Configuring your notification settings
The first step is to ensure both your workspace and individual teammate settings are correctly configured to send and receive email notifications.
Workspace email notification settings
These settings control the default notification behavior for all customers in your workspace.
Navigate to Settings > Channels > Email > Email settings.
Under notifications, enable the options to send email notifications to customers for tickets or conversations.
How notifications work in common scenarios
Email notification behavior can change depending on how a ticket or conversation was started.
Tickets created via the API
When creating tickets using Intercom's API, you must explicitly tell Intercom to send the associated notifications.
Important: To ensure email notifications and auto-replies are sent for tickets created via the API, you must include the parameter skip_notifications = false in your API call body. Without this, no notifications or auto-replies will be sent.
Tickets from WhatsApp conversations
Tickets created from a WhatsApp conversation have a specific limitation regarding email notifications.
Note: By default, email notifications are not sent for tickets that originate from WhatsApp conversations. To notify a customer about their ticket via email, you must create a separate ticket using their email address.
Tickets from chat or created manually
For conversations started in the Messenger or for tickets created manually by a teammate, notifications are typically sent automatically.
Pro tip: For messages sent in a chat, notifications are delayed by three minutes if the customer is not online. To bypass this delay, select 'Email' from the channel dropdown in the composer to send the message immediately as an email.
Troubleshooting common issues
If your settings are correct but notifications are still not being delivered, check for these common issues:
Spam folders: Ask the customer or teammate to check their spam or junk folder. If they find the notification there, they should mark it as "Not Spam" to help prevent it from happening again.
Bounce list: An email address may be on a bounce list, which prevents Intercom from sending any further emails to it. If you suspect this is the case, please contact our support team to have the address removed.
Channel behavior: Verify that the channel used to create the ticket (e.g., API, email, Messenger) is configured to trigger the email notifications you expect based on the behaviors described above.
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