# Email & Operations Infrastructure -- LLMHosts.com

## META
- relevance: OPERATIONS -- required for business operations, support, and transactional email
- domain: LLMHosts.com (registered on GoDaddy)
- provider: Zoho Mail Free (5 users, 5GB each, $0/month)
- created: 2026-02-13
- updated: 2026-02-13 (switched from Google Workspace to Zoho Mail Free)

## DECISION: Zoho Mail Free
- **Why not Google Workspace**: $7/user/month, overkill for solopreneur
- **Why not GoDaddy Email Essentials**: $1.99/mo intro → $7.99/mo renewal (300% hike)
- **Why Zoho Free**: $0/month, 5 users, IMAP, custom domain, no hikes, reusable for future domains
- **Upgrade path**: Zoho Lite ($1/user/mo) when team grows
- **Full setup guide**: docs/guides/email-setup-steps.md
- **Reusable Zoho guide**: docs/knowledge-base/zoho-mail-free-guide.md
- **Credentials**: docs/secure/email-credentials.md (GITIGNORED)
- **Platform integration**: docs/guides/email-platform-integration.md

## EMAIL ACCOUNTS NEEDED

### 1. brendon@llmhosts.com (Founder)
- Primary business email
- Used for: external communication, partnerships, investor relations
- Provider: Zoho Mail Free

### 2. support@llmhosts.com (Customer Support)
- Customer-facing support inbox
- AI auto-reply system (v1): automated triage, common question answers
- Escalation to admin dashboard when AI can't resolve
- Human-in-the-loop: Brendon reviews escalated tickets

### 3. no-reply@llmhosts.com (Transactional)
- System-generated emails: signup confirmation, password reset, billing receipts
- No incoming mail (or auto-reject with helpful redirect to support@)
- Sent via transactional email service (not regular email provider)

### 4. team@llmhosts.com (Future: Team Communication)
- Internal team email when team grows
- Not needed for Phase 1

## EMAIL PROVIDER: Zoho Mail Free (SELECTED)

### Why Zoho Mail Free
- $0/month (forever free plan)
- 5 mailboxes (we need 3), 5GB per user
- Custom domain: @llmhosts.com
- IMAP/POP3/SMTP: works with any email client
- One-click GoDaddy DNS integration
- Reusable: create separate free accounts for future businesses
- Upgrade: Zoho Lite ($1/user/mo) or Premium ($4/user/mo) when needed

### Alternatives Evaluated and Rejected
- **Google Workspace** ($7/user/mo): Overkill, expensive for solopreneur
- **GoDaddy Email Essentials** ($1.99 → $7.99/mo): Deceptive renewal pricing
- **Proton for Business** (~$4/user/mo): Good security but unnecessary cost

## DNS CONFIGURATION (GoDaddy → Zoho Mail)

### Required DNS Records

#### MX Records (Mail Routing)
| Type | Host | Value | Priority | TTL |
|------|------|-------|----------|-----|
| MX | @ | mx.zoho.com | 10 | 600 |
| MX | @ | mx2.zoho.com | 20 | 600 |
| MX | @ | mx3.zoho.com | 50 | 600 |

#### SPF Record (Prevent Spoofing)
```
Type: TXT
Host: @
Value: v=spf1 include:zohomail.com -all
```

#### DKIM Record (Email Authentication)
- Generated in Zoho Admin Console → Domains → DKIM → Add (2048-bit)
- Type: TXT, Host: zoho._domainkey
- Value: v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=[generated-public-key]

#### DMARC Record (Policy Enforcement)
```
Type: TXT
Host: _dmarc
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:brendon@llmhosts.com
```
(Start with p=none, graduate to p=quarantine after 2 weeks)

## ACTION ITEMS FOR FOUNDER (Brendon)

See full step-by-step: **docs/guides/email-setup-steps.md**

1. Sign up for Zoho Mail Free at https://www.zoho.com/mail/zohomail-pricing.html
2. Add llmhosts.com domain
3. One-click verify domain (GoDaddy auto-integration)
4. One-click configure MX records
5. One-click configure SPF
6. Configure DKIM (generate 2048-bit key, one-click add)
7. Manually add DMARC TXT record in GoDaddy DNS
8. Create 3 email accounts (passwords in docs/secure/email-credentials.md)
9. Enable IMAP on each account
10. Enable 2FA on each account
11. Verify: send test emails, check SPF/DKIM/DMARC pass

## TRANSACTIONAL EMAIL SERVICE

### For no-reply@llmhosts.com
- System emails (signup, password reset, billing) need high deliverability
- Do NOT send through Google Workspace (rate limits, deliverability risk)
- Use dedicated transactional service:

### Recommended: Resend
- Developer-friendly API
- Good deliverability
- Free tier: 3,000 emails/month
- Integrates easily with FastAPI backend
- Alternative: Postmark, SendGrid, AWS SES

### Setup
- Configure Resend (or chosen service) with LLMHosts.com domain
- Add additional SPF/DKIM records for transactional service
- Route no-reply@ through transactional service, not Google Workspace

## AI AUTO-REPLY SYSTEM (support@llmhosts.com)

### V1 Architecture
```
Incoming Email → Email Provider (Google Workspace)
  → Webhook/Polling Service (FastAPI)
    → AI Classifier: Can this be auto-resolved?
      → YES: Generate AI response, send reply, log in dashboard
      → NO: Create ticket in admin dashboard, notify Brendon
        → Brendon responds via dashboard
        → Response sent from support@llmhosts.com
```

### AI Auto-Reply Capabilities (V1)
- Answer FAQs: pricing, setup help, feature questions
- Provide links to documentation
- Basic troubleshooting steps
- Account status inquiries

### Escalation Triggers
- AI confidence below threshold
- User explicitly requests human help
- Billing/payment issues
- Security concerns
- Bug reports
- Feature requests (logged separately)

### Admin Dashboard Integration
- Ticket queue: all support requests with AI classification
- AI draft responses for Brendon to review/edit/send
- Response time tracking
- Common issue patterns (feeds into FAQ and product improvements)

## HUMAN-IN-THE-LOOP PROCESSES

### Support Escalation (described above)

### Platform Evolution Approval
- Self-Evolution Engine proposes changes
- Admin dashboard shows: proposal, test results, risk assessment
- Brendon approves/rejects

### Content Moderation (Future)
- If platform has community features
- AI flags, human reviews

### Billing Disputes
- Always escalated to human
- Never auto-resolved
