Step 1: Configure your email categories
You can customize the default categories for your team's email assistant
Overview
Custom categories help your AI email assistant automatically organize and process incoming emails based on your organization's specific needs. As a workspace admin, you can create up to 15 custom categories that will automatically classify emails and trigger appropriate actions.
Accessing Category Settings
Navigate to Settings > Inbox Categories
This section is only accessible to workspace administrators
Category Types
You have three options for setting up categories:
Custom Categories: Create categories tailored to your specific business needs
Default Categories: Use pre-built general categories
Vertical-Specific Packs: Choose from industry-specific category sets
Creating Custom Categories
Adding a New Category
Click "New Category" in the Inbox Categories section
Enter a Category Name (this cannot be changed later)
Write a detailed Category Description that explains what types of emails should be classified here
Save the category
Writing Effective Category Descriptions
The AI uses your category description to determine which emails belong in each category. Make your descriptions:
Specific and detailed - Include what should be included in this category, making sure it doesn't conflict with other existing categories.
Clear about intent - Explain the purpose or nature of emails in this category.
Example:
Category Name: "Quotes"
Description: "Emails where a client, prospect, or referral is requesting a new quote or coverage. Always prioritize over Referrals or General Info."
Managing Categories
Editing Categories
Category descriptions can be updated at any time to improve AI accuracy
Category names cannot be changed once created
To change a category name, you must delete the old category and create a new one
Deleting Categories
Deleted categories will no longer be used by the AI for new emails
Previously categorized emails will retain their category labels in the inbox
Consider the impact on reporting and CRM data before deleting
Category Limits
Maximum of 15 categories per workspace
Plan your category structure carefully given this limit
Category Settings & Actions
Workspace-Level Settings (Admin)
For each category, you can configure:
CustomerIQ Logging
Choose whether emails in this category should be logged as submissions for AI analysis
Logged submissions are visible to all workspace members
Enable this for categories that provide valuable customer insights
CRM Integration
If you have a CRM connected via Apps & Integrations, logged categories will sync according to your CRM settings
Configure CRM field mappings in the Apps & Integrations section
User-Level Settings
Individual users can configure:
Auto-Reply Drafting
Users can enable/disable AI reply drafting for each category
This allows team members to customize which types of emails get automated response suggestions
Access this in individual user settings
Best Practices
Category Strategy
Start broad, then refine - Begin with general categories and narrow descriptions based on AI performance
Avoid overlap - Make categories mutually exclusive to prevent confusion
Test and iterate - Monitor how well the AI categorizes emails and adjust descriptions accordingly
Description Optimization
Use specific keywords your customers actually use
Include context clues like sender types, urgency indicators, or specific phrases
Update regularly based on misclassified emails
Workflow Integration
Plan your logging strategy - Only log categories that provide business value
Coordinate with CRM setup - Ensure category data flows properly to your CRM
Train your team - Make sure users understand how to configure their reply preferences
Troubleshooting
AI isn't categorizing emails correctly:
Review and refine category descriptions
Check for overlapping category definitions
Consider if you need additional categories for edge cases
Categories not syncing to CRM:
Verify CRM connection in Apps & Integrations
Ensure category logging is enabled for those categories
Check CRM field mapping settings
Need to change a category name:
Create the new category first
Delete the old category
Note: Historical data will retain the old category name
Technical Notes
Categories are applied as emails arrive in real-time
Each email receives only one category classification
Category changes take effect immediately for new incoming emails
Previously categorized emails are not automatically re-categorized when descriptions change
Last updated