Mailboxes and virtual mailboxes
Mail reaches a workflow in three stages, and the Mailboxes screen shows them in that order: Addresses, then Virtual mailboxes, then Workflows.
Addresses
An address is an email address Rent Stream AI receives mail at. Each one is a hosted
address on Rent Stream AI's mail domain. You forward or redirect mail to it from your own
address, such as invoices@yourcompany.co.uk.
An address is made from your company's email name, a word you choose and a random code:
acmeplanthire-invoices-7k2m9x@mail.rentstream.onmcs.ai
The random code makes the address impossible to guess. Your company's email name is set in Settings, Company and is fixed once your first address is made, so all your addresses match.
Adding an address
In Mailboxes, Addresses, select Add an address:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Name | What your team calls it, for example Accounts |
| Address word | One word of letters and numbers, up to 20, such as invoices. The screen shows the address as you type |
| Mail goes to | Auto routing to a virtual mailbox: each email goes to the virtual mailbox whose description fits it best. Or Straight to one virtual mailbox: every email goes to the one you choose |
Select Create address. The address is ready straight away, with a button to copy it.
:::note Coming later Connecting a Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailbox directly is planned. Until then, forward mail to a hosted address. :::
Virtual mailboxes
Workflows are fed by virtual mailboxes. A virtual mailbox is a named destination in your company, like a folder, such as "Supplier invoices" or "Breakdowns". Each one has:
- a name;
- a description in plain English, such as "Emails from suppliers with an invoice attached". Auto routing uses it to decide where each email goes;
- the workflow it feeds.
Several addresses can feed the same virtual mailbox. Each virtual mailbox shows how many emails arrived in the last 7 days and how many people moved elsewhere: if people often move mail out, its description needs sharpening.
Everything else is built in and cannot be changed or removed. Mail that fits nowhere waits there, in To sort in the inbox, for a person.
Auto routing
For an address set to auto routing, the AI reads each new email (its subject, sender, attachment names and text) and compares it with the descriptions of your virtual mailboxes. When it is at least 70% sure, the email goes to that virtual mailbox and its workflow starts. When it is less sure, or cannot decide, the email waits in To sort with its best guess and the reason, for a person to choose.
Only virtual mailboxes whose workflow is published and switched on are offered. Mail for a workflow that is not live yet waits in To sort until it is.
Replies
When someone replies to an email Rent Stream AI sent, the reply joins the open work item in the same conversation, without going through auto routing. If the work item was waiting for the sender, it carries on.
If the work item is already finished, the reply is treated as new mail and starts a new work item. A finished work item is never reopened.
Out-of-office replies, bounces and other automatic emails are recognised and ignored. They never start a work item.
Limits
An email can be up to 30 MB with up to 50 attachments of up to 25 MB each. Larger or blocked attachments hold the email for a person to look at.