Email Responder
Grounded reply drafts for every support email.
Email Responder
Customer Support & Success
- RuleDone:
An email reaches your support inbox.
- RuleDone:
It filters spam, auto-replies and fake senders.
- RuleDone:
It sorts the email and flags sensitive topics.
- RuleDone:
It finds the answer in your help articles.
- RuleDone:
It drafts a reply and checks every fact and link.
- PersonWaiting for approval:Waiting for you
A person approves, or it sends for opted-in topics.
For example: A D2C skincare brand gets "where is my order?" emails all weekend.
Waiting for you. Nothing has changed yet.
Review for important actions. Customer-facing and record-changing actions are reviewed first.
What is Email Responder?
In shortEmail Responder is an AI automation for Customer Support & Success teams that works with Gmail, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Microsoft 365, Outlook and 2 more apps. Sorts every support email and drafts a correct reply from your own help articles, so your team only reviews and sends. It is built for business owners, support leads and small support teams of 1–8 people.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Department
- Customer Support & Success
- Starts when
- A new email arrives in your support inbox (for example support@)
- Works with
- Gmail, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Microsoft 365, Outlook, Shopify, Slack
- Run modes offered
- Shadow, Draft, Assisted and Auto
- Human control
- Review for important actions
- Status
- Available now
The problem today
A small team gets 300–3,000 support emails a month. Each reply takes 4–8 minutes to read, find the policy, copy order facts and type. The same 20 questions take 60% of the time, and weekend emails wait until Monday.
What it does
It filters out auto-replies and bulk mail, then sorts each email into your categories. Sensitive topics like refunds, complaints, legal and data requests always go to a person. For the rest, it drafts a reply using only your approved help articles and, for verified senders, their latest order status. A person approves the reply, or it sends on its own for categories you opt in to.
How does Email Responder work?
How it works- Rule you set
- AI step
- A person decides
- Step 1Rule
An email reaches your support inbox.
- Step 2Rule
It filters spam, auto-replies and fake senders.
- Step 3Rule
It sorts the email and flags sensitive topics.
- Step 4Rule
It finds the answer in your help articles.
- Step 5Rule
It drafts a reply and checks every fact and link.
- Step 6Person
A person approves, or it sends for opted-in topics.
What you get
Key features- Categories you define (3–20)
- Drafts grounded in your knowledge base, with checked facts
- Order status and tracking for verified senders (optional)
- Threaded replies from your own mailbox
- Per-category auto-send, only where you switch it on
- Review cards in the Charviam inbox, and Slack if you like
- AI disclosure footer on by default
How much does it do on its own?
Run modesPick a mode to see what Email Responder would do at each step.
Every automation starts in Shadow. Move it up when you are ready, and back down at any time. How run modes work
Email Responder in Shadow
Runs on real data and shows what it would have done. No app is changed and no message is sent.
- Rule
An email reaches your support inbox.
Watches for it
- Rule
It filters spam, auto-replies and fake senders.
Runs on real data, read only
- Rule
It sorts the email and flags sensitive topics.
Runs on real data, read only
- Rule
It finds the answer in your help articles.
Runs on real data, read only
- Rule
It drafts a reply and checks every fact and link.
Runs on real data, read only
- Person
A person approves, or it sends for opted-in topics.
Shown to you as a suggestion
Shadow vs Auto for Email Responder
Auto is the most it can do on its own. Here is each step side by side.
| Step | Shadow | Auto |
|---|---|---|
| In short | Runs on real data and shows what it would have done. No app is changed and no message is sent. | Runs without approval, with limits, alerts and a kill switch. Unlocks after a trial period in Assisted. |
| Step 1An email reaches your support inbox. | Watches for it | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 2It filters spam, auto-replies and fake senders. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 3It sorts the email and flags sensitive topics. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 4It finds the answer in your help articles. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 5It drafts a reply and checks every fact and link. | Runs on real data, read only | Runs on its own within your limits |
| Step 6A person approves, or it sends for opted-in topics. | Shown to you as a suggestion | Within your limits; anything outside them goes to a person |
| True in every mode | Never promises refunds, discounts, delivery dates or legal outcomes. | |
What it will never do on its own
Safety & human control- Never promises refunds, discounts, delivery dates or legal outcomes.
- Refund, complaint, legal, security and privacy emails always go to a person.
- Only replies to the original sender; no Cc, Bcc or attachments.
- Auto-send is off until you opt in per category, and only for verified senders.
- Frustrated customers (3+ emails in 48 h) and VIPs always get a person.
- You approve before it acts
- Your data stays yours
- It knows its limits
- Stop anytime
What will you see on your dashboard?
Results you can trackTargets are quality goals the automation is built to reach. Estimates are calculated from your own volumes.
- Target
Median first-response time, before vs after (target: down ≥ 50%)
A goal it is built to reach
- Tracked
Replies sent and share auto-sent
Measured on your own data
- Estimate
Hours saved (replies × minutes per reply, default 6)
Worked out from your own volumes
- Tracked
Top unanswered questions
Measured on your own data
- Target
Category accuracy: target ≥ 90%
A goal it is built to reach
- Target
Sensitive-topic recall: target 100%
A goal it is built to reach
- Target
Draft ready within 5 minutes (p95 target)
A goal it is built to reach
A D2C skincare brand gets "where is my order?" emails all weekend. Each one gets a draft with the order's status and tracking link from Shopify. On Monday the team approves them in minutes, while a refund request waits for the manager.
Who is Email Responder for?
- Business owners
- Support leads
- Small support teams of 1–8 people
Industries: E-commerce & retail, SaaS & tech, Professional services, Healthcare & clinics, Hospitality & restaurants
Also useful for: Operations & E-commerce
Connects to the apps you already use
Works withApp names are trademarks of their owners. Charviam connects to them; it is not a partner or reseller.
- Gmail
- Google Workspace
- HubSpot(optional)
- Microsoft 365
- Outlook
- Shopify(optional)
- Slack(optional)
Better together
Automations that hand work to Email Responder, or pick up where it stops.
What do you need to set it up?
Setup- Connect the mailbox (Gmail: a forwarding rule plus send access; Outlook: a mailbox connection)
- Connect your knowledge base (blueprint 10)
- Choose categories, signature, tone and allowed link domains
- Add privacy contact, VIP and blocked senders
- Pick any categories for auto-send (optional)
- Ask your team to Bcc the forwarding address when replying from Gmail
Typical setup
- 01Connect your apps
- 02Configure the rules
- 03Run a watch-only trial
- 04Go live
Not included
- Help-desk tickets (Zendesk/Freshdesk): see 09
- Writing refund, complaint or legal replies
- Reading your full mailbox history
Questions about Email Responder
FAQSee Email Responder on your own data
WalkthroughIt starts in Shadow, where it only watches and suggests, so nothing changes in your apps until you say so.