AgentFront now works with Microsoft 365 and Outlook
Agencies on Microsoft 365 can now sign in with Microsoft, connect Outlook mailboxes and calendars, and use AgentFront's email and phone assistants.
AgentFront Team3 min read
The short answer
AgentFront now works with Microsoft 365. Staff sign in with Microsoft, the agency's Microsoft 365 administrator approves AgentFront once, and each person links their own mailbox. The Email Assistant replies to rental enquiries in Outlook, and a connected Outlook calendar lets the Phone Assistant book appraisals.
Until recently, AgentFront's email and calendar connections were Google only. An agency whose email lives in Outlook and whose diaries live in the Outlook calendar could not use the Rental Enquiry Email Assistant, and the Phone Assistant had no Outlook calendar to book appraisals into.
AgentFront now works with Microsoft 365 and Outlook. Staff sign in with Microsoft, the Email Assistant works in their Outlook mailboxes, and the Phone Assistant books appraisals into the Outlook calendar.
How does an agency connect Microsoft 365?
An agency connects in three steps, in this order:
- The agency's Microsoft 365 administrator approves AgentFront once, for the whole organisation. Microsoft's approval screen shows AgentFront as a verified publisher, so the administrator can see who is asking for access before agreeing.
- Staff sign in to AgentFront with their Microsoft account.
- Each staff member links their own mailbox. A group address such as rentals@ works too, as long as it delivers into team members' own mailboxes.
The approval is a one-off for the organisation, so staff who connect afterwards do not need AgentFront approved again.
What does the Email Assistant do in Outlook?
It does the same job it does in Gmail. It reads new rental enquiries, writes its reply into the same thread, and sends the approved reply from the staff member's own address. For an enquiry sent to a group address such as rentals@, the reply goes from the team member who owns it.
Replies wait for a person to approve them, unless the agency turns on auto-reply. Anything unusual or sensitive is marked Needs review and left for a person.
The rules are the same as in Gmail. A reply states only what the current realestate.com.au listing says. A request for a private inspection becomes a task for the team, not a booking. Maintenance, trades, owner approvals and existing tenants' requests stay outside the assistant's job. The Rental Enquiry Email Assistant page covers all of this in full.
How is handled mail filed in Outlook?
Once an enquiry has been replied to and its tasks are done, AgentFront files it in Outlook: it applies a category, marks it read and moves it out of the inbox. It never deletes mail.
Finished enquiries end up categorised and out of the inbox, so the new ones a property manager still needs to look at are not mixed in with finished ones.
Does the Phone Assistant work with the Outlook calendar?
Yes. Connect the Outlook calendar, and on a call with a seller the Phone Assistant offers times from the agent's real availability, then books the appraisal into that calendar once the call ends.
The times it offers allow for the agent's working hours, appointment length and buffers, exactly as they do with Google Calendar. The seller agrees a time on the call, and the agent finds the appraisal in the same Outlook calendar they already use. The Phone Assistant page walks through the rest of the call.
What is different from Gmail?
Signatures. In Gmail, a reply carries the sender's own Gmail signature. Microsoft does not make a person's Outlook email signature available to AgentFront, so replies sent through Outlook go without it.
What does an agency on Microsoft 365 need?
Since AgentFront 1.1 removed the need for a CRM, an agency on Microsoft 365 needs its listings on realestate.com.au and its Microsoft accounts. If it runs a CRM AgentFront connects to, AgentFront works inside that too.
The whole app also works in a phone's browser, so a property manager can approve an Outlook reply between inspections in the same way as one from Gmail.
Common questions
Does AgentFront work with Outlook?
Yes. AgentFront works with Microsoft 365. Staff sign in with Microsoft, the Email Assistant replies to rental enquiries in Outlook mailboxes, and the Phone Assistant books appraisals into the Outlook calendar.
Do AgentFront replies in Outlook include my email signature?
No. Microsoft does not make Outlook email signatures available to AgentFront, so replies sent through Outlook go without one. Replies sent through Gmail carry the sender's own Gmail signature.
Can AgentFront handle enquiries sent to rentals@?
Yes, when rentals@ is a group address or alias that delivers into team members' own mailboxes. The reply goes from the team member who owns the enquiry. A separate shared mailbox with its own inbox isn't supported.
What does our Microsoft 365 administrator need to do?
Approve AgentFront once for the organisation. Microsoft's approval screen shows AgentFront as a verified publisher. After that, each staff member signs in with Microsoft and links their own mailbox.
