See couples' replies inside Hailo (reply capture)

Forward a copy of your Gmail to Hailo so replies show on the lead or client they belong to, without changing your email address.

Updated September 2, 2026

Hailo sends email as you but never reads your inbox. Reply capture closes that gap: Gmail forwards a copy of incoming mail to a private Hailo address, and any message from a couple you already have as a lead or client shows up on their record. Your email does not change. Couples still write to your real address and it still lands in your real inbox. Gmail sends Hailo a copy.

Note

The Reply capture card only appears on the Integrations page once a sending mailbox is connected and the feature is switched on for your account. The steps below assume you connected Gmail. With a custom mailbox the same forwarding address works, but you add it in your provider's own forwarding settings.

Where the card is and what it shows

Open Settings > Integrations and scroll below the tiles. The Reply capture card carries a chip that reads Not set up or Active, and three steps that tick themselves as you complete them. The card checks on its own every few seconds while you are on the page, so you do not need to refresh.

Step 1: Add the address in Gmail

  1. On the card, next to the forwarding address, click Copy. The button reads Copied for a moment.
  2. Click Open Gmail forwarding settings →. A browser window opens Gmail's Forwarding and POP/IMAP settings for the mailbox you connected. The card names which mailbox this is, because it must be the one your couples reply to.
  3. In Gmail, click Add a forwarding address, paste the address, and click Next. Confirm the address when Gmail asks.

Gmail then sends a confirmation email to the forwarding address. That address is Hailo, so the confirmation arrives at Hailo, not at you.

No "Add a forwarding address" button?

That happens when you are signed into more than one Google account. Gmail does not show an error, the button is missing. Open a private window, sign in to the connected mailbox on its own, and add the address there.

Step 2: Confirm it

  1. Back in Hailo, the card's second step reads "Google sends a confirmation to that address and it arrives here" and updates on its own. Within a minute the step changes to show a Confirm in Gmail → button. If Hailo could read the code out of Google's email it also shows or paste code followed by the code.
  2. Click Confirm in Gmail →. Open it in the window where you are signed in as the connected mailbox. It has to be clicked as that account. Or, in Gmail's forwarding settings, paste the code into the confirmation box and click Verify.

Nothing after a minute?

Gmail often does not send the confirmation the first time. Back on the Gmail forwarding page, click Re-send email next to the address. That usually does it.

Step 3: Turn forwarding on

Confirming the address is not enough on its own. Gmail still needs to be told to use it.

  1. On the Gmail forwarding page, select Forward a copy of incoming mail to and pick the Hailo address.
  2. Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes. It sits below the fold and is easy to miss.

The third step ticks only when a real forwarded message reaches Hailo, and the chip changes to Active. Sending yourself an email from another address, or waiting for the next couple to reply, both count. Once active, the steps collapse. Click Show setup steps to see them again, and Hide setup steps to put them away.

Where replies show up

There is no inbox in Hailo, on purpose. Hailo only receives a copy of mail from senders it can match, so a studio-wide mail list would never be complete. Instead:

  • A reply from a couple's address (either partner's) is filed on their client record if they have one, otherwise on their lead record. Clients win over leads, so a booked couple's old lead row is not used.
  • The notification bell rings with the couple's name and "replied" plus the first line of the message, and the notification links to that record.
  • Automations that stop on reply see the reply too. See Conditions and stop-on-reply.

Mail from anyone who is not a lead or client is not kept. Hailo checks the sender first and only takes the body of a matched message.

Turn it off

Reply capture has no switch in Hailo. To stop it, open Gmail's forwarding settings and either select Disable forwarding or remove the Hailo address, then click Save Changes.

If it didn't work

  • The chip still says "Not set up" after the code was confirmed. You confirmed the address but did not turn forwarding on. Do step 3, then send a test email to your mailbox from another address.
  • The confirmation step never lights up. Click Re-send email in Gmail. If you are signed into several Google accounts, redo step 1 in a private window.
  • The "Confirm in Gmail" link opens the wrong account. It has to be opened as the connected mailbox. Sign out of the other accounts or use a private window signed in as that mailbox only.
  • A couple replied but nothing shows on their record. The sender's address must match the email on the lead or client, for either partner. Check the record's email fields. Also check that Gmail's forwarding filter, if you set one, includes that message.
  • Messages from a couple reached Hailo before, then stopped. Open Gmail's forwarding settings and check that forwarding is still on. Changing your Google password or security settings can switch it off.
  • Connect GmailSend proposals, invoices, questionnaire links and auto-replies from your own Gmail address, test the connection, and fix a connection that stopped sending.
  • Connect another mailbox (Outlook, Fastmail, iCloud, your own domain)Send from a non-Google mailbox using an app password, test it, change the settings later, and understand which mailbox wins when Gmail is also connected.
  • Replies inside HailoWhere a couple's reply shows up in Hailo, what the two banners on the Messages tab mean, how the Needs reply chip works, and how new replies are picked up.
  • Conditions and stop on replyEvery If / Else condition and its negative, what record each one needs, the Has tag? block, the stages a Status changed trigger can fire on, and how Stop if they reply works.
  • The lead recordEverything on a lead's page, from the header card and countersign banner to the six tabs and the Activity rail.
  • The client recordThe page for a client you added directly, with its tabs, automation controls and Activity rail, and why a converted lead looks different.
  • The notification bellRead what the bell badge means, use the panel and the See all page, and find where to choose which events ring the bell or email you.
Still stuck? Send a note from the contact page and a real person at Hailo answers. Include the studio name you signed up with and, if it is about a specific screen, what you clicked.
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