Channels
Meet customers where they are — connect email, social media, and messaging platforms to your AI chatbot.
How channels work
By default, your store has the chat widget channel (the bubble on your website). You can add more channels so the AI also handles emails and social media messages. Each channel gets its own chatbot configuration, so you can customize the AI's behavior per channel.
Available Channels
Chat Widget
Always active. The chat bubble on your storefront.
Gmail
Connect your Gmail inbox. AI reads and replies to customer emails.
Outlook / Microsoft 365
Connect your Outlook inbox. Same capabilities as Gmail.
Custom Email (Forwarding)
Connect any email address by setting up forwarding. No OAuth or DNS changes required. Works with any email provider.
Handle DMs from your Instagram business account. Connect from the Chatbot page.
Messenger
Reply to Facebook Messenger conversations. Connect from the Chatbot page.
Respond to WhatsApp messages. Coming soon.
Connecting Gmail
Start the Gmail Connection
Open Chatbot in the sidebar. On the left of the page you'll see the channel rail — a vertical column of channel icons. Click the + button at the bottom of that rail and choose Gmail, then click Continue.
This opens a Google sign-in window. Sign in with the Gmail account you want to use for customer support (e.g., support@yourstore.com).
Approve Permissions
Google will ask you to approve permissions for Supportify. The app needs access to:
- Read your email — So the AI can read incoming customer emails.
- Send email on your behalf — So the AI can reply to customers.
Click "Allow" to complete the connection. You'll be redirected back to Supportify.
Your data is safe
Supportify only reads emails that are customer support inquiries. Your personal emails are not accessed. All tokens are encrypted and stored securely. See our Privacy & Data article for details. You can disconnect at any time.
Choose a Response Mode
After connecting, choose how the AI handles email replies:
Auto-send
The AI reads incoming emails and sends replies automatically. Best for high-volume stores where speed matters. The customer gets a reply within seconds.
Draft mode
The AI writes a draft reply, but doesn't send it. You review the draft in the Conversations page and decide to send, edit, or discard it. Best for stores that want full control over every outgoing email.
Tip
Start with draft mode to review the AI's email responses for the first week or two. Once you're confident it's writing good replies, switch to auto-send.
Set Up Your Email Signature
Go to Chatbot Setup → Email Settings (visible when viewing an email channel) to configure your email signature. This appears at the bottom of every AI-generated email.
You can also customize your email branding (logo, colors, footer text) in Settings → Email Branding.
Connecting Outlook / Microsoft 365
Connect Your Outlook Account
The process is nearly identical to Gmail:
- Open Chatbot in the sidebar.
- Click the + button at the bottom of the channel rail and choose Outlook, then click Continue.
- Sign in with your Microsoft account.
- Approve the permissions (read email, send email).
- Choose your response mode (auto-send or draft).
- Set up your email signature.
Everything works the same as Gmail — the AI reads incoming emails, writes responses, and either sends them automatically or creates drafts for your review.
What happens to email already in your inbox
We start from now, not from your archive
Connecting a mailbox starts us on new mail from that point forward. We do not import your history, and we never answer a conversation that was already finished before you connected.
There is one exception, and it is deliberately small. Between clicking Connect and the subscription going live there is a gap — a consent screen, an account picker, a page left open. So on connection we also pick up unread mail from the previous hour, through exactly the same spam filters as live mail. That closes the gap without turning an old unread inbox into a wave of AI replies.
If you are moving from another helpdesk and want the switch to be seamless, connect the mailbox first and point your customers at it afterwards. Nothing that arrives after the connection is lost.
And we keep checking
Behind that, we check every connected mailbox on a schedule rather than trusting the push notification alone. If a subscription stops delivering — it happens, and it used to be invisible — the check picks up what was missed and the channel is flagged so you are not left guessing. A mailbox we have not been able to reach for several hours shows an error on its channel card.
Instagram, Messenger & WhatsApp
Instagram DMs and Facebook Messenger are now available in beta. You can connect them from the Chatbot page.
- Open Chatbot in the sidebar.
- Click the + button at the bottom of the channel rail and choose Instagram or Messenger.
- Sign in and authorize with your Meta / Instagram business account.
- Choose your response mode (auto-send or draft).
The AI will handle direct messages from your Instagram business account and Facebook Page, using the same configuration (personality, capabilities, knowledge base) as your other channels.
WhatsApp coming soon
WhatsApp support is not yet available. We will announce it when it launches.
Custom Email (Forwarding)
No OAuth required
Custom Email works differently from Gmail and Outlook. Instead of connecting your inbox via OAuth, you set up email forwarding from your email provider to a unique Supportify address. This works with any email provider (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Zoho, custom domains, etc.) and requires no DNS or domain changes.
Enter Your Support Email
Open Chatbot in the sidebar, click the + button at the bottom of the channel rail, and choose Email Forwarding. Enter the email address you use for customer support (e.g., support@yourstore.com).
We will send a verification code to this address to confirm you own it.
Verify Your Email
Check your inbox for the verification email from Supportify. Enter the 6-digit code in the setup wizard. If you don't receive it within a few minutes, check your spam folder or click "Resend code".
Set Up Forwarding
After verification, you'll see a unique forwarding address (e.g., yourstore-a7f3e2@inbound.supportify.no). Copy this address and set up auto-forwarding in your email provider:
Gmail: Settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP → Add a forwarding address → Paste the address → Confirm → Select "Forward a copy"
Outlook: Settings → Mail → Forwarding → Enable forwarding → Paste the address → Keep a copy
Other providers: Look for "auto-forward" or "forwarding" in your email settings and add the Supportify address.
Tip
Always keep a copy of forwarded emails in your inbox. This way you can still see all customer emails directly if needed.
Test Your Setup
Click "I've Set Up Forwarding", then use the test button to send a test email. If forwarding is working, the email will arrive at Supportify within 30 seconds. You can also skip the test and verify later.
How replies work
When a customer emails your support address, the forwarded copy arrives at Supportify. The AI reads the email, generates a response, and either sends it as a draft (for you to review) or auto-sends it.
Replies are sent from a Supportify address with your store name in the display name (e.g., "Your Store via Supportify"). When the customer replies, it goes back to your support email, gets forwarded again, and the AI continues the conversation.
Troubleshooting
If emails stop arriving:
- Check your email provider's forwarding settings are still active
- Make sure the Supportify forwarding address is still correct
- Check spam/junk folders for the test email
- For Gmail: your admin may have disabled forwarding
- Try disconnecting and re-setting up the channel
Automated emails (newsletters, receipts, shipping notifications) are automatically filtered and won't trigger AI responses.
Managing Your Channels
Switching between channels
In the Chatbot Setup page, you can switch between channels using the Overview section. Each channel has its own status card showing whether it's connected, the response mode, and recent activity. Click on a channel to view and edit its specific settings.
Disabling a channel
Each connected channel has an enable/disable toggle. Disabling a channel stops the AI from reading and responding to messages on that channel, but keeps the connection intact. You can re-enable it anytime.
Disconnecting a channel
To fully disconnect (remove the OAuth connection), open the channel from the rail on the Chatbot page and click "Disconnect". This revokes Supportify's access to that email account.