# Answer Outlook email and WhatsApp in one place

> Three ways to automate customer email in Microsoft Outlook beside WhatsApp, compared and priced. Volty replies from your own mailbox with the thread intact.

Customers write to sales@ in Outlook and message the same business on WhatsApp, so staff work two inboxes. This page compares three ways to unify your inboxes and handle Outlook email alongside WhatsApp.

Volty connects to Microsoft Outlook. Volty reads the mailbox, replies from the business's own address with the thread intact, and keeps email and WhatsApp in the same inbox.

Talk to Volty

Updated 16 Oct 2026

## What a business runs with Outlook connected to Volty

- Answer the shared mailbox · Volty replies to enquiries in sales@ or support@ from that address, in the same thread, so the customer sees one conversation.
- Read what customers attach · A purchase order or a spec sheet arrives as a PDF or spreadsheet. Volty reads it and answers from it.
- Start with history · Volty imports past mail when the mailbox connects, six months by default, so earlier threads are on record. Imported mail is never answered.
- Hand over the hard ones · A pricing exception or a complaint goes to a named member of staff, who answers in the same inbox.
- Send one-to-one reminders · An approved automation emails one customer at a time, such as a reminder that a quotation expires on Friday.

## Three ways to automate Outlook email beside WhatsApp

### Microsoft's own tools

Microsoft's WhatsApp channel sits in Dynamics 365 customer service, connected through Twilio, which is a separate product from Outlook. Outlook itself answers email; WhatsApp is handled in another app.

Best for businesses that already run Dynamics 365 for customer service and want WhatsApp inside it.

### Build it yourself

Microsoft Graph reads and sends Outlook mail. The app is registered in Microsoft Entra, and a client secret lasts 24 months at most. Reading a shared mailbox without a signed-in user takes application permissions, which an administrator must consent to and should limit to the mailboxes the app needs. New mail arrives as change notifications at a public HTTPS endpoint that must answer Microsoft's validation within 10 seconds.

What the business then owns:

- Subscriptions · A subscription to Outlook messages lasts at most 10,080 minutes, just under seven days, and the code must renew it before it lapses.
- Throttling · Microsoft allows 10,000 requests per 10 minutes and four at a time for each app and mailbox pair.
- Sending limits · An Exchange Online mailbox sends to at most 10,000 recipients a day and 30 messages a minute.
- The WhatsApp side · Meta's Cloud API, a server for its webhooks, approved templates outside the 24-hour window, and duplicate handling, since Meta retries undelivered webhooks for up to 7 days.
- Customer data · The business decides what mail reaches any AI model.

Best for businesses that have a developer to build both sides and keep the tokens and subscriptions alive.

### Use a workflow tool

Zapier, n8n and Make each have an Outlook app and a WhatsApp app on Meta's Cloud API. Zapier triggers on new email in a personal inbox or a shared mailbox and can send and reply. n8n's Outlook node gets, sends and replies to messages, and its trigger fires when a message is received. Make connects Microsoft 365 email. Each tool also offers an AI agent step, which you prompt and test yourself. The tools run automations; people read and answer the conversations in another app.

Zapier starts at US$19.99 a month billed annually for 750 tasks, and its WhatsApp Business app needs a paid plan. n8n Cloud starts at €20 a month billed annually for 2,500 executions, and n8n is free to self-host. Make starts at US$9 a month billed annually for 10,000 credits.

Best for businesses that want a fixed flow, such as a WhatsApp alert to staff for every email from a key account.

Volty is an AI agent that answers customers on WhatsApp and Outlook email from one shared inbox. Connected to Outlook, Volty reads the mailbox and replies from the business's own address, with email and WhatsApp in the same inbox. The table compares Volty with the three ways above.

|  | Microsoft's own tools | Build it yourself | Workflow tool | Volty |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Setup | Dynamics 365 with Twilio for WhatsApp | A developer project | A flow per task | Sign in with Microsoft and choose how much history to import |
| Reads and sends in Outlook | Outlook as it is | What you build | New mail; send and reply | Reads the mailbox and replies from your own address |
| AI replies | None in Outlook | What you build | An AI step you prompt and test | Volty writes the replies, with draft mode for staff review |
| Inbox and handoff | Separate apps for email and WhatsApp | What you build | Conversations read in another app | One inbox for email and WhatsApp, where staff take over any conversation |
| Who maintains it | Microsoft | Your developer | You | Voltade |
| Cost | Dynamics 365 licences, plus Twilio's charges | Developer time and hosting, plus Meta's message charges | From US$9 to US$19.99 a month, or free self-hosted, plus Meta's message charges | S$199 a month on Plus, plus Meta's WhatsApp message charges |

## How Volty connects to Microsoft Outlook

Volty connects to Microsoft Outlook as an email channel. An admin signs in with the Microsoft 365 or Outlook account that owns the mailbox. A shared mailbox needs consent from the Microsoft 365 tenant's administrator.

- Reads · The Inbox, Junk and Deleted folders. New mail arrives by Microsoft's push notifications, with a sweep every 15 minutes to catch anything missed.
- History · None, six months by default, one, three or five years, or everything, up to a cap on the number of messages. Imported mail is kept on record and never answered.
- Sends · Replies from the business's own address through Microsoft, threaded with the customer's message and with the quoted text trimmed.
- One-to-one email · Approved automations can send an email to one customer, such as a reminder or a summary.
- Draft mode · Staff can review every reply before it is sent, conversation by conversation.

## Common questions

### Can Outlook send messages to WhatsApp?

Outlook answers email only. Microsoft's WhatsApp channel sits in Dynamics 365 customer service, connected through Twilio. To handle Outlook email and WhatsApp together, a business uses a connector such as Volty, a workflow tool, or a build on Microsoft Graph and Meta's Cloud API.

### Can Volty reply to customer email from our Outlook address?

Yes. Volty connects to the Outlook or Microsoft 365 mailbox with Microsoft sign-in and sends every reply from that mailbox's own address, threaded with the customer's message, so the customer sees the business's usual address.

### Does Volty work with a shared mailbox such as sales@?

Yes, once the Microsoft 365 tenant's administrator has given consent. Volty then reads the shared mailbox's Inbox, Junk and Deleted folders and replies from the shared address.

### Can Zapier connect Outlook to WhatsApp?

Yes, as an automation. Zapier's Outlook app triggers on new email, including in a shared mailbox, and its WhatsApp Business app sends messages and templates. WhatsApp Business is a premium app on Zapier, so the flow needs a paid plan, from US$19.99 a month billed annually.

### Can Volty email many customers at once from Outlook?

No. Volty's broadcasts are WhatsApp template messages. On email, Volty answers each customer's message, and approved automations can send an email to one customer, such as a reminder or a summary.

### How much does it cost to connect Outlook to Volty?

Volty starts at S$199 a month on the Plus plan, with unlimited users and a free 7-day trial. Email through the business's own mailbox carries no Meta charge; Meta bills WhatsApp messages separately.

## Related

- Email enquiries answered from your Outlook inbox · How a trading or services business answers enquiries from Outlook with Volty.
- The WhatsApp 24-hour rule · When a free-form WhatsApp reply is allowed and when a template is required.
- Shopify WhatsApp integration · Product and policy answers on WhatsApp from a Shopify store.
- Google Calendar WhatsApp integration · Booking appointments from a WhatsApp chat.

## Links

- [The WhatsApp 24-hour rule](https://voltade.com/sg/learn/whatsapp/whatsapp-24hr-rule)
- [Shopify WhatsApp integration](https://voltade.com/sg/whatsapp-business-api/integrations/e-commerce-and-retail/shopify)
- [Google Calendar WhatsApp integration](https://voltade.com/sg/whatsapp-business-api/integrations/scheduling-and-booking/google-calendar)