> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.routiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Email Channel

> Robyn reads inbound clinic email, drafts replies in your voice, books appointments, escalates anything she shouldn't answer.

<Info>
  **Why this matters.** Clinic inboxes are where good enquiries die.
  Patients send a question, the team is busy seeing patients, the email
  sits for two days, the patient books somewhere else. Robyn replies
  within minutes — in your team's voice — and converts the enquiry
  before it goes cold.
</Info>

## How it works

You connect your clinic inbox (Gmail, Outlook, or any IMAP-supported provider) to Routiq via OAuth or app-password. Robyn reads incoming email, classifies each one, and acts:

* **Bookings, reschedules, cancellations** — handled in-thread, written to PMS
* **Knowledge-base questions** — answered from your KB
* **Clinical questions** — escalated to your team, never answered
* **Spam and newsletters** — ignored
* **Anything ambiguous** — drafted reply queued for human review (configurable)

## How Robyn handles email

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Auto-send mode" icon="paper-plane">
    Robyn replies automatically to high-confidence emails (booking requests, FAQs). Low-confidence emails get drafted and queued.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Draft-only mode" icon="pen-to-square">
    Every reply is drafted but waits for a human to click send. Useful while building trust in early days.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Hybrid (recommended)" icon="filter">
    Auto-send for booking confirmations, reminders, simple FAQs. Draft-and-queue for anything clinical, complaint, or ambiguous.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tone matching" icon="signature">
    Robyn matches your team's existing voice from past sent emails — formal vs casual, em-dashes vs commas, sign-off style.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What your patient sees

> **From:** [sarah.brown@example.com](mailto:sarah.brown@example.com)
> **To:** [hello@bondiphysio.com.au](mailto:hello@bondiphysio.com.au)
> **Subject:** Appointment with Dr Lin
>
> *Hi, I was hoping to book a follow-up with Dr Lin sometime next week — Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon if possible. Sarah*

> **From:** [hello@bondiphysio.com.au](mailto:hello@bondiphysio.com.au)
> **To:** [sarah.brown@example.com](mailto:sarah.brown@example.com)
> **Subject:** Re: Appointment with Dr Lin
>
> *Hi Sarah,*
>
> *Dr Lin has these afternoon slots next week:*
>
> *— Tuesday 6th May, 2:00pm*
> *— Tuesday 6th May, 3:30pm*
> *— Wednesday 7th May, 4:00pm*
>
> *Reply with the one that works for you and I'll lock it in.*
>
> *Robyn — Bondi Physio reception*

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Connect your clinic inbox">
    **Settings** → **Channels** → **Email** → **Connect Inbox**.

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="Gmail / Google Workspace">
        Click **Connect Gmail** → sign in with the inbox owner's account → grant Routiq read/send permissions. OAuth-based, no passwords stored.
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Microsoft 365 / Outlook">
        Click **Connect Microsoft** → sign in → grant permissions in the Microsoft consent screen.
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Other (IMAP/SMTP)">
        Enter your IMAP host, SMTP host, username, and an app-specific password (don't use your account password). See your email provider's docs for app passwords.
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose mode (auto / draft / hybrid)">
    **Settings** → **Channels** → **Email** → **Mode**:

    * **Auto-send all** — Robyn replies automatically to everything she classifies as in-scope
    * **Draft-only** — every reply queues in the dashboard for human send
    * **Hybrid** — auto-send simple categories (booking, FAQ); draft the rest

    Most clinics start in **draft-only** for a week, switch to **hybrid** once they trust the drafts.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the signature and tone">
    **Settings** → **Channels** → **Email** → **Signature & Tone**:

    * **Signature** — appended to every Robyn email
    * **Sign-off style** — "Kind regards", "Cheers", "Thanks", custom
    * **Tone training** — paste 3-5 examples of past emails from your team; Robyn learns the patterns
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure escalation triggers">
    Categories that always escalate (never auto-send), regardless of mode:

    * Clinical questions
    * Complaints
    * Insurance / billing disputes
    * Anything mentioning a specific practitioner by name (configurable)

    See [Human Escalations](/features/human-escalations) for routing.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test with a real email">
    Send a test email from your personal account to your clinic inbox. Within minutes, Robyn's reply (or draft) appears in **Dashboard** → **Messages** → **Email**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can Robyn use my real clinic email address?">
    Yes — replies come from the connected inbox (`hello@yourclinic.com.au`), not a Routiq-branded address. Patients don't see a third-party domain.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will Robyn read every email in my inbox?">
    Routiq only reads new email arriving after the connection is made. Historical email isn't ingested unless you explicitly request it (used for tone training).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What about newsletters, spam, and CC'd internal emails?">
    Robyn classifies and ignores them. You'll see a "skipped" log in the dashboard if you ever want to verify what she ignored.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a team member reply manually instead of letting Robyn do it?">
    Yes — every email shows up in the dashboard. You can click **Take over** to reply manually; Robyn won't touch the thread again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if Gmail's OAuth token expires?">
    Routiq notifies you in the dashboard and via email. Re-authorise in 30 seconds — no data loss.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Human escalations" icon="user-headset" href="/features/human-escalations">
    Configure when Robyn drafts vs. sends, and who gets notified.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Knowledge base" icon="book" href="/features/knowledge-base">
    The richer your KB, the better Robyn's email answers.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>