Shared mailboxes (like support@) explained

A shared mailbox lets your whole team read, reply to, and manage a single inbox without sharing a password.

Many businesses want a single address — like support@yourbusiness.com or orders@yourbusiness.com — that the whole team can monitor. A shared mailbox is the right way to do this. It's safer and more organized than sharing a password.

Quick summary

A shared mailbox is one inbox that multiple people can access using their own individual logins. Everyone sees the same emails, can reply from the shared address, and can track what's been handled — without ever sharing a password.

What is a shared mailbox?

A shared mailbox is an email inbox that belongs to the organization, not a single person. Any team member you authorize can:

Read all incoming messages
Reply as the shared address (e.g., from support@yourbusiness.com)
See when a colleague has already replied
Mark messages as handled

Each person accesses the shared mailbox using their own personal login. Nobody needs to know a shared password.

Shared mailbox vs alias

These two things look similar but work differently:

	Shared mailbox	Alias
Multiple people can access it	Yes	No
Has its own storage	Yes (a Microsoft 365 shared mailbox holds up to 50 GB without a license)	No
Needs its own license	Usually not — Microsoft says shared mailboxes "usually don't require a license"	No
Can reply as the address	Yes, with the right permission	Yes (from your own account)

If only one person needs to receive email at an address, an alias is simpler. If a team needs to share the inbox, use a shared mailbox.

Google Workspace: delegated inboxes and groups

Google Workspace doesn't use the term "shared mailbox" — but it provides two equivalent features:

Option 1: Inbox delegation

One person "owns" the inbox (e.g., support@yourbusiness.com is its own user), and other users are granted delegate access to it. A delegate can read, send, and delete email in that account. One thing to know about what recipients see: Gmail's help says that when a delegate sends a message from the account, the delegate's email address appears — so replies are not anonymous by default. Your Google Workspace admin controls this, and can choose whether delegated messages show both addresses or the account owner's only. Google also says it can take up to 24 hours before a new delegate can use the account.

Option 2: Google Group as a Collaborative Inbox

You create a Google Group (e.g., support@yourbusiness.com) and add team members. A group owner or manager then turns on Collaborative Inbox features at groups.google.com, which needs the Groups for Business service turned on. Once that's done, members with the right permissions can take or assign a conversation to someone, and mark it complete, "no action needed", or a duplicate. This is the more powerful option for teams.

See the full guide: Delegating an inbox in Google Workspace

Microsoft 365: shared mailboxes

Microsoft 365 has a built-in shared mailbox feature.

Key facts:

A shared mailbox can store up to 50 GB without a license of its own. Above that, Microsoft requires an Exchange Online Plan 2 license
Each team member accesses it through Outlook using their own account, which does need a licensed mailbox
Your admin can turn on automatic replies for the shared address
Everyone sees the same folders — Inbox, Drafts, Sent Items and the rest. One default to know about: a reply sent from the shared mailbox is filed in the sender's own Sent Items, not the shared one. Your admin can change that so the whole team sees the sent mail

See the full guide: Shared mailboxes in Microsoft 365

Setting up a shared mailbox

Decide on the address. Choose a clear, professional address like support@yourbusiness.com, orders@, or hello@.

Create the shared mailbox. In Microsoft 365, that's the admin center, under Teams and groups, then Shared mailboxes. In Google Workspace, it's a Google Group (or a user account you delegate) in the Google Admin console.

Add the team members who should have access. In Microsoft 365 it can take a few minutes before you can add members.

Each person opens the shared mailbox in their own email client. In Microsoft 365, automapping is on by default, so the mailbox appears in Outlook once they close and restart it.

Agree on a workflow with your team — who responds to what, how to mark messages as handled, and how to avoid replying to the same email twice.

Tips for managing a shared inbox well

Agree on response ownership. Who handles new messages? Do you assign them, or does anyone respond?
Use folders or labels. Organize messages so nothing falls through the cracks.
Set a shared signature. Replies from the shared inbox should have a consistent signature rather than personal ones.
Review regularly. Check that messages aren't sitting unanswered.

Easy to miss

If everyone can reply but nobody is assigned responsibility, messages can be ignored or replied to twice. A simple team agreement about ownership goes a long way.

Common questions

Does a shared mailbox count as a license I have to pay for?

In Microsoft 365, a shared mailbox under 50 GB doesn't need a license of its own — but everyone who accesses it still needs their own licensed mailbox. In Google Workspace, you may need to pay for a user account to own the inbox. Ask Chykalophia what applies to your setup.

Can people send FROM the shared address?

In Microsoft 365, yes — but it isn't automatic. Full Access lets someone open the mailbox; sending as the shared address also needs Send As or Send on Behalf permission, which your admin grants. In Google Workspace, a Gmail delegate can send from the delegated inbox, but Google shows the delegate's own address on the message. Ask us to set the permissions up the way you want them.

What if I just want one person to check the support@ inbox?

An alias is simpler in that case. See Email aliases & forwarding explained.

Can a shared mailbox have its own calendar?

In Microsoft 365, yes: Microsoft's documentation says shared mailboxes include a shared calendar, and any member can create, view, and manage appointments on it. In Google Workspace, you'd share a Google Calendar with the same team rather than get one automatically.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.