AI email assistant.

What an AI email assistant does for your SMB

Unlike classic auto-responders that just send 'We will get back to you', an AI email assistant answers the concrete request. Example routine: a client asks which documents are needed for their tax return, the assistant recognizes the request, looks it up in your knowledge base, drafts a concrete answer, adds the standard reference to the next deadline and presents it to you as a draft for approval. With auto-send switched on it goes out without human intervention. For sensitive requests (complaint, legal question, individual special case) the mail is escalated to you with a summary, you only get the mail that really needs you.

• Routine answers around the clock, including nights and weekends
• Escalation logic for sensitive or complex cases
• Knowledge-base updates apply instantly to all future answers
• Audit log of every AI-sent answer
• Language: 17+ languages with DACH default

How the IMAP/SMTP connection works

The email agent uses the standard IMAP/SMTP protocol and works with any inbox supporting these standards, practically every business inbox in DACH. No vendor lock-in via proprietary APIs. You can do the setup yourself, or we do it for you: enter IMAP server address, port, username and password, an app password for Google, test the connection. The agent reads new mails via IMAP, processes them EU-hosted on Hetzner Germany, sends the reply via SMTP. The original mail is marked as 'read' in the inbox, the AI answer sits as a draft for approval in the dashboard until you switch on automatic sending.

Knowledge base + escalation logic

The knowledge base is filled once from your website, your FAQs and your documents (PDF, DOCX, Markdown). Updates apply immediately to all future answers, no re-training needed. Forwarding rules let you decide which mails don't get answered, for example on keywords like complaint, legal, urgent, lawyer, or 'speak personally'. If a rule matches, the mail is not answered but forwarded to you.

EU AI Act Art. 50, transparency for email replies

From 02 August 2026 Article 50 of the EU AI Regulation requires every provider sending AI replies to end customers to clearly disclose. For email this means: every AI-sent reply must include a footer note that the reply was written by an AI. rinqo does this by default: every sent mail carries a small, unobtrusive footer note, adjustable in wording and position. For escalation mails (answered by you personally) the note is automatically omitted. Compliance is default, not configuration effort.

Billing in credits

Billing is in credits: 1 credit equals 2 emails. What that means for your inbox volume, we work out in the first call with your real figures.

Email templates with AI, instead of maintaining 50 templates manually

Static email templates are the classic attempt to scale email replies: one text snippet per request, copy and paste, manual tweaks. Works for three request types, breaks at thirty. rinqo's email assistant replaces the template concept: instead of fixed snippets the AI generates a specific reply per email from your knowledge base. No template upkeep, no copy-paste, no stale answers. If you still want fixed snippets (invoice confirmation, appointment reminder, standard shipping note), templates can be stored as a preferred answer base, the AI uses them and only adjusts context-specific details.

• Dynamic answers instead of 50 static templates
• Hybrid mode: templates as answer base, AI adds context
• Knowledge base updates apply instantly to all answers
• No maintenance overhead per template variant

Answer emails automatically, without generic auto-responders

'I'm on vacation' or 'we will get back to you within 24 hours', classic auto-responders don't resolve a request, they just defer it. The assistant automates the actual answer: identify the request, query the knowledge base, formulate a concrete reply, close the loop. Example tax practice: a client asks by when their receipts for the VAT pre-declaration need to be in. Classic auto-responder writes 'we will get back to you', the client keeps waiting. The assistant answers concretely from your knowledge base: 'Please send us the receipts by the 5th of the following month, the pre-declaration is due on the 10th.' Request resolved, client relaxed, you only approve it or let auto-send run. For complaints, legal topics or new mandates the escalation to a human stays default, the AI only handles what it can safely handle.

Mailbox AI for Outlook & co., autonomous instead of drafts

Office suite assistants pre-draft email replies, sending still happens manually, mailbox by mailbox, licensed per user. rinqo solves the same use case differently: IMAP/SMTP connection to your existing mailbox (Office365, Exchange or any other provider), processing on Hetzner Germany, AI models with contractually guaranteed EU data processing. The agent answers standard requests autonomously once you enable this mode, and escalates complex cases to you with context. One licence for the entire team, not per mailbox. If your use case is suite-native assistant features (calendar drafts, meeting notes), your office suite's assistant is the more direct solution, for automatic email replies, rinqo is the right fit.

What the industry says

Real problem reports from DACH SMB forums (2022-2024 data). Main pattern: email backlog causes client frustration and missed deadlines, exactly the use case an AI email assistant solves.

• "he just doesn't get back to me for 2 weeks and is never available", client Rotzeplom about his tax advisor, sellerforum.de, 28.07.2022
• "For 2022 not a single VAT pre-declaration has been filed", client xMerchant about tax advisor backlog, sellerforum.de, 29.07.2022
• "a lot of construction sites have piled up", client Wollomo about tax advisor overload, sellerforum.de, 31.07.2022