Gmail quick setup

Connect your Gmail account to Commslayer instantly using Google sign-in. No DNS configuration required.

Time required: 2 minutes

Warning: Gmail quick setup has a 1,500 emails per day limit. If you expect higher volume, use Standard setup for Gmail instead.

When to use Gmail quick setup#

This option makes sense if:

• You're testing Commslayer before fully committing
• Your store has low email volume
• You need to get started immediately and will switch to Standard setup later

Before you start#

You'll need:

• A Google Workspace account on your domain (like support@yourstore.com)
• Permission to grant Commslayer access to read and send emails

Don't use personal Gmail addresses. Do not connect free @gmail.com addresses like yourname@gmail.com or yourstorename@gmail.com. Personal accounts have stricter rate limits and your customers will see a personal email address instead of your brand.

Step 1: Create your inbox#

1. Go to Settings → Inboxes and click Add inbox
2. Select Email
3. Choose Gmail (not Standard setup)
4. Click Authorize Gmail inbox access

Step 2: Sign in with Google#

1. A Google sign-in popup will appear
2. Select your Gmail account
3. Review the permissions Commslayer needs:
   • Read your emails
   • Send emails on your behalf
4. Click Allow

Step 3: Configure your inbox#

1. Select which Shopify store to connect (if you have multiple)
2. Give your inbox a name (e.g., "Support" or your store name)
3. Click Create inbox

That's it! Your Gmail is now connected.

What happens next#

• New emails appear in Commslayer shortly after they reach Gmail, usually within a minute or two
• Email from the last 2 days comes in. How long that takes depends on how busy the mailbox is. See Email history: what comes in below
• You can reply to customers directly from Commslayer
• Replying in Commslayer doesn't mark the email as read or replied in Gmail. The connection lets Commslayer read and send email, but not update emails in your Gmail mailbox
• Bounce notices that Google delivers to your Gmail mailbox are not shown in Commslayer. Customers aren't receiving your replies →

Email history: what comes in#

When you connect, Commslayer brings in the email from the last 2 days. Older email stays in Gmail.

• What's included: email in your inbox, archived email and the replies you sent. Drafts and trash are left out.
• Status: conversations arrive as Open. An email you had already archived in Gmail arrives as Resolved, with the line "Conversation was imported as resolved during inbox connection". Read or unread in Gmail makes no difference.
• How long it takes: it depends on how busy the mailbox is. Administrators may see an Inbox sync in progress card above the conversation list while it runs. A test email you send right after connecting can take until the sync finishes to show up, so give it time before you change anything.

What isn't possible:

• The 2 days can't be extended. There is no setting for it. Deleting the inbox and adding it again brings in the same 2 days, and deleting removes the inbox's conversations.
• Older email can't be imported. There is no importer for a Gmail mailbox. The importers under Settings → Account settings move history from another helpdesk and can't read a mailbox.
• Bringing in old email doesn't teach the AI agent. To teach it, add Knowledge and Guidance. Introduction to the AI agent →

What to do instead:

• Before you connect, keep the emails you still need to answer in your Gmail inbox, not archived. Those from the last 2 days then arrive as Open.
• Answer older threads from Gmail. Your reply shows up in Commslayer as a new conversation, and the customer's answer lands in it.

Good to know#

• No forwarding needed. Gmail quick setup reads mail straight from Google. There is no forwarding address to copy, and the inbox settings don't show Forward to Email.
• The mailbox must be hosted by Google. If your email is hosted somewhere else, such as Namecheap, GoDaddy or Microsoft 365, use Standard setup. A Google sign-in with no Gmail mailbox behind it connects, then keeps going back to Disconnected.
• One Google account, one inbox. Connecting the same Google account a second time fails with "Email has already been taken".
• Aliases of the mailbox arrive in the same inbox. Replies go out from the connected address.
• Conversations the AI agent is handling sit in the AI agent view. If the AI agent is enabled on the inbox and emails seem to be missing, look there first.
• Gmail's Spam folder is followed. An email that Gmail files under Spam appears in Spam in Commslayer and its sender is blocked. If it's a real customer, right-click the conversation and choose Not spam. Spam management in Commslayer →

If the inbox shows Disconnected#

Gmail quick setup depends on the access you granted when you signed in with Google. If Google stops accepting it, for example after a password change or when access is removed, the inbox shows Disconnected and stops sending and receiving.

Go to Settings → Inboxes, click Reconnect on the inbox, then Click here to reconnect. and sign in with the same Google account. Your conversations stay in place. Don't delete the inbox to fix this.

Inbox disconnected: how to reconnect →

About the daily limit#

Gmail's API allows around 1,500 emails per day. This includes both incoming and outgoing messages.

For newer Gmail accounts or accounts with little sending history, rate limiting can kick in much earlier, sometimes at 500-800 emails.

When Google rate limits your account, a red banner appears on conversations in that inbox and Commslayer pauses sending and syncing for it. The pause can last up to 12 hours, and it often happens again. Replies you send during the pause go out by themselves when it ends, so don't send them again.

Your Gmail account has been rate limited: what it means and what to do →

If it keeps happening, contact support from the chat inside the app and our team enables the switch to Standard setup, which has no sending limits. See Switching to Standard setup below.

Switching to Standard setup#

You can move a Gmail quick setup inbox to Standard setup without creating a new inbox. The inbox, its conversations, its settings and the address you send from all stay the same. Don't delete the inbox to switch.

To switch, contact support from the chat inside the app and our team enables the switch on your account. Then go to Settings → Inboxes, click Manage on the inbox and click Switch to Postmark. No emails will be lost during the transition.

After you switch, add the two DNS records and set up email forwarding yourself. You'll need access to your domain's DNS settings. The steps are the same as steps 2 and 3 in Standard email setup for Gmail / Google Workspace.

What changes after the switch:

• Replies go out through our email provider, with no sending limits
• Incoming email arrives through forwarding
• Replies sent from Commslayer no longer appear in Gmail's Sent folder

Need help?#

Contact support from the chat inside the app. It's the chat bubble in the bottom right corner.