How to Set Up Email-Based Support with Ensoras

This guide walks through setting up email-based customer support in Ensoras. The whole thing is one form on one page; once it's saved and tested, your support inbox is wired to the AI.

Before you start

You'll need:

• Login credentials for the email account you want Ensoras to read and reply from (often a shared support inbox like support@yourstore.com)
• Your email provider's IMAP and SMTP hosts and ports (Gmail, Microsoft 365, FastMail, etc. all publish these)
• About 10 minutes

If you use Gmail or Microsoft 365, generate an app password before you start. Both providers block third-party tools from signing in with your regular account password, so the IMAP/SMTP fields below need an app-password value, not your interactive login.

Step 1: Open the Email page

In your Ensoras admin panel, go to Channels > Email. You'll see one form with several sections.

Step 2: Fill in the IMAP section (inbound)

IMAP is how Ensoras reads incoming mail from your inbox. The fields:

• IMAP Host, e.g., imap.gmail.com, outlook.office365.com, imap.fastmail.com
• IMAP Port, usually 993 (SSL) for most providers
• IMAP Encryption, pick SSL or TLS based on your provider's docs (most modern providers use SSL on port 993)
• IMAP Username, typically your full email address
• IMAP Password, your app password if you're on Gmail or Microsoft 365, otherwise your account password
• Validate Certificate, leave this on unless you're using a self-signed cert on an internal mail server
• Mark as Read, leave off if you want messages to stay unread until your team explicitly handles them

If your provider isn't on a standard port, check their IMAP documentation for the right host and port combination. Most cloud providers default to host imap.<provider>.com on port 993 with SSL.

Step 3: Fill in the SMTP section (outbound)

SMTP is how Ensoras sends replies. The fields are symmetrical with IMAP:

• SMTP Host, e.g., smtp.gmail.com, smtp.office365.com, smtp.fastmail.com
• SMTP Port, usually 587 (TLS) for most providers; some use 465 (SSL)
• SMTP Encryption, pick TLS or SSL based on your provider's docs
• SMTP Username, your email address
• SMTP Password, same value you used in the IMAP password field

For most providers, IMAP and SMTP credentials are identical. The fields are split because some providers technically allow them to differ, and some setups use one mechanism for read access and a different one for sending.

Step 4: Set the email identity

This is what your customers see in the From line of every reply.

• From Email, the address replies come from. This must match the account you authenticated with above (most providers reject sends from addresses you don't own).
• From Name, what shows up before the email address. "Acme Support" or "The Acme Team" reads warmer than just the bare email.
• Email Signature, appears at the bottom of every reply. Plain text only. Keep it short; long signatures dilute the actual reply content.

Step 5: Add channel-specific AI guidelines

The AI Guidelines textarea lets you give the AI instructions that apply only to email. Use this for things like:

• "Match the customer's formality level. If they wrote casually, reply casually; if they wrote formally, reply formally."
• "Don't sign off with 'Hope that helps' or 'Cheers', our brand voice is more direct."
• "If the customer's email is over three paragraphs, summarize their concerns at the top of your reply before answering."

These guidelines layer on top of your project-wide AI configuration. If you've set a brand voice in Automation > Configuration, the email-specific guidelines extend it without overriding it.

Step 6: Set the response delay

The Min Delay and Max Delay fields (in seconds) put a configurable wait between when the AI generates a reply and when Ensoras actually sends it. Use cases:

• Some teams set 30–90 seconds so AI replies don't feel suspiciously instant.
• Some teams leave it at zero for the fastest possible response.
• A small randomized delay (between min and max) avoids the "all replies arrive within 100ms of inbound" pattern that flags as automated to some customers.

If you're not sure, leave these blank for instant sending and adjust later based on customer feedback.

Step 7: Click Test Connection

The Test Connection button at the bottom of the form runs a live IMAP and SMTP check using your saved credentials. You'll see one of:

• A success confirmation (both connections worked)
• A specific IMAP error (Ensoras couldn't read mail with the given credentials)
• A specific SMTP error (Ensoras couldn't send a test message)

If something fails, the error message tells you which side of the connection had the problem. Most failures fall into the categories below.

Common issues

"Authentication failed." The most common cause: you're using your account password where an app password is required (Gmail and Microsoft 365 both require app passwords). Generate one from your provider's security settings and try again.

"Connection timed out." Usually a port or encryption mismatch. Double-check your provider's IMAP/SMTP documentation for the exact port + encryption combo. Common patterns: 993/SSL for IMAP, 587/TLS or 465/SSL for SMTP.

"Certificate validation failed." If you're connecting to a corporate mail server with a self-signed cert, turn off the Validate Certificate toggle. For any provider with a real cert, leave validation on and check that you're hitting the right host.

Replies arrive but don't thread. If customers see your AI replies as separate emails rather than continuations of their original message, your provider may be rewriting headers in transit. Check that the From email matches the account you authenticated with and that the SMTP host belongs to the same provider.

What happens after

Once email is connected and tested:

1. New inbound emails to your configured address become tickets in Ensoras automatically.
2. Each new ticket is processed against your active workflows. If a workflow matches and the AI's confidence clears your threshold, the AI generates a reply.
3. The reply is sent from your configured From address with the signature you set, threaded correctly to the customer's original message.
4. The whole conversation lives in your Ensoras admin panel for review. Your team can intervene, take over, or close out tickets at any point.

Pair email with the chat widget

Most teams run email and the chat widget in parallel. Email handles longer-form post-purchase questions and complaints; the chat widget handles real-time pre-purchase and order-status questions. The same workflows can apply to both channels (or you can scope workflows to one channel only via the Active Channels selector in each workflow). Our chat widget setup guide covers the other side.

If you're new to Ensoras, also consider uploading your knowledge base before you turn email autonomous, so the AI has policy context (shipping, returns, sizing) when it answers. The knowledge base setup guide walks through that.

Sources

• Google, Sign in with app passwords, the canonical reference for Gmail / Workspace app password generation.
• Microsoft, Use app passwords with apps that don't support two-step verification, Microsoft 365 app password documentation.