Add email integration to your chatbot

Automatically send emails with chatbot when certain conditions are met, like when users request to book appointments or when qualifying a lead.

This guide covers:

• What you can do with email skills in ChatAgents
• What you need before setting it up
• How to use the email skill
• How to use it with other skills in a multi-step workflow
• How to test and troubleshoot your setup

What you can do with the email skill

The email skill helps your chatbot send messages at exactly the right moment in a conversation, with no manual follow-up required.

Common use cases include:

• Sending contact form data to your support inbox
• Notifying your team after a lead is captured
• Sending booking confirmations to customers
• Forwarding chat info to a department or CRM via email

What you need before you start

To use this feature, you'll need to first setup your email's SMTP. SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, it's the method email services use to send messages from one system to another.

With this, your chatbot gains the functionality of sending emails using your chosen email.

To make this work with ChatAgents, you’ll need:

• SMTP host (for example, smtp.gmail.com)
• Port number (commonly 587 or 465)
• Your email address (Optional)
• Your password (Optional)
• TLS setting

Here are common SMTP settings:

For custom domains, consult with your email host or IT team.

How to use the email skill

You can set up the email skill to run as a standalone action, for example, to send an email when a visitor completes a form or answers a question.

Step 1: Go to your agent’s settings

From your ChatAgents dashboard, open the agent you want to edit and select the Skills tab.

Step 2: Add a new Skill Set

Click Add Skill Set, then choose Build your own skillset.

Step 3: Name your skill set

Use a name that helps you identify the flow, such as “Email Contact Request” or “Notify Sales”.

Step 4: Add the email skill

Click + Add Skill, then select:

• App: Email
• Action: Send mail by SMTP

Step 5: Complete the configuration

You’ll be guided through four setup sections.

General

• Skill Name: This is for your internal reference (for example, "Send to Sales Team").
• When to Trigger: Describe when this skill should activate. Some examples:
  • "After the user provides an email address"
  • "When the visitor completes the contact form"
  • "If the user asks to be contacted"
  • "When the service selected is 'Consultation'"
  • "If this is the first interaction after business hours"

Data Collection from Chat

Define any information the chatbot needs to collect before it sends the email. You can set multiple parameters like:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Company name
• Reason for inquiry

If any required info hasn’t been collected yet, the agent will ask the user for it during the conversation.

Connect SMTP

Click Add new SMTP account, then fill in:

• SMTP Host (for example, smtp.gmail.com)
• Port (usually 587 or 465)
• Username (optional)
• Password (optional, depending on your provider)
• TLS toggle (enable if your provider recommends it)

Once added, this SMTP account can be reused for other skills.

Configure Mail

Set how the email should look:

• From Name
• From Email
• To Email (can be static or dynamic like {{email}})
• Reply-To
• CC / BCC
• Subject
• Body — You can include dynamic fields like {{name}}, {{phone}}, {{message}}, etc.

Step 6: Save the Skill Set

Click Save Skill Set to complete the setup.

Use the email skill inside a workflow

The email skill can also be combined with other actions in a multi-step Skill Set. This is useful when you want to collect user info, update a system, and notify your team, all in one flow.

Here are some examples using built-in Skill Templates.

Example 1: Capture a website lead and notify the sales team

Skill Template: Capture Website Lead, Log to Google Sheets & Notify Sales Team

Steps:

1. Collect user information
2. Append lead details to a Google Sheet
3. Send a lead notification email to your sales inbox

Example 2: Schedule a meeting and send confirmation

Skill Template: Schedule Meeting & Send Confirmation

Steps:

1. Collect user availability and details
2. Book the meeting in Google Calendar
3. Send a confirmation email to the user

Example 3: Escalate unresolved queries to human support

Skill Template: Answer FAQs & Escalate Unresolved Queries

Steps:

1. Attempt to answer based on your knowledge base
2. If the user still needs help, collect their info
3. Send a summary to your support team via email

In a workflow, the email skill will run once all required steps before it are completed and any needed data is collected.

Test your email configuration

To test the setup:

1. Open the Playground for your agent.
2. Trigger the flow based on the condition you defined.
3. Provide any required values, like an email address.
4. Check the recipient’s inbox.
   [screenshot suggestion: Playground chat showing test run triggering email send]

If no email is received:

• Recheck your SMTP settings and credentials
• Try sending to another address in case the email was flagged as spam
• Remove CC or BCC fields temporarily and simplify the message body

Still stuck?

If your emails aren’t sending or you’re unsure about the SMTP settings required for your provider, we’re here to help. Contact our support team at support@chatagents.io or visit the Help Center for more step-by-step guides and troubleshooting resources.