Email overview

Overview of the AI email channel — forwarding setup, shared inbox, Autopilot replies, human handoff, and third-party integrations with Zendesk, HubSpot, and more.

The email channel handles support mail through forwarding. Customers still write to your public address. Forward copies from your mail host. Your AI replies when Autopilot allows. Your team sees threads in the inbox.

New here? Skim this page, then open Connect Email to go live.

Core Functionality

Ingest and Forward

Emails forwarded to OpenCX are picked up automatically. Works with your existing addresses — no migration required.

AI Responses

Your AI replies to customers using the knowledge base and tools you’ve already set up. Autopilot controls which emails get auto-replied.

Attachments

Attachments come through on inbound emails. Outbound replies can include attachments too.

Threading

Replies stay in the same email thread your customer started. The OpenCX dashboard is the source of truth — email clients may group threads differently.

Third-Party Integrations

Connect to Zendesk, HubSpot, Salesforce, and others from the integrations settings.

Escalation

Escalates to a human agent when needed — your team picks up right where the AI left off.

Formatting

Outbound replies keep rich formatting (bold, lists, links) and strip anything unsafe. Your customers see clean HTML emails.

Web Forms And Help Center Emails

Form submissions that forward to your support address are treated as new email conversations automatically — no separate setup required.

Per-Address AI Behavior

Autopilot and topic rules can be configured at the channel level in Autopilot settings.

You forward mail at your host. Replies send from your verified domain. Thread layout varies by mail client—see Email Flow.

Integration Options

Email forwarding

Forward a copy of mail for your support address to the address from Connect Email. Verify the domain. Register the address in your OpenCX dashboard. Mail then appears in your inbox.

Connect Email

Step-by-step: domain, address, provider rule, connection test.

Third-party integrations

Connect helpdesks and CRMs from the integrations settings.

Zendesk

Email conversations sync with Zendesk. When the AI hands off, a ticket is created in your Zendesk Support instance with the conversation and tags. Your agents stay in Zendesk.

OpenCX also integrates with Zendesk Messaging.

Intercom

Email conversations sync with Intercom. When the AI hands off, your agents see the full thread in their Intercom inbox.

Front

Email threads appear in your Front inbox. Handoffs route directly to your Front team with the full AI conversation attached.

HubSpot

Conversations sync to HubSpot, including email threads. On handoff, your agents pick up in HubSpot with full context.

Freshchat

Connect Freshchat for Freshworks conversations and handoffs.

Other integrations

OpenCX also supports Salesforce, Gorgias, Dynamics 365, and Twilio Flex. See All Integrations for the current list.

Zendesk Integration

Setup and handoff.

Intercom Integration

Conversation sync and handoff.

HubSpot CRM

Email sync, contacts, and handoff.

All Integrations

Browse every supported integration.

---

Related Documentation

Connect Email

Domain verification, provider setup, connection test.

Email Flow

Session matching, threading, and outbound format.

Troubleshooting

Connection failures, missing replies, and common fixes.

Human Handoff

AI to human escalation — applies to email sessions.