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Automate Your Email: Shared Team Inboxes in Gmail

As your team grows, addresses like [email protected] or [email protected] shouldn't live in one person's head — or worse, one shared password. Google Workspace has two built-in features that solve this properly: delegation (a team member manages the shared inbox from their own login) and send-as (their replies come from the business address, not their personal one). Here's how both work and how to set them up.

This applies to businesses on Google Workspace with their own domain — the setup we recommend in Own Your Business Email. Not there yet? Start with that article, or ask us.

Part 1 — Delegation: Shared Access Without a Shared Password​

Delegation lets a team member open, read, and reply in the shared mailbox from their own Gmail account. No password changes hands, and you can revoke access in three clicks when someone changes roles.

Requirements: both accounts must be in your Workspace organization (same domain), and both need 2-step verification enabled — Google enforces this.

To grant access (done once, signed in as the shared mailbox):

  1. Open Gmail signed in as the shared address (e.g., [email protected]).
  2. Click the gear icon → See all settings → Accounts and Import.
  3. Under Grant access to your account, click Add another account.
  4. Enter the team member's work email → Next Step → Send email to grant access.
  5. While you're there, set "Mark conversation as read when opened by others" to Leave conversation as unread — so one person opening a message doesn't hide it from the rest of the team.
  6. Sign out of the shared mailbox.

To accept (the team member): a confirmation email arrives at their own address — click the link inside within 7 days, confirm, and wait a few minutes. The shared mailbox then appears in their Gmail account switcher (top-right avatar) marked "(delegated)."

To revoke: sign in as the shared mailbox → same settings screen → Delete next to their name. Access ends immediately.

Part 2 — Send-As: Replies From Your Brand, Not a Person​

Without this second step, a delegate's replies go out as "[email protected] on behalf of [email protected]" — and customers start replying to Jane directly, which breaks the shared inbox the day Jane's role changes.

To set up (the team member, in their own Gmail):

  1. Gear icon → See all settings → Accounts and Import.
  2. Under Send mail as, click Add another email address.
  3. Name: your business name as customers should see it (e.g., "Acme Plumbing") — never the individual's name. Email: the shared address. Leave "Treat as an alias" checked → Next Step.
  4. Google sends a verification code to the shared mailbox — retrieve it from the delegated view and confirm.
  5. Back under Send mail as, set "Reply from the same address the message was sent to." This is the key setting: replies to messages that arrived at info@ automatically go out as info@, with no manual switching.

Verify it worked: reply to any thread in the shared mailbox and check the From line shows your business name and shared address — no "on behalf of."

How This Fits Your Marketing System​

Your platform's automated email (reminders, follow-ups, campaigns) already sends from your authenticated domain and lands replies in your Conversations inbox — that's covered in Business Email Setup. Delegation and send-as cover the other half: the human-to-human mail your team handles in Gmail. Together, every message a customer sees comes from your brand.

Key Takeaways​

  • Delegation gives team members shared-inbox access from their own login — no shared passwords, instantly revocable.
  • Send-as (with "reply from the same address") makes their replies come from your business identity automatically.
  • Do both — delegation without send-as leaks individual addresses to your customers.

Want us to walk your team through this, or set it up with you? See How to Get Support.