Setting Up the Email Channel

Step-by-step guide to enabling the AI assistant’s email channel so members and prospects can interact with the AI by sending emails.

The email channel lets members and prospects interact with your AI assistant by sending an email. Instead of chatting through the portal widget, they write a regular email and receive a reply — with all the same AI capabilities running behind the scenes.

This guide walks through the full setup process: enabling the channel in Nexudus, configuring your inbox to forward messages, and verifying everything works.

Before you start

Make sure the AI assistant is already enabled for your space. The email channel is an extension of the existing AI assistant — it will not work unless the base AI assistant is active.

You need:

• Administrator access to your Nexudus account.
• Access to your email provider’s settings (Gmail, Outlook, or any provider that supports automatic forwarding).

No third-party accounts or additional subscriptions are required.

How the email channel works

When you enable the email channel, Nexudus generates a dedicated AI inbox address for your space. Any email sent to this address (or forwarded to it) is processed by the AI assistant, which reads the message, runs the appropriate tools, and sends a reply email back to the sender.

The reply comes from your space’s AI assistant, with your space name in the sender field, so members see a branded response rather than a generic system email.

Step 1 — Enable the email channel in Nexudus

1. Open your AI settings

   In the Nexudus administration panel, go to Settings > Channels > Email.

2. Switch on AI Email

   Toggle the AI Email setting to on. This activates the email channel for your space.

3. Copy your AI inbox address

   Once enabled, Nexudus displays your space’s AI inbox address. This is the address you will forward emails to. It looks like:

   ai+{your-business-id}@mail.nexudus.com
   

   Copy this address — you will need it in the next step.

   

Step 2 — Set up email forwarding

The email channel works by forwarding emails from an address you control — such as [e-mail] or [e-mail] — to the Nexudus AI inbox address. You can use any email address you like; it does not need to be a specific format.

We recommend creating a dedicated email address for AI interactions (for example, [e-mail] or [e-mail]) rather than forwarding your main inbox. This keeps AI conversations separate from your regular email and makes it clear to members where to write.

Choose your email provider below for specific forwarding instructions:

Gmail / Google Workspace

Set up forwarding in Gmail

You can either forward all incoming email to the Nexudus AI inbox, or use a filter to forward only messages sent to a specific address (recommended if you are using a shared inbox).

Forward all email

1. Open Gmail settings

   In Gmail, click the gear icon in the top-right corner, then click See all settings.

2. Go to Forwarding and POP/IMAP

   Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.

3. Add a forwarding address

   Click Add a forwarding address and paste your Nexudus AI inbox address (ai+{your-business-id}@mail.nexudus.com).

4. Confirm the forwarding address

   Google sends a confirmation email to the Nexudus address. Check your Nexudus AI inbox and click the confirmation link in that email to activate forwarding.

   If you don’t see the confirmation email within a few minutes, check your spam or junk folder. The email comes from Google and contains a button or link to confirm the forwarding address.

5. Enable forwarding

   Select Forward a copy of incoming mail to and choose your Nexudus AI inbox address from the dropdown.

   Choose Keep Gmail’s copy in the Inbox so you retain a copy of every message.

6. Save changes

   Scroll down and click Save Changes.

This approach forwards everything that arrives in the inbox to the AI. It works well when the inbox is dedicated to AI interactions (for example, [e-mail]).

Forward with a filter (recommended)

Use a filter when the inbox also receives other email and you only want messages sent to a specific address to reach the AI — for example, forwarding only messages addressed to [e-mail] while leaving other mail untouched.

1. Open Gmail settings

   In Gmail, click the gear icon in the top-right corner, then click See all settings.

2. Add the forwarding address first

   Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab. Click Add a forwarding address and paste your Nexudus AI inbox address (ai+{your-business-id}@mail.nexudus.com).

   Google sends a confirmation email to the Nexudus address. Check your Nexudus AI inbox and click the confirmation link in that email to activate forwarding. You do not need to enable “Forward a copy of incoming mail” — the filter will handle forwarding selectively.

3. Go to Filters and Blocked Addresses

   Click the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab, then click Create a new filter.

4. Set the filter criteria

   In the To field, enter the email address you want to use for AI interactions — for example, [e-mail].

   Click Create filter.

5. Set the filter action

   Tick Forward it to and select your Nexudus AI inbox address from the dropdown.

   Optionally, also tick Skip the Inbox (Archive it) if you do not want AI-bound messages cluttering the inbox, or leave it unticked to keep a copy visible.

   Click Create filter.

The filter approach is ideal when you use a Google Workspace group or alias (for example, [e-mail] as an alias on a shared inbox). Only messages addressed to that alias are forwarded to the AI, while everything else stays in the inbox as normal.

For more detail, see Google’s guides: Automatically forward Gmail messages and Create rules to filter your emails.

Microsoft 365 / Outlook

Set up forwarding in Microsoft 365

1. Open the Microsoft 365 admin centre

   Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your administrator account.

2. Navigate to mail flow rules

   Go to Admin centres > Exchange > Mail flow > Rules.

3. Create a new rule

   Click + Add a rule > Create a new rule.

4. Configure the rule

   • Name: AI Assistant Forwarding
   • Apply this rule if: The recipient is [e-mail] (or whichever address you are using)
   • Do the following: Redirect the message to your Nexudus AI inbox address (ai+{your-business-id}@mail.nexudus.com)
5. Save and enable

   Click Save. The rule takes effect within a few minutes.

Alternatively, for a single mailbox, open Outlook on the web > Settings > Mail > Forwarding and enter the Nexudus AI inbox address. For more detail, see Microsoft’s guide: Configure email forwarding in Microsoft 365.

Other email providers

General forwarding setup

Most email providers support automatic forwarding. The exact steps vary, but the general process is:

1. Find the forwarding settings

   Look for Forwarding, Auto-forward, or Mail flow rules in your email provider’s settings. This is sometimes under Filters or Rules.

2. Add the Nexudus AI inbox address

   Create a rule or forwarding configuration that sends a copy of all incoming messages (or messages to a specific address) to your Nexudus AI inbox address:

   ai+{your-business-id}@mail.nexudus.com
   
3. Keep a copy in your inbox

   If your provider offers the option, choose to keep a copy of forwarded messages in the original inbox.

4. Save and test

   Save the configuration and send a test email to verify it works (see Step 3 below).

If your email provider does not support automatic forwarding, contact your IT administrator or email hosting provider for assistance.

Step 3 — Verify the setup

Once forwarding is configured, test the full flow to make sure everything works.

1. Send a test email

   From a personal email address (not your forwarding address), send an email to the address you configured for AI interactions — for example, [e-mail]. Use a simple question like:

   What are your opening hours?

2. Wait for the AI reply

   Within a few minutes, you should receive a reply from the AI assistant. The reply comes from your space’s AI assistant address and includes your space name in the sender field.

3. Check the AI Conversations list

   In the Nexudus administration panel, go to Operations > AI Conversations. You should see a new conversation with your test message. The Channel column will show Email.

   

If you do not receive a reply within 5 minutes, check that forwarding is active in your email provider’s settings and that you copied the Nexudus AI inbox address correctly. Also confirm that the AI Email setting is still enabled in Nexudus.

Step 4 — Share the email address with your members

Once the channel is working, share the email address with your members and prospects. Common ways to do this:

• Add it to your website contact page alongside your other contact methods.
• Include it in your welcome email to new members.
• Add it to your email signature or auto-reply messages.
• Display it on physical signage in your space.

You can also mention the email address in your FAQ articles. When members ask the chat assistant how to contact you by email, the AI can point them to the right address.

How replies and threading work

When the AI replies to an email, the reply includes a special Reply-To address that embeds the session ID. This means:

• If the member replies to the AI’s email, the reply is automatically routed to the same conversation session.
• The email thread in the member’s inbox looks like a normal back-and-forth email conversation.
• After 48 hours of inactivity, the session expires and the next email starts a fresh conversation.
• A new email with a different subject line also starts a new session.

The member does not need to know about any of this — threading is handled automatically.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use my main inbox (e.g. [e-mail]) instead of a dedicated address?

Technically yes — any email forwarded to the Nexudus AI inbox address is processed by the AI. However, we recommend a dedicated address to keep AI conversations separate from your regular email.

What happens if someone sends an email with attachments?

The AI processes the text content of the email only. Attachments are noted in the conversation (the AI acknowledges they were sent) but cannot be read or processed. The AI will inform the sender that only text messages are supported.

What if the sender's email does not match any customer record?

The AI still replies — but capabilities that require an identified member (such as viewing or managing bookings) are unavailable. The AI will let the sender know what it can help with.

Can I disable the email channel later?

Yes. Switch off AI Email in your business settings. Forwarded emails will no longer be processed. You should also disable the forwarding rule in your email provider to avoid sending emails to an inactive inbox.

Does this cost extra?

No. The email channel is included in the AI assistant feature. There are no additional charges for email-based conversations.