outlook-inbox-guide
The Outlook Inbox integration converts inbound email from Microsoft 365 or Exchange mailboxes into Velaro conversation tickets in real time so your team handles email and chat from a single inbox.
What the Outlook Inbox Integration Does
When you connect an Outlook mailbox, every new inbound email becomes a Velaro conversation. Your team sees the full email thread in the Conversations inbox alongside chat, SMS, and other channel conversations. Replies sent from Velaro are delivered through the connected Outlook mailbox — customers receive a normal email reply from your address. Velaro uses Microsoft Graph change notifications for delivery, so new emails appear instantly with no polling delay.
Supported Mailbox Types
- Microsoft 365 personal mailboxes (e.g., support@yourcompany.com)
- Microsoft 365 shared mailboxes (e.g., a shared support@ mailbox used by multiple agents)
- Exchange Online mailboxes managed through Microsoft 365
How to Connect
1. Go to Settings → Integrations → Outlook Inbox.
2. Click Sign in with Microsoft.
3. Sign in with the Microsoft 365 account that owns or has full access to the mailbox you want to connect.
4. Review the requested permissions and click Accept.
5. Select the mailbox from the dropdown (your personal mailbox or a shared mailbox you have access to).
6. Click Connect.
New emails start appearing in the Velaro Conversations inbox immediately after connection.
Shared Mailbox Setup
To connect a shared mailbox (e.g., support@yourcompany.com):
1. Ensure the Microsoft 365 account you use to sign in has Full Access permission on the shared mailbox. Your Microsoft 365 admin can grant this in the Exchange admin center.
2. Follow the standard connection steps above.
3. In the mailbox dropdown, select the shared mailbox name.
Agents who reply from Velaro send as the shared mailbox address, not their personal address. This keeps your team's customer-facing identity consistent.
What Agents See
When an email arrives, the Velaro conversation shows:
- Sender name and email address
- Subject line (used as the conversation subject)
- Full email body with formatting preserved
- Complete thread history for ongoing email conversations
- Attachments as downloadable files
Agents reply from the Velaro conversation panel. The reply is delivered via the connected Outlook mailbox and appears in the customer's inbox as a normal email from your address.
Microsoft Graph Subscription Auto-Renewal
Velaro uses a Microsoft Graph change notification subscription to receive emails in real time. Microsoft Graph subscriptions expire and must be renewed periodically. Velaro renews the subscription automatically every 3 days. No action is required from you.
If the auto-renewal fails (for example, if the Microsoft 365 account's access is revoked), Velaro will notify you via an alert in the integration settings page and stop receiving emails until the connection is re-established.
Routing and Assignment
Outlook Inbox conversations follow Velaro's standard routing rules. You can:
- Route emails to a team based on subject keywords or sender domain
- Assign via round-robin or skill-based routing
- Trigger bot workflows for common email topics
Set routing rules under Settings → Routing Rules and select Outlook Inbox as the channel.
Troubleshooting
Emails stop arriving after the integration was working
The most common cause is the Microsoft Graph subscription failing to renew. Go to Settings → Integrations → Outlook Inbox and check the connection status. If it shows "Subscription expired" or "Disconnected", click Reconnect to reauthorize and restart the subscription.
Connection fails during setup
The Microsoft 365 account used to connect must have the Mail.ReadWrite and Mail.Send permissions granted. If your organization's Microsoft 365 admin has restricted third-party app permissions, they will need to approve Velaro in the Azure AD admin portal under Enterprise Applications.
Shared mailbox is not appearing in the mailbox dropdown
Confirm the Microsoft 365 account used to sign in has Full Access permission on the shared mailbox. Permissions are set in the Exchange admin center → Recipients → Mailboxes → Shared. After granting access, sign out and reconnect in Velaro to refresh the mailbox list.
Replies are being sent from the wrong address
If agents are replying as their personal Microsoft 365 address instead of the shared mailbox, disconnect and reconnect the integration — this time, explicitly select the shared mailbox in the dropdown rather than the personal mailbox.
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