How to create a Google Workspace shared mailbox (3 approaches)

“Google Workspace shared mailbox” can mean three different setups. One team may delegate a Gmail account such as support@. Another may route mail through Google Groups Collaborative Inbox. A third may keep Gmail as the mailbox and use a shared inbox tool for assignments, notes, and workflow.

The right choice depends on the work. An assistant covering one person's email needs something different from five people answering customers from the same address.

The three Google Workspace shared mailbox options

Google's own documentation calls a delegated Gmail account a shared inbox. Google Groups Collaborative Inbox is a separate setup with its own interface and permissions.

Option 1: Create a delegated Gmail mailbox

Delegation is the closest Google Workspace equivalent to a traditional shared mailbox. The mailbox remains a real Gmail account. Other people open it from their own Google accounts, so the team does not pass around one password.

1. Choose a real Google Workspace account

Start with the account that should receive the mail, such as support@yourcompany.com. Use a Google Workspace user account, not only an email alias. Google notes that an alias is not a Google Account and cannot have delegates.

If support@ is currently an alias on one founder's account, decide whether that arrangement still makes sense. Delegating the founder's mailbox would also expose the rest of that mailbox to the delegates.

2. Allow mail delegation in the Admin console

A Google Workspace administrator can enable delegation under Gmail's user settings. Google also lets administrators choose whether recipients see the shared account or the delegate as the sender.

Google's current admin instructions are in Delegate a user's email address.

3. Add the people who need access

Sign in to the mailbox that will be shared, then open Gmail settings:

1. Select See all settings.
2. Open Accounts and Import.
3. Find Grant access to your account.
4. Add each delegate and send the invitation.

Google Workspace can also use a Google Group as a delegate. That can make membership easier to maintain because the group counts as one delegate to the mailbox.

Google documents the current user flow in Delegate and collaborate on email.

4. Test the working behavior

Before routing customer mail into the account, test the whole loop:

• A delegate can open the mailbox from their own account.
• Replies use the sender identity your administrator intended.
• Sent, archived, and deleted messages appear where the team expects.
• Removing a delegate also removes their access.

Delegation solves access. It does not give every conversation one owner or show that a teammate is already drafting a reply. If those are the problems you are trying to solve, decide on a manual convention or add a team workflow on top.

Option 2: Create a Google Groups Collaborative Inbox

Google Groups Collaborative Inbox is a group with assignment and resolution controls. Members can take or assign conversations, mark them complete, and filter by assignment or resolution status.

To set one up:

1. Create a Google Group for the address and add the team members.
2. Turn on conversation history.
3. Open the group's settings.
4. Under Enable additional Google Groups features, select Collaborative Inbox.
5. Give the appropriate members permission to moderate metadata and content.
6. Test assignment, replies, and completion with an external email address.

Google maintains the detailed steps in Make a group a Collaborative Inbox and explains the day-to-day controls in Use a group as a Collaborative Inbox.

The important trade-off is the interface. The team works in Google Groups rather than a normal Gmail queue. That is reasonable for an internal group or a low-volume address. It can become awkward when customer email needs fast triage, discussion, draft review, and consistent handoffs.

Option 3: Keep Gmail and add a shared inbox workflow

A shared inbox tool keeps Google Workspace as the mailbox source and adds the operating layer around the conversations.

In Repliqo, the team can:

• Assign one owner to a conversation.
• Leave internal notes and mentions beside the customer thread.
• See that a teammate owns the active draft before writing another reply.
• Move work through open, later, and done states.
• Search the shared history without sharing the Google account password.

This is useful when the team has outgrown “mark it unread if someone still needs to answer.” It also avoids forcing customer email into a forum-style workflow.

Repliqo's Google Workspace shared mailbox page explains what the connected workflow looks like. The broader Gmail sharing comparison covers password sharing, delegation, Google Groups, and dedicated tools in more detail.

Which setup should you choose?

Use delegation when the job is mainly access: an assistant covering an executive, temporary coverage, or a small number of trusted people managing one mailbox.

Use Google Groups Collaborative Inbox when the team is comfortable working in Groups and needs basic assignment and resolution controls without buying another product.

Use a shared inbox tool when the address behaves like a queue. If customers expect timely replies, conversations change hands, or two people sometimes answer the same email, access alone is no longer the whole problem.

Whichever approach you choose, do not share the Google account password. Give each person access through their own identity, test the removal process, and write down who owns a conversation before anyone starts drafting.