When you sign up, initdesk automatically creates a unique support email for your organization — for example: support@your-organization.at.initdesk.com.

initdesk’s shared inbox brings all support email into one place so teammates can triage, reply, and use AI drafts. This guide walks you through the common steps to add a support email and what to verify after connecting it.

Grab your initdesk email

1. In the web app, go to Settings → Inboxes.
2. Copy your initdesk support email address by the field Email Prefix.

Send a test email to your new inbox

Before connecting your existing inbox, send a quick test email to your initdesk address from your usual email client (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).

Then open the ticket in initdesk and reply from there to see how conversations are created and updated in real time.

Tip: This helps you get familiar with the full ticket flow — from an incoming message to an AI-drafted reply.

Set up email forwarding

Once you’re comfortable with how initdesk works, connect your existing support address (for example, support@yourcompany.com).

Set up forwarding in your email provider so every message sent to your usual address is automatically delivered to your initdesk inbox.

Tip: Once forwarding is enabled, your customers keep using the same support email, while initdesk manages the workflow in the background.

Attention: Do not use Google Groups to send mail to initdesk. Groups rewrite senders and headers, so tickets often fail to thread or look like they came from the group instead of the customer. Use a real mailbox, plus one of the Google methods below.

Google: two ways to forward

On Google there are two ways to forward mail into initdesk:

1. A Google Workspace routing rule (recommended) — an admin setting that copies mail for an address to initdesk before it depends on anyone’s inbox filters.
2. A Gmail filter — a per-mailbox rule that forwards matching messages after they arrive in Gmail.

A Workspace routing rule is the most reliable. It runs at the domain, keeps working if someone edits Gmail filters, and can include mail Gmail would otherwise treat as spam. Use a Gmail filter only if you don’t have Workspace admin access (for example personal Gmail, or a mailbox you don’t administer).

Use only one method for the same address. If both a routing rule and a filter forward the same message, initdesk can create duplicate tickets.

Option 1 — Google Workspace routing rule (recommended)

You need a Google Workspace admin who can change Gmail settings (admin.google.com).

These steps use Default routing, which is what Google documents for forwarding to a third-party help desk. Mail still stays in the original mailbox, and a copy is sent to initdesk.

1. Open the Google Admin console.
2. Go to Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Default routing.
3. Click Configure, or Add another rule if a rule already exists.
4. Under Specify envelope recipients to match, choose Single recipient and enter the public support address customers write to (for example support@yourcompany.com).
5. Under If the envelope recipient matches the above, do the following:
   • Check Add more recipients, click Add, and paste your initdesk inbox address (the one you copied from Settings → Inboxes).
   • Leave the original recipient unchanged so the message still arrives in that Google mailbox.
   • Optional, and recommended: check Bypass spam filter for this rule so messages Gmail marks as spam still reach initdesk. Routing rules skip spam by default.
6. Under Options, choose Perform this action on non-recognized and recognized addresses so the rule applies whether or not that address is a Workspace user.
7. Click Save.

Changes can take up to 24 hours, but they usually apply much sooner.

Tip: Do not use Change envelope recipient / Replace recipient if support@yourcompany.com is already a real user or Group. Replacing the recipient sends mail only to initdesk and can stop delivery to the Google mailbox. Google’s “replace recipient” pattern is for a virtual address that is not a user, mailbox, or Group.

Check that it works: from an email account outside your domain, send a message to support@yourcompany.com. It should appear in initdesk as a ticket (and still in the original mailbox, if you kept that copy).

Option 2 — Gmail filter

Use this when you can sign in to the support mailbox but cannot add a Workspace routing rule.

A filter only sees mail that already arrived in that mailbox. It does not forward spam unless you say so, and anyone with access to the mailbox can change or delete it. If you have Workspace admin access, prefer Option 1.

Step A — Add and verify the forwarding address

1. On a computer, open Gmail signed in to the support mailbox (not your personal mailbox).
2. Click Settings (gear) → See all settings.
3. Open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
4. Under Forwarding, click Add a forwarding address.
5. Paste your initdesk inbox address, then click Next → Proceed → OK.
6. Gmail sends a verification message to initdesk. Open that ticket (or the message) and click the confirmation link.
7. Return to Gmail settings, refresh, and confirm the initdesk address is listed.

Do not turn on Forward a copy of incoming mail to unless this mailbox is used only for support and you want every message forwarded. For mixed-use mailboxes, keep forwarding disabled here and use a filter in Step B.

Step B — Create the filter

1. In Gmail, click the Show search options icon in the search bar.
2. In To, enter the public support address (for example support@yourcompany.com).
   • If this mailbox is used only for support, you can leave the search fields empty to forward all new mail.
3. Click Create filter.
4. Check Forward it to and select your initdesk address.
5. Optional: check Never send it to Spam so borderline mail still reaches initdesk.
6. Click Create filter.

Filters apply to new messages only. Replies are forwarded only if they still match the same criteria.

Other email providers

For Outlook and other providers, use that provider’s mailbox forwarding (not a group or list). Each provider has a different setup.

If you’re not sure what to configure, scroll to the end of this article and click Open a ticket — we’ll help you get it right.

Edge cases & troubleshooting

• If you don’t see test messages: check the connected email account’s spam/quarantine and any forwarding rules.
• Send the test from an address outside your company domain. Mail you send to yourself from the same Google account can skip the path customers use.
• A Gmail filter with only To filled in can miss mail that was Cc’d or Bcc’d to the support address. Use a Workspace routing rule, or a filter on a dedicated support mailbox with empty search criteria.
• If two tickets appear for one customer email, you likely have both a routing rule and a Gmail filter (or two forwards) on the same address. Keep only one.