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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.generect.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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What Is a Catch-All Email and Why Validation Matters

Definition:
A catch-all domain is configured to accept any email address, even if the mailbox does not actually exist.
This means the server always replies “accepted”, making standard SMTP validation unreliable. Example: 
info@company.com        → accepted    
sales@company.com       → accepted    
anyname@company.com     → accepted    
randomtext@company.com  → also accepted
In catch-all domains, an SMTP check cannot determine whether a specific mailbox is real because the server confirms every possible address.

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Why this matters

  • It’s impossible to confirm real mailbox existence using standard validation
  • High risk of bounce rate
  • Potential negative impact on your sender reputation
  • Harder to filter high-quality contacts for outreach
  • Increases campaign risk, especially at scale

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Why additional validation is needed

Generect applies enhanced intelligence signals to estimate whether a catch-all email is likely to be deliverable. The system provides a confidence score, helping you decide whether to include such emails in your outreach.

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How Generect Validates Catch-All Emails

Generect uses a combined, multi-layered approach to evaluate catch-all emails more accurately than a standard SMTP check.

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Validation Process

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SMTP Check (baseline validation)

Checks whether the server accepts emails.
On catch-all domains the response is always “accepted” → therefore insufficient on its own.

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Pattern Analysis (AI-driven)

The system analyzes:
  • whether the email matches the company’s known email pattern
  • similarity to other confirmed valid emails from the same domain
  • frequency of this email format in previous validations

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Historical Data Review

Generect checks:
  • past successful deliveries to similar addresses
  • whether similar formats previously resulted in bounces
  • patterns observed across the domain

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Public Records Matching

Generect searches for external signals verifying the address, including:
  • corporate websites
  • email signatures
  • mentions in public documents
  • references in social profiles (e.g., LinkedIn)

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Deliverability Score (final result)

Every email receives a predicted deliverability score:
  • Low (30–50%)
  • Medium (50–75%)
  • High (75–95%)
This is not a guarantee but provides a realistic risk assessment for catch-all domains.
Use catch-all validation confidence scores to prioritize your outreach. High confidence scores (75%+) are generally safer to include in campaigns.
Even with high confidence scores, catch-all emails carry more risk than standard validated emails. Consider this when planning large-scale campaigns.