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Creating Email Assistants

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Before You Begin

• Identify which email address(es) the assistant will monitor
• Determine the types of emails the assistant should handle
• Prepare knowledge documents relevant to common inquiries
• Consider the tone and style appropriate for your brand’s emails

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Creating a New Email Assistant

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Step 1: Initiate Creation

1. Navigate to the Assistants section in the sidebar
2. Click the + Create Assistant button
3. Select Email as the assistant type
4. Click Continue

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Step 2: Basic Configuration

1. Name: Give your assistant a descriptive name (e.g., “Support Email Assistant”)
2. Description: Add a brief description of the assistant’s purpose
3. Language: Choose the primary language for your assistant

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Step 3: AI Model Configuration

1. Instructions: Write detailed instructions for how your assistant should handle emails:
   • Specify the types of inquiries it should handle
   • Define its tone and writing style
   • Set guidelines for when to escalate to a human
   • Include any specific company policies or procedures
2. Model: Select the AI model to power your assistant
   • GPT-4: Best for complex, nuanced email communications
   • GPT-3.5: Good for straightforward inquiries
3. Temperature: Adjust the creativity level (0.0-1.0)
   • Lower values (0.2-0.4): More consistent, formal responses
   • Higher values (0.6-0.8): More varied, conversational responses

You are an email assistant for Acme Inc., handling customer support inquiries.

Your responsibilities:
- Answer questions about products and services
- Provide order status updates when given an order number
- Handle return and exchange requests
- Forward complex technical issues to the technical team

Your response style should be:
- Professional but friendly
- Concise but thorough
- Formatted with proper email etiquette (greeting, clear paragraphs, signature)

Always include:
- A greeting with the customer's name if available
- A clear response to their inquiry
- Next steps if applicable
- A professional sign-off with your name (Alex from Acme Support)

When responding to order status inquiries:
- Verify the order number format (ACME-XXX-XXXX)
- If valid, provide the status
- If not found, ask for verification or alternative details

Forward emails to humans when:
- The inquiry involves account security
- A customer is clearly upset (multiple exclamation points, ALL CAPS, etc.)
- Legal issues are mentioned
- The query is completely outside your knowledge area

Never make up order information or product specifications if you don't have them.

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Step 4: Knowledge Base Connection

1. Click the Knowledge tab in the setup wizard
2. Select files from your Knowledge Base to associate with this assistant
3. Adjust the knowledge retrieval settings:
   • Relevance Threshold: Set how closely content must match (0.0-1.0)
   • Number of References: How many knowledge snippets to include

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Step 5: Email Account Connection

1. Click the Email Connection tab
2. Select your connection method:
   • Direct IMAP/SMTP: Connect using server details and credentials
   • Microsoft 365: Connect using OAuth
   • Gmail: Connect using OAuth
3. For IMAP/SMTP connection, provide:
   • IMAP Server and Port
   • SMTP Server and Port
   • Email Address
   • Password or App Password
4. For OAuth connections:
   • Click Connect Account
   • Log in to your email provider
   • Grant the required permissions

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Step 6: Email Handling Rules

1. Monitored Folders: Select which email folders to monitor (Inbox, Support, etc.)
2. Email Filters: Create rules to determine which emails the assistant should handle
   • By sender domain
   • By subject line keywords
   • By specific email addresses
3. Response Settings:
   • Auto-Reply: Enable/disable automatic responses
   • Reply Timing: Immediate or delayed responses
   • CC/BCC Rules: Configure carbon copy behavior
   • Signature: Set up your email signature

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Step 7: Human Escalation

1. Escalation Triggers:
   • Specific keywords or phrases
   • Confidence threshold
   • Customer sentiment
   • Number of email exchanges
2. Escalation Actions:
   • Forward to specific team members
   • Create a ticket in the ticketing system
   • Add tags or categories
   • Send notification to team
3. Escalation Message: Customize the message sent to customers when their email is escalated

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Step 8: Advanced Settings

1. Attachment Handling:
   • How to process incoming attachments
   • Whether the assistant can send attachments
2. Language Detection:
   • Automatically detect email language
   • Route non-supported languages to human agents
3. Follow-up Behavior:
   • Configure automatic follow-ups for unresolved issues
   • Set follow-up timing and messaging

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Step 9: Finalize Creation

1. Review all settings across the different tabs
2. Click Create Assistant to save your configuration
3. You’ll be redirected to the assistant details page

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Testing Your Email Assistant

1. On the assistant details page, click the Test tab
2. Send a test email to the connected email address
3. Observe how the assistant processes and responds
4. Verify that knowledge retrieval is working correctly
5. Test escalation scenarios

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Monitoring Email Performance

1. Navigate to the Analytics tab on your assistant’s page
2. Review key metrics:
   • Response time
   • Resolution rate
   • Escalation rate
   • User satisfaction (if feedback is enabled)
3. Examine specific email threads to evaluate response quality
4. Use filters to focus on specific time periods or email categories

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Best Practices

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Email-Specific Instructions

• Include guidance on email formatting (greetings, paragraphs, sign-offs)
• Specify how to handle attachments and links
• Define appropriate tone for different types of inquiries
• Include examples of good email responses

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Managing Email Flow

• Start with limited email traffic until you’ve validated performance
• Use specific folders or filters for initial deployment
• Gradually expand to handle more email categories
• Regularly review escalated emails to improve instructions

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Compliance Considerations

• Ensure your assistant complies with email regulations (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, etc.)
• Include appropriate legal disclaimers in emails
• Configure proper handling of sensitive information
• Maintain records of email communications as required

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Troubleshooting

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Next Steps