How does the email inbox work?

There isn't a separate email inbox. Incoming support emails become conversations in the same merchant dashboard inbox as chat, with the same sections (Open, Monitoring, Closed, Pinned, Spam), the same search, and the same staff tools. One source of truth per customer: a shopper who chats Tuesday and emails Friday lands in one operational system, not two.

From email to conversation

1. Simple Chat ingests the message and opens a conversation, or continues an existing one.
2. The thread shows message history, customer context, and order information where available, just like chat.
3. The AI can triage and respond automatically, according to your instructions and workflow settings.
4. Staff read, reply, and manage the thread without leaving Simple Chat.

The customer sees normal email on their side. Your team sees a structured ticket.

Replying, forwarding, escalating

Replying in the dashboard is the customer-facing email send, not a draft for a separate mail client. Sending a customer-visible reply can hand the thread from AI to your team, the same takeover rule as chat. You can also forward a conversation thread to an external address when a supplier, carrier, or another department needs the full context.

On email, the AI often takes first response and routine follow-up: it answers policy and product questions when your knowledge and tools support them, escalates or monitors based on your workflow configuration, and leaves a clear message history so humans can override tone, refunds, or exceptions.

A day-one checklist

1. Confirm a test inbound email creates a visible conversation.
2. Check your AI instructions cover email-appropriate tone; email often runs slightly more formal than chat.
3. Train agents that the dashboard reply is the real send.
4. Document when to forward externally versus resolve inside Simple Chat.

Then keep an eye on Monitoring and Open. Email volume spikes after shipping delays and launches, and the unified inbox makes that visible in one place.