Inbox (Email)

Objective

Manage inbound and outbound email with AI assistance and human approval (human-in-the-loop). An assigned agent analyzes each incoming email, drafts a reply, categorizes it, and either sends automatically or holds it for your review.

Access

Sidebar -> Email

Routes:

• /app/{tenant}/inbox (connect accounts / settings entry)
• /app/{tenant}/inbox/all (all accounts)
• /app/{tenant}/inbox/{credentialId} (one account)
• /app/{tenant}/inbox/message/{id} (email details)

If accounts already exist, /app/{tenant}/inbox redirects to /app/{tenant}/inbox/all.

Roles

• owner, admin: full access — connect, configure, verify, test, and delete accounts, plus review and send replies.
• agent: review, draft, reassign, and Approve & Send replies. Cannot connect, configure, or delete accounts.
• viewer: no access (the Email module is hidden).

Prerequisites

• Early-access module: Email is rolled out gradually. If you do not see Email in the sidebar, contact support to request access.
• Your Helios account email must be verified. Connecting a mailbox is blocked until you verify it.
• At least one active agent with the Email channel enabled. If none exists, a prompt sends you to the Agents module.
• A connected mailbox: Gmail / Google Workspace or Outlook / Microsoft 365 (both via OAuth).
• AI features (drafts, summaries, sentiment, categorization) require model access — through your plan's included credits or your own provider key configured in Integrations. Processed email counts toward your plan quota; when the limit is reached, emails show the Quota Exceeded status.

Connect an email account

In Email, click Connect Email Account (first account) or Connect New Account. A dialog opens with the available providers.

If you have no eligible agent, an Agent required dialog appears — create an agent with the Email / Inbox channel enabled first. If your account email is unverified, you are prompted to verify it before continuing.

Gmail (OAuth)

1. In the dialog, find Gmail / Google Workspace.
2. Choose an agent in the Select agent dropdown.
3. Click Connect and complete Google's consent screen.
4. You return to Email with the mailbox connected.

Outlook (OAuth)

1. In the dialog, find Outlook / Microsoft 365.
2. Choose an agent in the Select agent dropdown.
3. Click Connect and complete Microsoft's consent screen.
4. You return to Email with the mailbox connected. Outlook syncs the inbox, sent items, and categories.

Manage connected accounts

Each connected account appears as a row with a toggle, badges, and a menu.

• Active / Inactive toggle. If the account's linked agent is inactive, turning the account on opens a Choose an active agent to reactivate dialog so you can swap to an active agent.
• Open mailbox: opens this account's inbox list.
• Menu — Verify: tests connectivity (shown while the account is unverified). Test email: sends a test message to confirm delivery. Edit: opens Email Account Configuration.
• The expanded row shows the assigned agent and the last sync time or a friendly sync status.

Account badges:

Raw provider errors are never shown. Sync problems appear as plain-language statuses, for example "Connection expired. Reconnect this account."

Email Account Configuration (per account)

Quick route: Email -> account menu -> Edit.

Account Configuration

Available signature variables:

• {sender_name}
• {agent_name}
• {tenant_name}
• {account_email}
• {sender_role}

AI Response Settings

These options appear once an agent is assigned.

• Generate AI Responses: the agent drafts suggested replies. Summaries, sentiment, and categorization always run when an agent is assigned, even if this is off.
• Send Automatically (shown when Generate AI Responses is on): replies are sent without waiting for approval. When off, all replies remain drafts. Auto-replies to no-reply / system senders are always blocked.

The following appear when Send Automatically is on:

• Agent Signature (optional): a signature applied when auto-sending.
• Auto-Reply Language: Auto (mirror the sender's language) or a specific language.
• Require Manual Review For: High and Urgent — emails at these priorities always wait for your approval before sending.
• Auto-Reply Guard (see below).

Auto-Reply Guard

Controls which senders receive automatic replies. System and no-reply senders are blocked by default.

Email Categorization

These options appear once an agent is assigned.

• Current categories are listed. Manage Categories opens the Categories settings.
• Allow agent to suggest new categories automatically.
• Use the Other category when no clear match is found.
• Mailbox Label Sync: sync Helios categories to Gmail labels or Outlook categories (Gmail or Outlook only). Messages stay in the inbox unless you enable the archive option; archive availability depends on the provider.

Daily Summary Email

Sends a recurring summary of email activity. Configured once for your workspace.

Delete an account

In Email Account Configuration, the Danger Zone -> Delete email account removes the configuration and disconnects the mailbox. This cannot be undone. (owner / admin only.)

Inbox (email list)

Available as All Accounts (/app/{tenant}/inbox/all) and per account (/app/{tenant}/inbox/{credentialId}). Both show summary stats and a filterable list.

Filters:

• Search: sender, subject, agent, category, and more.
• Account: switch account or view All Accounts.
• Direction: All Mail / Inbound / Outbound.
• Status: All Status / Pending or Processing / Needs Review / Approved / Sent / Reviewed / Failed / Quota Exceeded.
• Agent: All Agents / Unassigned / a specific agent.
• Category: All Categories / Uncategorized / Not analyzed / a specific category.
• Sort: Date or Category.
• Refresh: single-account view only; pulls the latest messages from the provider.

Columns: From / To, Subject (with a short preview), Category, Status, Sentiment, Agent, and Date. A shield icon marks emails where the auto-reply guard blocked a reply. A banner appears when emails are blocked by the plan limit. Use Load more to page through results.

Status values

Failed and unresolved emails are automatically removed after 30 days.

Email details

Route: /app/{tenant}/inbox/message/{id}. Opening an inbound email marks it as reviewed.

Inbound layout:

• Header: priority and status badges, plus a delivery or auto-reply-blocked notice when relevant.
• Subject.
• Summary: Generate or Refresh a short summary to speed up review.
• AI-Generated Response (editable): edit the draft, then Regenerate Response, No Reply Needed, or Approve & Send.
• Original Message: the incoming email, rendered safely.
• Sidebar Metadata: From; Assigned Agent (reassign via dropdown); Received; Send using (choose which connected account sends the reply); Signature (My / Agent / Account / None); Analysis (Intent, Sentiment, Category, Tags) with a refresh action.

Outbound emails open in a read-only Sent Email view with Subject, From, To, Sent, Agent, the message body, and View full thread.

Important notes:

• To send, the response field must not be empty.
• If auto-reply is blocked for the sender, AI generation is disabled and you write a manual reply; a confirmation dialog appears before sending.
• Approved, sent, reviewed, failed, and quota-exceeded emails are read-only.

Good practices

• Assign an active agent to each account before turning on AI responses.
• Keep clear categories so classification and label sync stay useful.
• Start with drafts (Send Automatically off) and enable auto-send once you trust the replies; keep High and Urgent under manual review.
• Use the Auto-Reply Guard to avoid replying to no-reply, billing, or bulk senders.
• Write signatures with variables so every account and agent stays consistent.

Common errors

• Connection expired: reconnect the account (re-run the Gmail or Outlook OAuth from the account).
• Verify fails: disconnect and reconnect the mailbox via OAuth.
• Linked agent inactive: the account only sends a polite unavailable auto-reply until you swap to an active agent through the reactivation dialog.
• No AI response appears: confirm an agent is assigned, Generate AI Responses is on, and model access is available.
• Quota Exceeded: the plan limit was reached; upgrade your plan or wait for the next billing cycle.

Related

• AI Agents
• Categories
• Conversations
• Integrations
• Billing & Usage