Instant lead alert for sales
When a visitor asks for a demo, send an email to your sales inbox with the name, company, budget and their own words in the body. Put ${email} in the subject so sales can reply in one click.
Gmail chatbot integration
The Gmail step sends an email from your own Gmail or Google Workspace address while the conversation is still running. Confirm a request to the visitor, alert your team with every detail they typed, or start a follow-up, all from one step in the flow.
Build on the Free plan. The Gmail step runs on Pro ($39/month) and above.
- Builder step
- Gmail: send an email
- Sends from
- The Google account you connect
- Recipients
- To, CC and BCC, comma-separated
- Plan
- Pro and above (native integrations)
- Google accounts
- 3 on Pro, 10 on Business
What it does
What the Gmail step can do
Most chat flows end with a promise: "we'll be in touch", "here is your confirmation", "someone from sales will call you". The Gmail step keeps that promise in the same second the visitor finishes, and it sends from an address your customers already recognise rather than a no-reply system mailbox.
Every field accepts chatbot variables, so the subject can read New demo request from ${name} and the body can list each answer. Replies go back to the Gmail inbox you connected, where your team already works.
Send from your real address
Mail goes out through the Gmail API as the account you connected, so it shows up in that account's Sent folder and replies land in its inbox. That works for personal Gmail and Google Workspace addresses.
Personalise with chat answers
Type $ in the To, Subject or Body field to insert any variable the flow collected. Send the confirmation to ${email} and greet the visitor by ${name}.
To, CC and BCC
Add several recipients separated by commas in each field. Copy a manager on high-value leads, or BCC a shared mailbox for records. Every address is checked before sending, and an invalid one stops that send instead of failing silently.
HTML or plain text
Write plain text and Conferbot sends it as a readable email with line breaks kept. Paste HTML, such as a link or a short table, and it is sent as HTML with a plain-text version alongside for clients that block HTML.
Safe with visitor input
Line breaks are stripped from header fields such as the subject and recipients, so a visitor cannot inject extra headers or recipients by typing them into an answer.
A result you can check
Name a variable under Save result to keep the outcome. If sending fails, the conversation continues and that variable stays empty, so a later step can tell the visitor to check their details.
Reference
Fields in the Gmail step
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Google account | The connected account the email is sent from. Connect a new one from the same menu. |
| To | Required. One or more addresses, comma-separated. Usually ${email} or your team inbox. |
| CC / BCC | Optional extra recipients, comma-separated. |
| Subject | The subject line. Variables are allowed, for example Your booking, ${name}. |
| Body | The message. Plain text or HTML, with variables anywhere. |
| Save result | Optional variable that stores the send result for later steps. |
Setup
How to send email from your chatbot with Gmail
About five minutes. You need a Pro or higher workspace and the Gmail or Google Workspace account you want to send from.
- 1
Collect what the email needs
Make sure the flow asks for an email address (use an email question so the format is checked) and saves it to a variable such as
email, along with anything else the message should include. - 2
Add the Gmail step
Drag a Gmail step to the point where the visitor has given everything, typically right before the closing message.
- 3
Connect the sending account
Choose Connect in the account menu and approve the Gmail permission in Google's window. If you already connected the same Google account for Sheets or Calendar, it is reused and Google only asks for the extra permission.
- 4
Write the email
Fill in To, an optional CC or BCC, the subject and the body. Insert variables with
$. Keep the first line useful, because many inboxes show it as the preview. - 5
Test with your own address
Preview the bot, give your own email, and check the message arrives and reads well on your phone. Then publish.
Recipes
Flows people build with Gmail
Confirmation to the visitor
After a booking or a quote request, send the visitor a short confirmation with what they asked for and what happens next. It doubles as a record they can find later.
Hand off to a person by email
Outside office hours, collect the question and contact details, then email them to the right team. Pair it with live chat handover for the hours someone is online.
Log and notify together
Append the lead to a sheet with the Google Sheets step, then send the alert email with a link to the sheet. One flow, two records, no copying.
Access
Permissions and access
What Google is asked for
Adding a Gmail step asks Google for permission to send email as the account, and read-only Gmail access, alongside your email address and basic profile. If the same Google account is already connected for Sheets or Calendar, Google only adds the Gmail permissions.
Which address mail comes from
Every message is sent as the connected account, from its primary address. To send from a shared address such as support@, connect that mailbox's own Google account rather than a personal one.
Disconnecting
Remove the account on the Integrations page, or revoke Conferbot in your Google Account under third-party connections. Gmail steps that used it stop sending until you reconnect, and the rest of the flow keeps working.
Good to know
Limits and behaviour to plan around
Google's daily sending limits apply
Mail sent through the Gmail step counts against the sending limits of the connected account. Google documents a daily limit for Google Workspace users and lower limits for personal accounts; see Gmail sending limits in Google Workspace. For high-volume campaigns use your email platform, for example through the Mailchimp integration.
One email per run
Each time a conversation reaches the step, one email is sent. A temporary error from Google is retried briefly, but a send that may already have gone out is never repeated, so recipients do not get duplicates.
Transactional, not marketing
Use the step for messages the visitor expects because of the conversation: confirmations, answers, alerts. Bulk or promotional mail from a personal inbox can hurt that address's reputation.
Failures do not end the chat
If the account was disconnected or an address is invalid, the conversation continues and the result variable stays empty. Check it if the next message depends on the email going out.
Troubleshooting
Fixing common Gmail problems
| What you see | Why, and the fix |
|---|---|
| "Invalid email address format" | One recipient is not a valid address, often because the email question saved something else. Use an email question type for ${email}, and check commas between multiple addresses. |
| "Missing required input: to" | The To field resolved to nothing, usually because the variable had no answer yet. Move the Gmail step after the email question. |
| Emails stopped sending | The Google connection was revoked or its password changed. Reconnect the account from the step or the Integrations page. |
| Messages land in spam | Keep the content transactional, avoid link-heavy bodies, and make sure your Workspace domain has SPF and DKIM set up in Google Admin. |
| Variables show as blank | The variable name in the email does not match the one the question saved. Insert it with $ from the list instead of typing it. |
FAQ
Gmail integration: common questions
Does the chatbot send email from my own Gmail address?
Yes. The Gmail step sends through the Gmail API as the Google account you connect, so the email comes from that address, appears in its Sent folder, and replies come back to its inbox.
Does it work with Google Workspace accounts?
Yes. Any Gmail or Google Workspace account that can sign in with Google can be connected. Workspace admins may need to allow third-party app access for the account.
Can I include the visitor's answers in the email?
Yes. Every field accepts chatbot variables. Type $ to insert any answer the flow collected, for example the visitor's name in the subject and all of their answers in the body.
Can I send HTML emails?
Yes. If the body contains HTML tags it is sent as HTML, with a plain-text version included automatically. Plain text bodies are sent with their line breaks kept.
Which plan includes the Gmail integration?
Gmail is a native integration, included on Pro and above. You can build and preview the flow on any plan.
Is there a limit on how many emails it can send?
Conferbot sends one email each time a conversation reaches the step. The connected account's Gmail sending limits apply, which Google publishes for Workspace and personal accounts.
Will a visitor get duplicate emails if Google is slow?
No. Conferbot retries only when Google says it did not process the request, and never resends a message that may already have gone out.
Can I CC my team on every lead?
Yes. Add your team's addresses to CC or BCC, separated by commas, or send a separate internal alert with a second Gmail step.
Can the visitor reply to the email?
Yes. The email comes from the connected Gmail account, so a reply goes straight back to that inbox, where your team can answer it like any other message.
Send the right email the moment a chat ends
Start free with Conferbot - the free plan includes 600 conversations a month and needs no credit card, so you can build the flow today. The Gmail step switches on with Pro.
Checked against Conferbot's product and Gmail's documentation on November 3, 2026: Gmail sending limits in Google Workspace, Gmail API: sending email.
Discover More
Continue exploring
Explore features, connect third-party tools, and browse ready-made templates.
Guides & Resources
Deep-dive pillar guides, real use cases, and the chatbot & AI glossary.
What Is a Chatbot?The complete beginner's guideCustomer Support ChatbotAutomate support & cut response timesLead Generation ChatbotCapture & qualify more leadsBest AI Chatbot BuildersCompare the top platformsWhat Is an AI Agent?AI agents explained, no jargonAI Agent vs ChatbotThe difference, side by sideChatbot ROI CalculatorSee your savings - free, no signupChatbot Use CasesReal-world chatbot examplesChatbot & AI GlossaryKey terms explained
Guides for Gmail flows
Guides on the flows that usually end with an email.