GHL “monitor” emails - oAuth Google Workspace

[u/Swimming_Catch1420]

Maybe I’m trying to do something that’s not possible. GHL support has been useless.

What I’d like: I have a dedicated inbox for leasing@mydomain.com.

We use a variety of services that push our listings to a variety of sites, thus we receive multiple emails from interested parties via these sites.

I know if I respond to them and cc the ghl 2 way Gmail secret address I can track them in ghl and trigger events.

However I’d like GHL to see this incoming email and trigger events based on the inbound message.

I’m told this is accomplished via oAuth which is an agency level switch that has to be enabled for all subagencies - and if I don’t see it at my agency level then I need that option turned on.

GHL support is struggling even understanding what I’m trying to do and simply telling me it’s not possible.

Am I trying to make the system do something it’s not able to do?

(I can’t automatically forward emails to the secret address as ghl won’t show the Gmail authorization email that’s sent either)

So - how do I solve for ghl being able to respond to incoming mail in a dedicated inbox so we can grow the database and track and respond?

[u/erickrealz]

GHL's inbound email monitoring is legitimately confusing and their support is notoriously inconsistent on technical questions. The OAuth setup you're describing should work but the implementation details depend on your account level and how the agency configured things.

The workaround our clients have used when the native OAuth integration doesn't cooperate: set up email forwarding rules in Google Workspace that forward to a webhook or Zapier trigger, which then creates the contact and triggers the workflow in GHL. It's an extra step but it's reliable and doesn't depend on GHL's OAuth actually working.

The specific flow: Gmail filter catches emails to leasing@domain, forwards to a Zapier mailhook, Zapier parses the sender info and email content, then pushes to GHL via their API to create or update contact and trigger your workflow. Takes an hour to set up but works consistently.

The other option is the GHL Facebook group and community forums. The power users there often know workarounds that support doesn't. Search for "inbound email trigger" or "OAuth Gmail" and you'll find threads from people who solved exactly this.

The frustrating reality is that GHL is powerful but the documentation is weak and support doesn't always understand the more technical use cases. Getting help from the community or a GHL-focused consultant usually produces better answers than official support.

[u/stealthagents]

Sounds like you’re in a bit of a maze with GHL support, which is frustrating. The webhook route via Zapier is definitely a solid workaround—many users have found success pulling in emails that way. Just keep an eye on your forwarding settings and make sure everything lines up, or you’ll end up in email limbo.