> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.oration.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Email

> Connect a work inbox by forwarding mail to the Oration mailbox on the setup page. Covers Google, Microsoft 365, and Exchange BCC rules.

Connect a company inbox so customer email arrives in Oration. You keep sending and receiving from your usual address. Oration receives a copy through forwarding (or a BCC rule).

Personal inboxes such as Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo, iCloud, and Proton cannot be connected. Use a work address on your company domain, even if Google or Microsoft hosts that domain.

## Create the connection

1. Go to **Settings → Agents Platform → Channels**.
2. On **Email**, click **Connect** (or **···** → **Add connection**).
3. Enter:
   * **Name** — a label your team will recognize, for example `Support inbox`.
   * **Work email address** — the address customers already write to, for example `support@company.com`.
4. Click **Create Connection**.

Oration opens the setup page and shows a unique forwarding address that looks like `abcd1234@oration.email`. Copy that address. You will paste it into Google, Microsoft, or Exchange in the next section.

<Info>
  The connection stays **Unconfigured** until a test message reaches the Oration mailbox. After that, status becomes **Active**.
</Info>

## Enable forwarding

Pick the path that matches how you run mail. In every case the destination is the Oration mailbox on the setup page, not a teammate's inbox.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Google Workspace">
    Google can confirm forwarding with an email to your work address. Approve that link, then send the Oration test.

    ### Gmail (your work mailbox)

    This is the usual path when you use Gmail on a company domain.

    1. Open Gmail as the work address you connected.
    2. Click the gear, then **See all settings**.
    3. Open the **Forwarding and POP/IMAP** tab.
    4. Click **Add a forwarding address** and paste the Oration mailbox from the setup page.
    5. Google sends a confirmation message. That message is delivered to the Oration mailbox. On the Oration setup page, click **Confirm forwarding** if the button appears. Otherwise open the confirmation mail in Gmail and approve the link.
    6. Back in Gmail settings, choose **Forward a copy of incoming mail to** the Oration address, then **Save changes**.

    Google's own steps: [Turn on automatic forwarding](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/10957).

    ### Google Workspace admin (org-wide)

    Use this when an admin should forward a shared mailbox for everyone, not from one person's Gmail settings.

    1. Open the [Google Admin console](https://admin.google.com).
    2. Go to **Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Routing** (or **Compliance**, depending on your Admin console).
    3. Add a routing or recipient-map rule for the work address.
    4. Set the additional destination to the Oration mailbox, and keep a copy in the original inbox.
    5. Save and wait a few minutes for the rule to apply.

    Workspace routing overview: [Email routing and delivery](https://support.google.com/a/answer/452036).
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Microsoft 365">
    Microsoft 365 can forward from Outlook on the web, or from an Exchange mail-flow rule. For a shared support mailbox, prefer the Exchange BCC rule so you do not depend on one person's Outlook settings.

    ### Outlook on the web (one mailbox)

    1. Sign in to [Outlook on the web](https://outlook.office.com) as the work address.
    2. Open **Settings → Mail → Forwarding**.
    3. Turn forwarding on and paste the Oration mailbox.
    4. Keep a copy in the mailbox if that option is shown.
    5. Save.

    Microsoft's steps: [Turn on automatic forwarding in Outlook on the web](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-on-automatic-forwarding-in-outlook-on-the-web-7f2670a1-7fff-4475-8a3c-5822d63b0c21).

    If your organization blocks automatic forwarding, use the Exchange rule below. An admin can allow forwarding under **Microsoft 365 admin center → Reports → Mail flow → Auto-forwarded messages**, or with a remote domain setting. Ask your Microsoft 365 admin if the Outlook toggle is missing.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Exchange (BCC rule)">
    Use a mail-flow rule when you want every message to the support address copied to Oration without changing the user's Outlook settings. BCC keeps the Oration mailbox off the visible recipient list.

    Open the Exchange admin center rules list:

    [https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/#/transportrules](https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/#/transportrules)

    Microsoft's reference for creating rules: [Manage mail flow rules in Exchange Online](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/security-and-compliance/mail-flow-rules/manage-mail-flow-rules).

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open mail flow rules">
        Sign in to the [Exchange admin center](https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/#/transportrules) with an account that can manage mail flow. Go to **Mail flow → Rules**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Create a new rule">
        Select **Add a rule → Create a new rule**. Name it something your team will recognize, for example `BCC support mail to Oration`.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Choose which mail to copy">
        Under **Apply this rule if**, choose **The recipient is** and select the work mailbox you entered in Oration (`support@company.com`).

        If the shared address is an alias, use **The recipient address includes** and enter that address instead.
      </Step>

      <Step title="BCC the Oration mailbox">
        Under **Do the following**, choose **Bcc the message to** (sometimes labeled **Blind carbon copy (Bcc) the message to**). Add the Oration mailbox from the setup page (`abcd1234@oration.email`).

        Do not replace the original recipient. The customer still writes to your work address. Oration only receives a copy.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save and wait">
        Leave the rule **On**. Save it. Exchange can take a few minutes to apply a new rule. Then return to Oration and send the forwarding test.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Warning>
      If your tenant already has a rule that stops auto-forwarding to external domains, add the Oration mailbox as an allowed destination or use BCC as above so the copy is an internal rule action, not a user-level forward.
    </Warning>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Verify forwarding

On the email setup page:

1. Confirm the Oration mailbox is saved as a forwarding destination or BCC recipient.
2. Click **Verify automatic forwarding**. Oration sends a test to your work address.
3. That test must reach the Oration mailbox. With forwarding or the Exchange BCC rule in place, this usually takes under three minutes.
4. When it arrives, the page shows **Verified** and the connection becomes **Active**.

If Google or Microsoft sent a confirmation link first, approve that link before the test can succeed. The setup page shows **Confirm forwarding** when Oration has already captured that link.

<Check>
  You are done with setup when the Automatic forwarding card shows **Verified**.
</Check>

## Sending as your work address

Replies currently send from the Oration mailbox (`…@oration.email`), not yet from `support@company.com`. Domain authentication (DKIM / SPF) is on the setup page as **coming soon**. You do not need those DNS records to receive mail.

## FAQ

### Why was my Gmail or Outlook.com address rejected?

Oration only connects work domains. Consumer inboxes cannot be used as the customer-facing address. Connect `support@yourcompany.com` instead.

### The confirmation email never showed a Confirm forwarding button

Open the work inbox and look for mail from `forwarding-noreply@google.com` or Microsoft. Approve the link there, then click **Verify automatic forwarding** again.

### Verification stays unconfigured

The test never reached `…@oration.email`. Confirm the forwarding destination or BCC recipient is the exact address on the setup page, wait a few minutes for Google or Exchange to apply the rule, then send the test again.

### Can I connect more than one inbox?

Yes. Create another Email connection for each work address.

<Note>
  Need help? Email [support@oration.ai](mailto:support@oration.ai).
</Note>