Send Email From info@ in Outlook or Gmail: Send As vs On Behalf

Send As vs Send on Behalf: what the recipient sees

Microsoft's mailbox permissions guide describes three separate permissions: read and manage (Full Access), send as, and send on behalf. They are independent: Full Access alone does not let you send from the mailbox.

For a shared customer address, Send As is usually what you want. Send on Behalf is clearer for delegation inside a team, such as a PA sending from the director's mailbox.

Microsoft 365: set up info@ as a shared mailbox

A shared mailbox is the standard way to give several people one address in Microsoft 365. Microsoft's shared mailbox guide says shared mailboxes usually do not need a licence, and that both Full Access and Send As are required for successful shared mailbox operation. A licence is needed if the mailbox goes over 50 GB, among other cases.

1. 1

   Create the shared mailbox

   In the Microsoft 365 admin centre, go to Teams & groups, then Shared mailboxes, and add info@ with a display name such as Your Business Info.

2. 2

   Add members

   Adding members grants them Full Access, so the mailbox appears in their Outlook automatically after a short delay.

3. 3

   Grant Send As (or Send on Behalf)

   Open the mailbox's properties, go to the Mail tab, choose Send as permissions (or Send on behalf of permissions) and add each person.

4. 4

   Choose the From address when writing

   In Outlook, show the From field and pick info@. In the new Outlook and on the web, choose the shared mailbox from the From list or type the address once.

5. 5

   Keep sent mail in the shared mailbox

   Ask your admin to turn on the sent-items copy settings described below, so the whole team sees what was sent from info@.

Microsoft notes that Send As and Send on Behalf do not work in Outlook desktop if the mailbox is hidden from the address list. If the From option fails, check that setting first.

Where sent mail goes, and how to fix it

A common complaint: a colleague replies from info@, but the reply sits only in their personal Sent Items, so nobody else knows the customer was answered. Microsoft's troubleshooting article explains that an admin can make Exchange Online save a copy in the shared mailbox's Sent Items too.

• For Send As: set-mailbox info@yourbusiness.sg -MessageCopyForSentAsEnabled $True
• For Send on Behalf: set-mailbox info@yourbusiness.sg -MessageCopyForSendOnBehalfEnabled $True

These are run in Exchange Online PowerShell by an admin. After that, a copy lands in both the sender's and the shared mailbox's Sent Items, depending on the Outlook settings described in the article.

Google Workspace: send from info@ in Gmail

Google Workspace has no shared mailbox in the Microsoft sense. You choose between an alias on one person's account and a Google Group used as a shared inbox.

• Alias: Google's alias help page says admins can add up to 30 email aliases per user at no extra cost. Mail to the alias lands in that user's inbox, and only one user can have a given alias.
• Google Group or collaborative inbox: several people receive info@ mail. Each member who needs to reply as info@ adds it under Send mail as.

Once the alias or group exists, each user sets it up in Gmail, following Google's send from a different address guide:

1. 1

   Open Gmail settings

   Click the gear icon, then See all settings, then the Accounts tab (Accounts and import on some accounts).

2. 2

   Add another email address

   In the Send mail as section, click Add another email address, enter the name and info@ address, and leave Treat as an alias ticked for a shared business address.

3. 3

   Confirm the address

   Gmail may send a confirmation message to info@. Open it, from the shared inbox or the alias owner's inbox, and click the link. If the address is refused, ask your admin to check the alias or group exists.

4. 4

   Pick info@ when you write

   Click the From line in a new message and select info@. You can also set Gmail to reply from the address the message was sent to.

Google warns that recipients on Outlook may see 'on behalf of' when the address is not set up properly, and that automatic replies may still show your personal address. Test by sending to an Outlook mailbox.

Gmail change in January 2027 for outside addresses

Google's help page now says that starting January 2027, Gmail will no longer support Send As for third-party email addresses such as @yahoo.com or @outlook.com. Workspace aliases and other Gmail addresses you own are not affected.

If you are also deciding whether info@ should be an alias or its own mailbox, our alias vs new mailbox guide covers costs and trade-offs.

SPF, DKIM and DMARC when sending as another address

Sending from info@ inside the same Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace tenant is safe for deliverability: the mail leaves the same servers that your SPF record and DKIM key already cover. Problems start when mail for your domain leaves through a different service.

If messages from info@ start landing in spam, our guide to SPF, DKIM and DMARC explains how to read the headers and fix the records.

Do it yourself or get help?

If you have admin access, setting up a shared mailbox or alias takes a few minutes. The parts that trip people up are the sent-items copy, the PowerShell settings and getting SPF and DKIM right when other services also send as your domain.

Our Business Email Setup (S$249) sets up Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace in your name with up to 5 mailboxes, aliases such as info@ and sales@, a shared inbox and MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Our guide to setting up business email in Singapore covers the rest of the set-up.