ACD email overview

Genesys Cloud routes incoming email messages through ACD just like it routes calls and chats, using the same routing and evaluation methods. When routing email messages, Genesys Cloud considers skills, language, priority, and agent utilization. 

Your Genesys Cloud account can have a maximum of two email domains with up to 1000 associated email addresses per domain. You assign each email address to a queue, and can configure it to have an associated language, skill, and priority. Genesys Cloud ACD routes each incoming message to a member of the queue. Configured routing and evaluation methods help to determine the best available agent to handle the interaction.

Notes:
  • Genesys Cloud tries to route callbacks, email replies, and message replies to the last agent who handled it. The agent must be on queue and not fully utilized on those interactions or the utilization labels that the interactions might have. If the agent is not available, Genesys Cloud routes the interaction to the next available agent. For more information about how to determine if an agent is fully utilized, see Configure agent utilization.
  • For email and messaging interactions, and inbound callbacks, when you use preferred agent routing, Genesys Cloud no longer attempts to route the interaction to the last agent who handled it. Scheduled callbacks, however, are unaffected by preferred agent routing. For more information, see Advanced routing overview.

Agent utilization

You can configure agent utilization to specify the maximum number of email interactions that agents in your organization can handle at one time. You can specify which other media types can interrupt email interactions. For example, if an agent is handling an email and a call comes in, you might want to interrupt the agent to take the call. For more information about agent utilization, see Agent utilization and Configure agent utilization.

Message and attachment size limits

Keep the following notes in mind:

  • Genesys Cloud uses base64 to encode messages and attachments.
    • The maximum outgoing encoded message size, including attachments, is 40 MB. After the base64 encoding to the email body and file attachments, the net email size is about 29 MB.
    • You can send links to larger documents stored in Genesys Cloud Documents.
    • For more information about sharing a file from Documents, see About Documents and Share a file.
  • If your organization uses a custom SMTP server integration, Genesys Cloud adheres to the maximum allowable size that you set on your SMTP server--up to 40 MB. You must set this value when you configure your SMTP server in Genesys Cloud.

Keep the following notes in mind:

  • Genesys Cloud uses base64 to encode messages and attachments.
    • The maximum outgoing encoded message size, including attachments, is 40 MB.
    • Outgoing messages that exceed 40 MB including attachments return an error.
    • You can send links to larger documents stored in Genesys Cloud Documents.
    • For more information about sharing a file from Documents, see About Documents and Share a file.
  • Amazon SES accepts most attachment types. For a list of exclusions, see Amazon SES Developer Guide Appendix: Unsupported attachment types.
  • The maximum incoming message size, including attachments: 40 MB per message (after base64 encoding).

 

 

Message threads

To provide agents with as much context as possible for customer replies, Genesys Cloud threads emails together. When a customer replies to an existing email from their email client, Genesys Cloud threads the email with the previous message. The agent receives the full email thread history. However, when a customer sends a new message from their client, Genesys Cloud starts a new conversation and does not thread the email. Genesys Cloud threads email messages together when it receives a reply within 30 days.

Genesys Cloud threads email messages based on the “In reply to” header and the “References” header. This process ensures that messages that originate from certain email clients and contain the same subject and sender information but are unrelated, are no longer associated with each other.

Spam and viruses

Email can be true spam or incorrectly marked as spam. Genesys Cloud employs Amazon SES to receive and send email. Amazon SES has various measures in place to detect spam emails and also to detect emails that could contain viruses.

When you configure email addresses for the organization, you can determine how to handle emails that Genesys Cloud detects as spam. Such configuration gives you better control over how to process email messages that Genesys Cloud identifies as spam. For more information, see Add email addresses to the domain in Manage ACD email routing.

Amazon SES provides both spam detection and virus verdicts to Genesys Cloud. If the Amazon verdict indicates that the email could contain a virus, Genesys Cloud disconnects the message and never delivers it to an agent. If the Amazon verdict indicates that the email is spam, Genesys Cloud processes those emails based on the settings you choose when you set up spam routing during email address configuration. For more information, see Malware and antispam protection best practices. 

Note: If Genesys Cloud disconnects the email message, the disconnect reason appears on the interaction’s detail view. For more information, see Disconnect reasons in the interaction’s detail view.

Email routing and preferred agent routing

Genesys Cloud attempts to route email replies to the last agent who handled the email. The agent must be on queue and not be fully utilized on email interactions. If the agent is not available, Genesys Cloud routes the interaction to the next available agent. For more information about how to determine if an agent is fully utilized, see Configure agent utilization.

For email and messaging interactions, and inbound callbacks, when you use preferred agent routing, Genesys Cloud no longer attempts to route the interaction to the last agent who handled it. Scheduled callbacks, however, are unaffected by preferred agent routing. For more information, see Advanced routing overview.

Note: Currently, this behavior only works if you send the email directly to a queue, not if you use Architect email flows.

Set up email routing

Setting up email routing is simple. You create your email domain in the Admin interface and then add email addresses to it. Then, your agents can begin to receive email interactions through ACD. Genesys Cloud ACD email domains are in the format yourAccountName.myGenesys Cloud.com. For more information about setting up your company’s email domain, see Manage ACD email routing.

Genesys Cloud supports the maximum number of email recipients as follows:

Inbound email

  • To field: 50 email addresses 
  • Cc field: 50 email addresses  
  • Bcc field: 50 email addresses

Outbound email from an agent

  • 50 email addresses combined for To, Cc, and Bcc fields

Example:

25 To addresses + 20 Cc address + 5 Bcc adresses = Maximum allowed amount

26 To addresses + 20 Cc address + 5 Bcc adresses = Exceeds allowed amount

In email flows, an email flow ends when the system transfers the email to a queue or is disconnected.

For specific scenarios to consider when setting up email routing for your Genesys Cloud account, see Email routing scenarios.