Email works in two halves, set up separately.
Receiving forwards your existing support mailbox into LazyChat. Nothing changes about where your mail lands — you keep your own copy — and every forwarded message opens a conversation in the inbox.
Sending connects your mail server so agents can reply from that same address. It is optional: receiving works on its own, and until sending is connected the inbox will tell an agent that a reply cannot be sent rather than failing silently.
Receiving
1. Create an address
Go to Settings → Email → Email accounts and click Add address. Give it a name you will
recognise — Support, Orders — and LazyChat generates a forwarding address.
You can create up to five, one per mailbox you want forwarded. Give each mailbox its own address — that is what keeps their conversations in separate queues.
2. Keep the address private
Treat it like a password. Anyone who has it can send mail into your inbox, so:
- Don't publish it on a website or in a signature
- Don't put it in an autoresponder
- Don't add it to a shared contact list
- Give it only to the mail provider you are forwarding from
If it leaks, use Get a new address. The old address keeps working for 30 days so you have time to update your forwarding rule before mail starts bouncing.
3. Forward your mailbox to it
The settings page shows the exact steps for your provider. For Gmail:
- Open Gmail → Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP
- Click Add a forwarding address and paste your LazyChat address
- Gmail sends a confirmation code to that address. It arrives in your LazyChat inbox — open it and click the confirmation link
- Back in Gmail, select Forward a copy of incoming mail to and pick the address
- Choose Keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox so you keep your own archive, then Save Changes
Microsoft 365, Zoho, iCloud and Yahoo each have their own path; pick your provider from the dropdown on the settings page to see it.
Microsoft 365 and Yahoo both fail quietly in specific configurations. If mail is not arriving after 15 minutes, check the provider notes on the settings page before assuming the address is wrong.
4. Confirm it is working
The settings page polls for your first forwarded message and switches to is working once one arrives, showing the subject and sender. If nothing appears after a few minutes, send a test mail to the mailbox you forwarded and watch that panel.
Sending
Replies go out through your own mail server, from your own address, so they land in the customer's existing thread and pass the spam checks your domain already passes. There are no DNS changes — no DKIM records, no SPF edits.
Connect your SMTP server
Go to Settings → Email → Sending setup and fill in:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| From address | The mailbox customers see and reply to. Use your real support address — never your @in.lazychat.io forwarding address, which has to stay private |
| Display name | The name shown beside it, e.g. Your Store Support |
| SMTP server | smtp.gmail.com, smtp.office365.com, smtp.zoho.com, … |
| Port | 587 (STARTTLS) for almost everyone; 465 for SSL/TLS |
| Username | Usually the same as the From address |
| Password | An app password, not your account password |
Gmail and Microsoft 365 both reject normal account passwords over SMTP. Create a 16-character app password in your mail provider's security settings and paste that in.
Click Save details, then Test connection. Saving alone does not turn sending on — a connection test has to pass first, so a wrong password shows up on this page rather than on a customer's missing reply.
What to expect once sending is on
- Agents reply from the normal inbox composer. Replies join the customer's existing email thread.
- You can only reply to customers who have written in first. Starting a new email conversation is not supported yet.
- Attachments are sent as download links rather than file attachments.
- Your provider accepts the message but does not confirm delivery, so replies show as sent rather than delivered. If a bounce comes back it is recorded against the message.
- The connection is re-checked nightly. If your app password is revoked, sending pauses and the settings page says so.
Blocked addresses
When mail to an address permanently bounces or is reported as spam, LazyChat stops sending to it rather than retrying — repeated sends to a dead address are what damage a sender's reputation.
Blocked addresses are listed on the Sending setup page. Once you know an address works again, remove it there and replies resume.
Good to know
- Reply from LazyChat, not your mailbox. Forwarding gives LazyChat no visibility into replies you send from your own mail client, so those threads will look unanswered in the inbox.
- Keep your own copy. Leave your provider's "keep a copy" option on so your original archive is unaffected.
- Bounces and auto-replies are filtered out. Out-of-office notices and delivery failures do not create conversations.
- Turning an address off makes LazyChat reject mail sent to it, and senders get a bounce. The address and its history are kept, so turning it back on returns the same address.