Auto-forward From a Google Workspace Group

If you already have a Google Workspace (formerly known as G Suite) Group you've been using, you will need to add your Help Scout email address as a member of the group and you may need to adjust some settings to work correctly with Help Scout. You will want to check in with the Google Workspace administrator that created your group to alter these settings. 

If you are a Google Workspace Administrator yourself, you can also create a new Google Group to use with Help Scout. This article will step you through creating a new Google Group or checking the settings to make sure your Google Group is ready for Help Scout. 

There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you're using a Google Group: 

• Google does not offer OAuth access for Google Groups addresses, which means all emails you send will be sent from Help Scout servers and you will not be able to archive sent messages at Google. If sending from Google servers and having an archive of your sent emails is a must for your team, you'll need a full Workspace user email inbox set to forward to Help Scout instead. See Auto-forward from Google Workspace for setting that up! 
• Google Groups adds a footer with unsubscribe information to emails sent to members that are not a part of your domain, which includes your Help Scout Inbox. This means each email that comes in to Help Scout will include unsubscribe options for the group. Per Google, there is no option to disable that footer. If you do not want a full Workspace user email inbox for this address, your other option is to use routing. See Auto-forward From Google Workspace Using Routing for the details on that option. 

Create a New Google Group

1

First things first: Make sure you have followed the first steps in Connect Your Custom Address and you have your Help Scout Inbox Address ready. 

2

Head to admin.google.com and log in as a Google Workspace Administrator. From the Admin console, click on the Groups tile.

3

Click on the Create group link in the page header. 

4

On the first screen, provide a name for the group, an optional description, and a group email (should match your custom email address in Help Scout). Click the blue Next button.

On the next screen, make sure to set the access level to Custom, and check the box that allows External accounts to publish posts, and make sure that Allow members outside your organization is toggled on. Click Create Group. 

5

After creating your group, click Add members to [Group name]. Select the yellow plus icon to add a new address, and paste in your Help Scout Inbox Address. It will show as an option to select - you must click the dropdown with that address to select it for Google to allow you to add it. Click the ADD TO GROUP link to finish adding the member to the group.

Your Help Scout email address should be a party of one: the only member of your Google Group. Keeping additional group members in the group can cause problems with forwarding directly into Help Scout, as well as unnecessary copies among team members.

6

Send a test message to your Google Group address, and head back into Help Scout. Click the Check Email button and we'll be able to confirm your Inbox with that test email. Now you're all set! 

Next steps: Set up SPF and DKIM to allow Help Scout servers to send email on your behalf. Google does not offer OAuth access for Google Groups account for you to send using Google servers. 

Edit an Existing Google Group

1

First things first: Make sure you have your Help Scout Inbox address ready. Check out Find Your Help Scout Email Address if you don't know it. 

2

Head to admin.google.com and log in as the Google Workspace Administrator that created the Google Group you want to use. Click on the Groups tile. 

3

Hover over the Group you want to edit, then choose Edit settings from the menu that appears. 

4

Edit the settings on this page so that there is a check in the External column for Publish posts, and Allow members outside your organization shows as Yes. 

5

Click on advanced settings from the bottom of that page and choose People > Members from the left menu. Click Add members on the top of the page. 

Enter your Help Scout Inbox address in the Group Members field and make sure that Subscription is set to All email and  Directly add members is toggled on. Click Add members to complete.

6

Click the Advanced toggle in the top right corner of the page. 

Then click Group settings > Email options on the left menu, and set Post replies to as Sender chooses recipient.

7

Send a test message to your Google Group address, and head back into Help Scout. Click the Check Email button and we'll be able to confirm your Inbox with that test email. Now you're all set! 

Next steps: Set up DKIM to allow Help Scout servers to send email on your behalf. Google does not offer OAuth access for Google Groups account for you to send using Google servers. 

Your Help Scout email address should be a party of one: the only member of your Google Group. Keeping additional group members in the group can cause problems with forwarding directly into Help Scout, as well as unnecessary copies among team members.

Remove any members of the Group when you're ready to begin working from Help Scout. Your team will be able to access and work collaboratively with the address from within Help Scout once it is forwarding into your Help Scout Inbox.