How Do I Set Up My First Mailbox?

Setting up your first mailbox is the second step in getting Propel working for you. A mailbox tells Propel which email account to monitor and how to respond to incoming inquiries. This guide walks you through creating your first mailbox.

What is a Mailbox?

A mailbox in Propel is a connection between your email account and Propel's AI agent. Each mailbox:

• Monitors a specific email account (Gmail or Microsoft 365/Outlook)
• Watches the Inbox folder for new prospect emails
• Automatically responds based on your configuration
• Tracks conversations and engagements in one place

You can create multiple mailboxes for different purposes, such as:

• "Leasing Inbox" for rental inquiries
• "Buyer Leads" for real estate buyer inquiries
• "Seller Inquiries" for listing requests

Prerequisites

Before creating a mailbox, you need:

1. A connected email account - You must have connected either Gmail or Microsoft 365/Outlook in Settings > Integrations. If you haven't done this yet, see our Gmail setup guide or Microsoft 365 setup guide.
2. Admin access - Only organization admins can create mailboxes. If you don't have admin access, contact your organization administrator.

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Navigate to Mailboxes

1. Log in to your Propel account
2. Select your organization from the dashboard
3. Go to Settings > Mailboxes

You'll see one of three screens:

• No email accounts connected: A message prompting you to connect an email account first
• No mailboxes yet: An empty state with a button to create your first mailbox
• Existing mailboxes: A list of your current mailboxes with an "Add mailbox" button

Step 2: Create Your Mailbox

1. Click "Add mailbox" or "Create Mailbox" (depending on whether you have existing mailboxes)
2. A dialog will open with mailbox configuration options

Step 3: Select Your Email Account

In the "Email account" dropdown, select the connected email account you want Propel to monitor. You'll see:

• The account name and email address
• The provider (Google or Microsoft)
• A provider logo for easy identification

If you only have one connected account, it will be pre-selected. If you have multiple accounts, choose the one you want to use for this mailbox.

Note: Each mailbox monitors one email account. If you want to monitor multiple accounts, create separate mailboxes for each.

Step 4: Name Your Mailbox

Enter a descriptive name for your mailbox. Good mailbox names help you identify their purpose at a glance:

• Property Management Examples: "Leasing Inbox", "Rental Inquiries", "Tenant Communications"
• Real Estate Examples: "Buyer Leads", "Seller Inquiries", "Showings"
• General Examples: "Sales Mailbox", "Prospecting Inbox", "Main Inbox"

The name appears throughout Propel, so choose something that makes sense for your team.

Step 5: Configure Basic Response Rules (Optional)

You can set up initial response rules during mailbox creation, or configure them later in mailbox settings. Response rules define when Propel should respond to or ignore emails.

Common rules include:

• Ignore domain: Ignore emails from specific domains (e.g., ignore internal team emails)
• Only respond to domain: Only respond to emails from specific domains (e.g., only respond to inquiries from your website)
• Ignore if subject contains: Skip emails with certain keywords in the subject

You can add multiple rules, and ignore rules take precedence over respond rules if there's a conflict.

Tip: You can skip this step and configure rules later. It's often easier to start simple and add rules as you learn what emails you want to handle.

Step 6: Create the Mailbox

Click "Create mailbox" to finish. Propel will:

• Create the mailbox connection
• Set up monitoring for the Inbox folder
• Save your configuration

The mailbox will be created in a disabled state by default, so it won't start responding until you enable it.

What Happens Next?

After creating your mailbox, you'll see it in your mailboxes list. The mailbox card shows:

• The mailbox name
• The connected email account
• An enabled/disabled toggle
• A "Configure" button to access detailed settings

Enable Your Mailbox

Before Propel starts monitoring and responding, you need to enable the mailbox:

1. Find your mailbox in the list
2. Toggle the switch from "Disabled" to "Enabled"

Once enabled, Propel will immediately start monitoring your Inbox for new emails.

Configure Advanced Settings

Click the "Configure" button (or click the mailbox name) to access detailed settings where you can:

• Agent Capabilities: Enable or disable booking and research features
• Bot Signature: Customize how the agent identifies itself in emails
• Approvals: Require manual review before sending responses
• Handoffs: Automatically CC team members on certain emails
• Email Disclaimer: Add compliance disclaimers to all emails
• Response Rules: Fine-tune when to respond or ignore emails

For detailed information on these settings, see Configuring Mailbox Settings.

Understanding Mailbox Monitoring

By default, Propel monitors the Inbox folder of your connected email account. This means:

• New emails arriving in your Inbox are detected automatically
• Propel processes these emails and determines if a response is needed
• Responses are sent from the same email account
• All conversations are tracked in the Engagements page

Note: Propel monitors the Inbox folder only. Emails in other folders (like Sent Items, Drafts, or custom folders) are not monitored unless they're moved to the Inbox.

Testing Your Mailbox

After enabling your mailbox, you can test it by:

1. Sending a test email to the monitored account from a different email address
2. Checking the Engagements page to see if Propel detected the email
3. Reviewing the response (if approvals are disabled) or checking the approval queue (if approvals are enabled)

For more on monitoring conversations, see Monitoring and Reviewing Conversations.

Troubleshooting

"Connect an email account" Message

If you see a message prompting you to connect an email account:

• You haven't connected Gmail or Microsoft 365 yet
• Go to Settings > Integrations to connect your email provider
• Return to Mailboxes after connecting

"Only organization admins can create mailboxes"

If you see this message:

• You don't have admin permissions for this organization
• Contact your organization administrator to either:
  • Grant you admin access, or
  • Create the mailbox for you

Mailbox Created but Not Responding

If your mailbox is enabled but not responding:

1. Check the enabled toggle - Make sure it's set to "Enabled"
2. Verify email account connection - Go to Settings > Integrations and ensure your email account is still connected
3. Check response rules - Your rules might be preventing responses. Review them in mailbox settings
4. Check approvals - If approvals are enabled, responses need manual approval before sending

Connection Issues

If you experience connection problems:

• Verify your email account is still connected in Settings > Integrations
• Check that your email provider hasn't revoked permissions
• Try disconnecting and reconnecting your email account

Best Practices

1. Start with one mailbox - Create and test one mailbox before adding more
2. Use descriptive names - Name mailboxes clearly so team members understand their purpose
3. Enable approvals initially - Review the first few responses to ensure quality before going fully automatic
4. Monitor closely at first - Watch the Engagements page for the first few days to verify everything works correctly
5. Add rules gradually - Start with basic rules and add complexity as you learn what works

Next Steps

Now that your mailbox is set up, you can:

• Configure mailbox settings to customize how Propel responds
• Add listings so Propel can answer questions about your properties
• Create rules to customize automation behavior
• Monitor conversations to see Propel in action

Related Articles

• Getting Started Guide - Complete setup walkthrough
• Gmail - Email Provider Setup - Connect your Gmail account
• Microsoft 365 - Email Provider Setup - Connect your Microsoft account
• Configuring Mailbox Settings - Detailed mailbox configuration
• Understanding Your Dashboard - Learn about the Propel interface