site.support.google.com: Workspace shared inbox, delegation and collaborative inbox compared

Three ways Google Workspace lets a team share an address such as support@, how each works per Google's help pages, and how a shared mailbox works in MarkRelay.

Published by: MarkRelay Research
Updated: October 25, 2026
Sources: 5 primary sources, linked below

Summary

Google Workspace has three ways to share an address. A shared inbox, still rolling out in phases on Business Starter, Standard and Plus, is a mailbox whose delegates can read, send and delete. Gmail delegation lets up to 1,000 people in the organization read, send and delete in one account, with the delegate's own address shown on what they send. A Google Groups collaborative inbox lets members take, assign and resolve conversations sent to a group address. MarkRelay treats support@ as an ordinary mailbox: administrators grant it to members, it can sign in on its own for a shared desk, and apps or AI agents reach it with keys limited to that mailbox, without a Workspace seat.

Key findings

1Shared inbox: delegates can read, send and delete; supported on Business Starter, Standard and Plus; released in phases.
2Delegation: up to 1,000 delegates on work accounts (10 on personal Gmail); about 40 can use the account at once; delegates must be in the organization.
3Delegates cannot change the password or chat, and the recipient sees which delegate sent a message.
4Collaborative inbox: a Google Group whose members take, assign and resolve conversations; assignment needs the right group permission.

Questions this report answers

Asked by real people, quoted as they wrote them.

“How is new "shared inbox" any different than a regular user account at all?”

r/googleworkspace

Per Google's help page, a shared inbox is a mailbox you grant to delegates, who can read, send and delete in it and see its contacts; the sender and receiver can see which delegate sent a message. Google does not state on that page whether it needs its own license.

“Workspace has the pieces for a shared inbox, why no solution, Google?”

r/googleworkspace, 12 comments

The pieces are there in three forms: the new shared inbox (rolling out in phases), Gmail delegation, and Google Groups collaborative inboxes with take, assign and resolve. Each covers part of a help desk; none has per-mailbox API keys or webhooks.

“Best way to manage a shared inbox?!”

r/gsuite, 28 comments

If you need to assign conversations, a collaborative inbox does that; if people just need to read and answer as support@, a shared inbox or delegation does. MarkRelay gives support@ its own mailbox that several members open, plus signed webhooks to hand new mail to a ticketing tool or an agent.

“Two-person team sharing info@ email address on Google Workspace - what's the best setup?”

r/gsuite, 14 comments

For two people, an alias (free, up to 30 per user) on one account plus delegation to the other works; the shared inbox does the same with a dedicated mailbox where it has rolled out.

Workspace's three ways to share an address

Feature	Shared inbox	Delegation	Collaborative inbox	MarkRelay$99/yr + Cloudflare
What it is	A mailbox granted to delegates	Access to someone's Gmail account	A Google Group with conversation tracking	A mailbox granted to members
Read, send and delete	Yes	Yes	Not stated	Yes
Assign conversations	Not stated	No	Take, assign, resolve	No
Who can be added	Users in the organization	Up to 1,000, inside the organization	Group members	Any member you invite
Recipient sees who sent	Yes, unless hidden	Yes	Not stated	The mailbox address
API keys and webhooks per mailbox	No	No	No	Yes
Availability	Rolling out; Starter, Standard, Plus	If the admin allows delegation	Google Groups setting	Every deployment

What it is

Shared inbox: A mailbox granted to delegates
Delegation: Access to someone's Gmail account
Collaborative inbox: A Google Group with conversation tracking
MarkRelay: A mailbox granted to members

Read, send and delete

Shared inbox: Yes
Delegation: Yes
Collaborative inbox: Not stated
MarkRelay: Yes

Assign conversations

Shared inbox: Not stated
Delegation: No
Collaborative inbox: Take, assign, resolve
MarkRelay: No

Who can be added

Shared inbox: Users in the organization
Delegation: Up to 1,000, inside the organization
Collaborative inbox: Group members
MarkRelay: Any member you invite

Recipient sees who sent

Shared inbox: Yes, unless hidden
Delegation: Yes
Collaborative inbox: Not stated
MarkRelay: The mailbox address

API keys and webhooks per mailbox

Shared inbox: No
Delegation: No
Collaborative inbox: No
MarkRelay: Yes

Availability

Shared inbox: Rolling out; Starter, Standard, Plus
Delegation: If the admin allows delegation
Collaborative inbox: Google Groups setting
MarkRelay: Every deployment

Not stated means the provider's own page does not say. Source: Shared inbox, Gmail delegation, Collaborative inbox, Take and assign conversations.

How a shared mailbox works in MarkRelay

In MarkRelay, support@ is a mailbox like any other. An administrator grants it to the members who handle it; each member sees only the mailboxes granted to them, and reads and answers in the webmail. An administrator can also turn on sign-in for the mailbox itself, so a shared desk or a device logs in as support@ and sees nothing else.

For automation, a webhook scoped to that one mailbox posts each new email, signed with HMAC-SHA256, to a ticketing system, a team chat or an AI agent, and an API key scoped to it lets the agent reply. None of this adds a per-user fee: the license covers any number of mailboxes and members.

Where MarkRelay fits

A good fit when

Shared addresses across several domains, each with its own access list.
Handing new mail to a ticketing tool or an AI agent with a scoped webhook and key.

Look elsewhere when

Assigning and resolving conversations inside the inbox: a collaborative inbox does that; MarkRelay does not.
Teams that live in Gmail and want the shared address inside it.

Common questions

How many delegates can a Workspace account have?

Up to 1,000 on work or school accounts, of whom about 40 can use the account at the same time; personal Gmail allows 10.

Can delegates change the password?

No. Google says a delegate can't chat or change your password.

Sources and method

Shared inbox (knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/users/create-a-shared-inbox)
Gmail delegation (support.google.com/mail/answer/138350)
Collaborative inbox (support.google.com/a/users/answer/167430)
Take and assign conversations (support.google.com/groups/answer/2467048)
Workspace aliases (knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/users/add-or-delete-an-alternate-email-address-email-alias)

Facts are taken from each vendor's own pricing pages, documentation or terms as of the updated date above; prices are in US dollars per month unless stated. Cost comparisons apply each vendor's published rates to the same volume. MarkRelay is not affiliated with Google;"site.support.google.com" in the title names the site these facts come from. MarkRelay sells a self-hosted email app, which this page mentions where it fits. Spotted something outdated? Tell us.

Revisions

October 25, 2026: First published; every fact checked on the vendor's own pages.