Integrations
Microsoft Outlook
How your agents answer email in your Exchange Online and Microsoft 365 mailboxes, and book appointments into your Outlook calendars.
On this page
If your organisation runs on Microsoft 365, your agents can work in the mailboxes and calendars your teams already use. The agent reads and answers email arriving in a shared mailbox you choose, such as bookings@ or claims@, and books appointments straight into the Outlook calendars of the people or rooms concerned. Your email stays in Exchange Online, and your customers keep writing to the addresses they know.
What the connection lets the agent do
| Action | What it means for you | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Read and answer email | The agent reads messages arriving in the mailbox you choose and replies in the same thread | A traveller asking whether a tour includes hotel pickup |
| Keep each thread as one issue | Replies, forwards and follow-ups stay together until the issue is resolved | A claim query that runs to six messages is one conversation |
| Hold replies for approval | Replies wait for a person on your team to approve them, configured during implementation for the mailboxes that need it | Complaints are drafted by the agent and sent by your team |
| Read attachments | Documents and images attached to an email are read, configured during implementation | A buyer attaches a signed reservation form |
| Book into Outlook calendars | Appointments agreed in a conversation are booked into the right calendar | A viewing booked into the Tower B sales calendar |
| Confirm and reschedule | The agent confirms bookings and moves them when a customer asks | A buyer moves her viewing from Tuesday to Thursday |
How it connects
The connection uses Microsoft 365's standard API (application programming interface: the documented way other software exchanges data with it). Access is granted with OAuth (the standard way to give an application limited access to an account without sharing a password). Your Microsoft 365 administrator grants admin consent (an organisation-wide approval of the permissions requested) in Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft's identity service, and scopes the access to the specific mailboxes and calendars the agent works in.
The agent has delegated access to those mailboxes only, and the access can be withdrawn by your administrators at any time. Access tokens (the credentials the connection uses) are stored encrypted in your deployment, every call travels over TLS 1.2 or higher (Transport Layer Security, which encrypts data in transit), and the connection runs from your deployment in your chosen region.
Permissions
| Permission | Needed for | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Read mail in named mailboxes | Understanding the customer's email and thread | Only the mailboxes you name |
| Send mail from named mailboxes | Replying to customers | On, or drafts only where your team approves replies |
| Read availability in named calendars | Offering free times | Only the calendars you name |
| Create and change events in named calendars | Booking and rescheduling appointments | Only the calendars you name |
The agent can only take actions your team has granted. Anything not granted cannot be invoked. See Permissions.
In practice
Sahel Crest Properties connects its enquiries mailbox and its sales viewing calendars.
- Rania emails asking to see a three-bedroom apartment in Tower B this week.
- The agent replies in the same thread with three free times from the Tower B viewing calendar.
- She chooses Thursday at 4pm. The agent books the viewing into the calendar and confirms it in the thread.
- On Wednesday she writes to move it to Saturday. The agent reschedules it and the sales consultant's calendar updates.
What your team controls
- Which mailboxes and calendars are connected.
- Which mailboxes send replies directly, and which hold them for approval.
- Withdrawing access, at any time, in Microsoft 365.
Related
- Email and calendarsIntegrations
- Email: mailbox connection, threading and attachmentsChannels
- Email: drafts for human reviewChannels
- PermissionsIntegrations
- What we need from your IT teamIntegrations
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