Outlook
Connect your Microsoft Outlook account to AI SmartTalk to handle email conversations with AI assistance. Incoming emails create conversation threads, and you can respond, create drafts, manage folders, and automate email workflows with 13 powerful SmartFlow actions.
Overview
The Outlook channel enables you to:
- Receive emails as conversation threads in AI SmartTalk
- Auto-respond using your AI assistant
- Create drafts for human review before sending
- Search and manage your entire Outlook inbox programmatically
- Organize emails with categories and folder management
- Automate email workflows with 13 SmartFlow actions
Key Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| AI Email Processing | Automatically analyze and respond to incoming emails |
| Draft Mode | AI creates drafts for human review |
| Direct Send | Auto-reply to simple queries |
| Email Search | Search Outlook with powerful query syntax |
| Thread Management | Handle complete email conversations |
| Category Management | Organize emails with Outlook categories |
| Folder Management | List folders and move messages between them |
| Push Notifications | Real-time email notifications via Microsoft Graph |
| SmartFlow Integration | 13 actions for full email automation |
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure you have:
- An active AI SmartTalk account
- A Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft 365 account
- Permission to grant email access via OAuth
Step-by-Step Setup
Step 1: Access Outlook Channel
- Log into your AI SmartTalk account
- Navigate to Channels → Canals
- Find Outlook and click Connect
Step 2: Authorize with Microsoft
- Microsoft OAuth window opens
- Sign in with your Microsoft account
- Review the permissions requested:
- Read your profile
- Read your emails
- Read and write your emails
- Send emails on your behalf
- Click Accept
Security Note: AI SmartTalk uses secure OAuth 2.0. We never see or store your Microsoft password. Access tokens are automatically refreshed when they expire.
Step 3: Verify Connection
Once connected, you'll see:
- Integration Active status with your email address
- Your connected account display name
Step 4: Enable Push Notifications
To receive incoming emails in real-time:
- Open the Outlook integration dashboard
- Toggle Push Notifications on
- AI SmartTalk creates a Microsoft Graph subscription for your inbox
- New emails are now delivered in real-time to AI SmartTalk
info
Push notification subscriptions expire after approximately 3 days and are automatically renewed by AI SmartTalk.
Step 5: Configure Email Settings
After authorization, configure how emails are handled:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Auto-reply | AI responds automatically to incoming emails |
| Create draft only | AI creates drafts for human review |
| Response delay | Wait time before AI responds (optional) |
Dashboard
The Outlook integration dashboard shows:
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Total Emails | Total number of emails in your inbox |
| Unread | Number of unread emails |
| Sent | Number of sent emails |
| Last Sync | Timestamp of the last synchronization |
You can also:
- Reconnect if your token has expired
- Refresh stats manually
- Toggle push notifications on or off
How Outlook Channel Works
Email to Conversation
Thread Continuity
- Email replies stay in the same conversation thread (matched by Outlook
conversationId) - AI has full context of the email chain (last 5 messages loaded automatically)
- Thread history visible in Chat view
- Emails sent by the connected account are automatically skipped (prevents reply loops)
Deduplication
AI SmartTalk prevents duplicate processing of the same email through multiple safeguards:
- Message ID tracking (last 100 processed)
- Database-level deduplication
- Atomic message claiming to prevent race conditions
SmartFlow Integration
Available Outlook Actions
AI SmartTalk provides 13 Outlook actions in SmartFlow:
| Action | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Send Outlook Email | Send email with HTML support, CC/BCC, importance | Auto-reply to queries |
| Read Outlook Emails | Fetch emails with filters and folder selection | Process new messages |
| Get Outlook Email | Get full email details with attachments | Retrieve specific content |
| Reply to Outlook Email | Reply to a specific message thread | Continue conversations |
| Search Outlook Emails | Search with Outlook search syntax | Find specific emails |
| Mark as Read | Update email read status | Organize inbox |
| Create Outlook Draft | Create draft for review (including reply drafts) | Human oversight |
| Send Outlook Draft | Send an existing draft | Approve and send |
| Delete Outlook Draft | Remove an email draft | Cleanup |
| Get Thread History | Get all messages in a conversation | Full thread context |
| Modify Categories | Add or modify Outlook categories | Email labeling |
| Get Folders | List all mail folders | Folder discovery |
| Move Message | Move emails between folders | Email organization |
Example: AI Email Assistant Workflow
Trigger: Chat Service (Outlook)
Channel: Outlook
Actions:
1. Get Thread History:
Conversation ID: {{email.conversationId}}
2. AI Request:
System: "You are a professional email assistant"
Input: {{thread.messages}}
Output: response, sentiment, urgency
3. If Condition: urgency == "high"
Yes: Send Outlook Email (immediate reply)
No: Create Outlook Draft (for review)
4. Modify Categories:
Email ID: {{email.id}}
Categories: ["Processed by AI"]
Example: Support Email Triage
Trigger: Chat Service (Outlook)
Condition: Subject contains "support" OR "help"
Actions:
1. AI Request:
System: "Analyze this support email and categorize it"
Input: {{email.body}}
Output: response, category, priority
2. Create Outlook Draft:
To: {{email.from}}
Subject: Re: {{email.subject}}
Body: {{ai_response}}
3. Move Message:
Email ID: {{email.id}}
Folder: "Support"
4. Modify Categories:
Email ID: {{email.id}}
Categories: ["Support", {{priority}}]
Example: Email Routing by Folder
Trigger: Chat Service (Outlook)
Actions:
1. AI Request:
Prompt: "Classify this email: sales, support, or general"
Input: {{email.body}}
2. Move Message:
Email ID: {{email.id}}
Folder: {{classification}}
3. Mark as Read:
Email ID: {{email.id}}
Use Cases
Customer Support
Handle inbound support emails:
- AI analyzes the issue
- Drafts appropriate response
- Creates support ticket automatically
- Team reviews and sends
Sales Inquiries
Respond to sales questions:
- AI answers product questions from knowledge base
- Creates personalized draft with pricing info
- Sales team reviews before sending
Email Triage
Automatically categorize and route emails:
- AI classifies email type (support, sales, internal)
- Moves to appropriate folders
- Applies Outlook categories for quick visual sorting
- Archives irrelevant emails
FAQ Handling
Auto-respond to common questions:
- AI recognizes frequent questions
- Sends immediate response
- Frees team for complex issues
Out-of-Office
Smart away responses:
- AI handles routine emails
- Escalates urgent matters to backup
- Provides relevant information even when away
Email Processing Modes
Auto-Reply Mode
AI responds directly to emails:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Instant responses | Less human oversight |
| 24/7 availability | Risk of inappropriate replies |
| Reduced workload | Customers may prefer human contact |
Best for: High-volume, routine inquiries
Draft Mode
AI creates drafts for review:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Human quality control | Slower response time |
| Learning opportunity | Requires manual sending |
| Safer for sensitive topics | More work for team |
Best for: Complex topics, new implementations, sensitive communications
Hybrid Mode
Use SmartFlow to decide per-email:
If: Email is simple FAQ → Auto-reply (Send Outlook Email)
If: Email is sales inquiry → Create draft (Create Outlook Draft)
If: Email is complaint → Route to human immediately
Markdown Support
When sending emails, AI SmartTalk automatically converts markdown formatting to HTML:
| Markdown | Result |
|---|---|
**bold** | bold |
*italic* | italic |
[text](url) | Clickable link |
# Heading | Heading |
- item | Bullet list |
| Line break | Preserved |
Troubleshooting
Connection Issues
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| "Authorization failed" | Re-authorize through Microsoft OAuth |
| "Token expired" | Click Reconnect in the integration dashboard |
| "Access revoked" | Check Microsoft Account → Security → App permissions |
| "Insufficient permissions" | Ensure all required scopes were accepted during OAuth |
Email Not Appearing
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| No conversations in Chat | Verify push notifications are enabled |
| Delayed appearance | May take up to a minute for webhook delivery |
| Only some emails | Check if emails are in the monitored Inbox folder |
| Duplicate conversations | Contact support — deduplication may need review |
Response Issues
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| AI not responding | Check Auto-reply is enabled |
| Wrong tone | Adjust AI personality settings |
| Missing information | Update knowledge base |
| Draft not created | Check SmartFlow configuration |
| Emails from self processed | This should be auto-filtered; contact support if persisting |
Managing Outlook Channel
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Pause channel | Toggle push notifications off |
| Refresh stats | Click Refresh on the dashboard |
| Reconnect | Click Reconnect if token expired |
| Switch accounts | Disconnect, then connect with a different Microsoft account |
| Disconnect | Remove the integration from your connectors |
Privacy & Security
What We Access
| Access | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Read your profile | Display connected account info |
| Read emails | Process incoming messages |
| Read/write emails | Mark as read, modify categories, move messages |
| Send emails | Respond on your behalf |
What We DON'T Do
- Store email content permanently
- Access emails outside the monitored inbox
- Share email content with third parties
- Access other Microsoft services (Calendar, OneDrive, Teams, etc.)
Revoking Access
To disconnect AI SmartTalk from Outlook:
- In AI SmartTalk: Channels → Outlook → Disconnect
- In Microsoft: Account Security → Remove AI SmartTalk
Comparison: Outlook vs Gmail
| Feature | Outlook | Gmail |
|---|---|---|
| OAuth Provider | Microsoft | |
| SmartFlow Actions | 13 actions | 11 actions |
| Category/Label support | Categories | Labels |
| Folder management | Move Message + Get Folders | -- |
| Draft management | Create, Send, Delete | Create, List, Send, Delete |
| Thread history | Get Thread History | Get Email Thread |
| Push notifications | Microsoft Graph subscriptions | Google Pub/Sub |
| Markdown → HTML | Automatic | Automatic |
Best Practices
- Start with Draft Mode: Review AI responses before enabling auto-reply
- Enable push notifications: Required for real-time email processing
- Use categories: Leverage Outlook categories to track AI-processed emails
- Set expectations: Let contacts know they may receive AI-assisted responses
- Monitor quality: Regularly review AI responses for accuracy
- Use thread context: Always fetch the full thread before responding
- Train your AI: Update knowledge base with common email topics
- Implement fallbacks: Use If Conditions for error handling in workflows
Related Documentation
- Gmail Channel - Compare with Gmail integration
- Channels Overview
- SmartFlow Introduction
- AI Request Action
- AI Configuration