How to Use Inbox Contact Discovery
Inbox Contact Discovery scans your connected Gmail or Outlook inbox and identifies new people who have emailed you but are not yet saved in your CRM. The system surfaces those contacts automatically so you can add them with a few clicks.
This guide covers how to run a scan, understand the results, and add new contacts to your database.
Before You Begin
You must have a Gmail or Outlook account connected before using Inbox Contact Discovery. If you have not done that yet, see Setup: Gmail or Outlook Account.
You also need the Inbox Contact Discovery widget on your dashboard. If it is not there yet, right-click the dashboard, browse the widget list, find Inbox Contact Discovery, and click Add.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Open Inbox Contact Discovery
Click the Inbox Contact Discovery widget on your dashboard. This opens the full discovery screen.
Step 2: Run a Scan
Click Run Scan. The system will begin scanning your connected inbox.
While the scan runs, you will see progress information including emails scanned, contacts found so far, and the date range being reviewed. You can cancel the scan at any time if needed.
Step 3: Review the Summary
When the scan finishes, a summary appears showing:
|
Result |
What It Means |
| Emails Scanned | Total number of emails reviewed |
| New Contacts | People found who are not yet in your CRM |
| Already in Database | People found who are already saved as contacts |
| Skipped | Addresses not considered as contact opportunities (no-reply addresses, one-way exchanges, your own email, etc.) |
Step 4: Review Pending Contacts
Click the Pending tab to see everyone the system identified as a potential new contact.
For each person, you may see:
- Name and email address
- Number of conversations
- Most recent activity date
- A relationship score
The relationship score gives you a quick sense of how active or meaningful the communication history appears to be. A higher score generally indicates more back-and-forth engagement.
Step 5: Add Contacts to Your CRM
Select the contacts you want to add and confirm the addition. Added contacts move from the Pending tab to the Added tab and become full contact records in your database.
Contacts you choose not to add can be moved to Dismissed to keep your Pending list clean.
Understanding the Three Tabs
- Pending — Discovered contacts waiting for your decision
- Added — Contacts you have already added to the CRM
- Dismissed — Contacts you chose not to add
These tabs make it easy to manage discoveries over multiple sessions rather than having to act on everything at once.
What "All Caught Up!" Means
If the scan finishes and shows All caught up!, it means no new contact opportunities were found. Everyone in your recent inbox activity is either already in your database or was skipped. You can run a new scan anytime to check for more recent conversations.
Optional Settings
Automatic Nightly Scanning
You can enable the system to scan your inbox automatically each night. When this is on, you do not need to remember to run scans manually — new contact opportunities will surface on their own.
This setting is off by default. Look for the Automatically scan my inbox nightly option on the discovery screen to enable it.
Excluded Domains
If there are email domains you never want considered as contact opportunities — such as internal systems, automated senders, or specific vendors — you can add them to the Excluded Domains list. This keeps your scan results cleaner and more relevant.
Questions and Answers
Q: Do I need to run a scan every time, or can it happen automatically?
A: You can enable automatic nightly scanning so the system checks for new contacts in the background. The option is on the discovery screen and is off by default.
Q: How far back does the scan look?
A: The scan covers approximately the last two weeks of inbox activity. It is designed to catch new contacts from recent conversations, not to search your full email history.
Q: What kinds of addresses get skipped during a scan?
A: The system skips things like no-reply addresses, one-way automated messages, your own email address, and addresses that do not appear to be real contact opportunities.
Q: Can I add contacts I previously dismissed?
A: Check the Dismissed tab. Depending on system settings, you may be able to move them back to Pending for review.
Q: Will running a scan affect my email in Gmail or Outlook?
A: No. The scan reads inbox data but does not modify, move, delete, or send anything in your email account.
Q: How is the relationship score calculated?
A: The score reflects the volume and recency of two-way communication with that person. It is meant to help you prioritize which contacts are most worth adding, not to serve as a definitive ranking.
Q: What if the same person appears in my inbox under multiple email addresses?
A: Each email address is evaluated separately. If someone emails you from two different addresses, they may appear as two separate discovery results.
Guide Type: How-To Guide
Estimated Time: 10 minutes