’s email address. Or,
    • return to a partially-setup 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 you reach the Set up email auto-forwarding page for a new email address, copy the email address provided at Forward incoming mail to. This is your Ortto Talk email address.
  3. Navigate to admin.google.com and login as the Google Workplace Administrator who has access to the Google Group.
    Click on Groups.
  4. At the groups list, click on the name of the group you want to use to access its dashboard.
  5. From the group dashboard, at Members:
    1. Click Add members.
    2. Input your Talk mailbox address (e.g. "inbox@yourinstance.orttotalk.com"), then click Add to group.

Once you have configured your Google Group, return to the email address setup in Ortto to send a test email to check that everything is set up correctly.


Microsoft Outlook

To set up email forwarding for Microsoft Outlook on desktop:

  1. Start in Ortto by:
    • beginning the setup for a new email address: via Settings > Inbox > Email addresses > New email address. Or,
    • return to a partially-setup 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 you reach the Set up email auto-forwarding page for a new email address, copy the email address provided at Forward incoming mail to. This is your Ortto Talk email address.
  3. Navigate to Microsoft Outlook. Ensure you are viewing the mailbox for which you wish to set up automatic email forwarding.
  4. At the Home tab, click Rules > Create Rule.
  5. At Create Rule, click Advanced Options.
  6. In the Rules Wizard, select the sent to <your Outlook email address> condition (e.g. select sent to youremail@outlook.com). Add additional conditions as required.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Select the action forward it to people or public group.
    Once selected, edit the rule description to configure it by clicking the people or public group link.
  9. At Rule Address, type or paste in your Ortto Talk email address, (e.g. inbox@yourinstance.orttotalk.com).
    Click OK.
  10. Back in the Rules Wizard, configure any exceptions as required, then click Next.
  11. Give the rule a name then select Turn on this rule.
    Click Finish to complete the rule setup.

Setting up automatic forwarding for Outlook on the web (browser) is similar:

  1. In your Outlook mailbox, click the gear icon to open Settings, then click View all Outlook settings.
  2. In Settings, click Mail > Forwarding.
  3. At Forwarding, select Enable forwarding and type or paste in your Ortto Talk email address.

NOTE: You can set a rule for forwarding instead via Settings > Mail > Rules, then follow similar steps to the setup for Outlook desktop above.

Once you have configured your Outlook mailbox for email forwarding, return to the email address setup in Ortto to send a test email to check that everything is set up correctly.


DNS email forwarding

You can enable email forwarding for your domain name system (DNS). The setup for each DNS will be a little different, depending on your provider, but often consists of populating an email alias with your Ortto Talk inbox address.

Usually you can configure DNS email forwarding via your domain host’s console or dashboard. Most DNS providers will handle the MX (mail exchange) record updates required in the background, without the need for manual configuration. Here are some tips for popular providers:

  • Google Domains: In your domain dashboard, navigate to Email > Email forwarding then add the Ortto Talk inbox address as an email alias. Learn more at Forward your emails from email aliases.
  • Namecheap: In your Namecheap account, navigate to Domain list > Manage then select email forwarding under the Advanced DNS tab then configure forwarding under the Domain tab. Learn more at How to set up Free Email Forwarding.
  • CloudFlare: In your Cloudflare dashboard, under the Email tab, click Configure email routing. Create a custom address for which you can add a forwarding address. Learn more at Enable Email Routing.