An email helpdesk turns every email that reaches your support mailbox into a numbered ticket: the customer instantly gets an acknowledgement, their replies stay in the same thread and your team answers from the ticket without losing anything. In MuseRelay it works without AI, and you can turn AI on later if you want.
In short
- Every new email opens a ticket (numbered by that inbox, e.g. TK-2026-00012) in the ticket inbox you choose.
- Automatic acknowledgement in the same thread, with the number and a link to follow the request.
- The customer's replies are added to their ticket; yours are sent from your own mailbox.
- AI is optional, with its own switch. Without AI no credits are used (except if you click the inbox AI assistant).
What an email helpdesk is
It is the classic way to provide support: the customer writes to an address such as support@yourcompany.com and immediately gets an email like "We have received your request, number TK-2026-00012". From then on, each request has its number, status and history, and nothing gets lost in the inbox.
MuseRelay does it with your own mailbox (IMAP/SMTP): emails go out with your address and signature, not from a generic platform address.
How to set it up, step by step
- Connect your support mailbox in Channels → Email. Guide: Email channel: connect your mailbox.
- Go to Tickets, open the ticket inbox where you want to receive requests (or create one, for example "Support") and open its settings.
- Under Receive requests by email, turn on Create a ticket for every new email and choose the email channel.
- Decide whether you want the acknowledgement (recommended) and whether the AI also replies to these emails.
- Save. From then on, every new email that reaches that mailbox opens a ticket.
Each email channel feeds a single ticket inbox. If you want separate departments (for example, support and billing), connect one mailbox for each.
What your customer receives
If the acknowledgement is on, the customer gets the reply in the same thread, from your address and with the number in the subject:
Subject: Re: I haven't received my invoice [TK-2026-00012] Hi Laura, We have received your message and opened request TK-2026-00012. We will get back to you as soon as possible. You can check its status here: https://muserelay.com/support/… If you want to add anything, reply to this email without changing the subject.
The acknowledgement is sent in the customer's language if we know it, or otherwise in your organisation's (Spanish, English, Catalan, Galician, Basque, French, German, Italian or Portuguese), and carries the auto-reply header, so it does not cause loops with out-of-office replies.
When the customer replies
- If they reply in the same thread, or write with the TK number in the subject, their message is added to their ticket instead of opening another one.
- If the ticket was "waiting for customer" or "resolved", it goes back to "in progress" and your team sees it as unread.
- If the ticket was already closed, the email opens a new ticket.
Replying from the ticket
Whatever you write in the ticket is sent from your support mailbox, in the customer's thread and with the number in the subject, so they see it as a normal email conversation. The team's first message counts as the first response for the deadline (SLA), if you use one.
With or without AI?
Without AI (default)
Only your team replies from the ticket. It is the classic helpdesk and uses no AI credits (only the inbox AI assistant, if you click it).
With AI
Turn on "The AI also replies to these emails" and assign an AI agent to the email channel. The agent replies as usual, does not open a second ticket, and your team can step in whenever it wants. Each reply uses credits: AI credits.
Which emails do not open a ticket
To keep your ticket inbox free of noise, no tickets are created for:
- Auto-replies (out of office) and bounces.
- Newsletters and mailing-list emails.
- Emails where your mailbox is in CC rather than a direct recipient.
- Suspected phishing.
Those emails still reach Inbox Channels, in case you want to review them.
Good practices
- Use a mailbox just for support (support@, help@…), so personal or sales emails don't become tickets.
- Create categories in the ticket inbox (billing, faults, returns…) to organise and share the work.
- Turn on team notifications in the inbox settings: every new ticket reaches the bell and, if you want, the email addresses you enter.
- Use deadlines (SLA) only if you need them: they are optional and set per inbox.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need AI to use the email helpdesk?
No. It works without AI: tickets are created automatically and your team replies from them.
Is the acknowledgement sent from my address?
Yes. It is sent from the connected mailbox, in the same thread and with the ticket number in the subject.
What if the customer changes the subject?
If they reply in the same thread it is still recognised. If they write a new email without the number, a new ticket is opened.
Can I turn it off?
Yes, at any time. The email channel keeps working as a normal inbox and existing tickets are kept.
Can I still use tickets from WhatsApp or the website chatbot?
Yes. The email helpdesk is an addition: the AI assistant can keep opening tickets from the other channels. More in Tickets: inboxes, categories, deadlines and notifications.