# Email handoff

Forward an escalated conversation to a support mailbox — the no-code handoff path, run server-side by Foldspace.

Email is the simplest way to escalate. When the agent reaches its limits, Foldspace sends the conversation summary and context to a support address you choose. It runs **server-side as a Foldspace core tool** — there is nothing to implement in your product, and no SDK code to write.

Use it when your team works support asynchronously. If you staff live chat and want the user to keep talking in the same session, use a live handoff to [Intercom](/guides/intercom-handoff/) or [Zendesk](/guides/zendesk-handoff/) instead.

## What the agent sends

Each escalation carries a one-line summary of the problem the agent synthesized, plus the conversation context — so the message arrives with the problem already stated, not as a cold start.

## Set it up

1. Turn **Offer support handoff** ON in [Style & behavior](/user-guides/building-your-agent/) → **Data Access & Handoff**. This is the toggle that lets the agent offer escalation at all.

2. Configure the **Email** destination in [Integrations](/user-guides/integrations/) with the address that should receive escalations.

3. Test a conversation that should escalate — ask for a human — and confirm the mail arrives with its summary.

## Choosing the address

Any mailbox works, but where you point it decides whether the escalation becomes a tracked ticket or just another email:

| Address | Result |
| :--- | :--- |
| **A shared team mailbox** | The escalation lands in an inbox. Fine for small teams; nothing is assigned, routed, or SLA-tracked. |
| **Your Zendesk support address** | Zendesk opens a **ticket** in the Agent Workspace. See [Zendesk handoff](/guides/zendesk-handoff/) for the address rules. |
| **Your Intercom workspace inbound address** | Intercom opens a **conversation** in the Inbox. See [Intercom handoff](/guides/intercom-handoff/) for the forwarding setup. |

:::caution[Point it at the help desk, not a person]
If you send to a mailbox your help desk doesn't ingest, the escalation sits in someone's inbox — never triaged, assigned, or tracked. When you run a help desk, use its intake address.
:::

## Related

- [Support handoff overview](/user-guides/support-handoff/) — all destinations and when the agent escalates.
- [Intercom handoff](/guides/intercom-handoff/) and [Zendesk handoff](/guides/zendesk-handoff/) — the live, in-app alternative.
- [Integrations](/user-guides/integrations/) — where the email destination is configured.