# Email alfred_ reads the mail in the accounts you connect. It finds messages, summarizes threads, tells you what needs an answer, drafts replies for you to approve, files low-priority mail, and keeps the list of replies you owe. Source: https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email Updated: 2026-10-24 | At a glance | | | - | - | | Works with | Gmail and Google Workspace, Outlook and Microsoft 365 (including shared mailboxes), iCloud Mail and other IMAP mailboxes | | Needs | At least one connected account, up to six in all. You grant read and send access when you connect. | | Use it from | Inbox on the web, chat, text, the iPhone app, email, Claude and ChatGPT | | Sends mail | When you approve it. The exceptions are things you set up yourself: a rule that forwards, a routine told to send without asking, and a meeting thread you copy alfred_ on | | On by default | Drafting replies to mail that needs one, and moving low-priority mail to Archive. Both can be switched off per address. | ## What it can do | Capability | What you get | | - | - | | Find messages | Search every connected account at once, by sender, recipient, date, unread, attachments or what the email says. | | Summarize a thread | The short version of a long conversation, with what was asked and what's still open. | | Show what needs you | Emails that need a reply or a decision from you come first on Home and in your morning brief. | | Draft replies | Written from the thread in your voice: when you ask, and on their own for mail that needs a reply. Nothing is sent until you approve it. See [Drafts and approvals](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email/drafts). | | Track follow-ups | A standing list of the replies you owe, and the ones you're waiting on whenever you ask. See [Follow-up tracking](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email/follow-up-tracking). | | File low-priority mail | Newsletters, promotions, notifications and shipping updates go to Archive, so the inbox holds mail from people. Nothing is deleted. | | Suggest tasks | Things you've been asked to do become suggested tasks for you to accept. See [Tasks & reminders](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/tasks). | | Follow your rules | Standing instructions in a sentence, like "text me when Dana emails" or "move receipts to Receipts". See [Email rules](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email/rules). | ## How alfred_ decides what needs you Each email is read once when it arrives, and the thread is updated as replies come in. alfred_ looks at: - **Who sent it.** A client or colleague writing to you is different from a newsletter, a receipt or an automated alert. - **What it asks.** A question, a request, a deadline, an approval, an invite, money. - **Whose move it is.** If the last message asks you for something, it's your move. If you asked and they haven't answered, you're waiting on them. - **The rest of the thread.** A third "just checking in" matters more than the first. You don't maintain a list of who matters. To change how something is handled, say it in a sentence, such as "anything from @acmelaw.com is a client, put it first", and it becomes an [email rule](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/email/rules). ## How to ask Ask the way you'd ask a person, in chat, by text, or in Claude and ChatGPT. Name the person or company when you can. - What needs my attention today? - Find the last email from Harbor Facilities about the invoice - Summarize my thread with Dana about the new schedule - Reply to Marcus and say Thursday works - Archive the newsletters from this morning ## What happens Questions get an answer with links to the emails it came from. Requests to write something come back as a draft for you to check. > *Example, by text. Names are made up.* > > **You:** Reply to Marcus and say Thursday works > > **alfred_:** Here's a draft to Marcus Lee: > > "Hi Marcus, Thursday works for us. See you then." > > Reply 1 to send, 2 to change it, 3 to cancel. ## Approval and control | When alfred_… | What happens | | - | - | | Reads and searches | On its own, across the accounts you connected. | | Drafts a reply | Shows it to you first, on Home, in chat or by text. You send, edit, save it to Drafts, or discard it. | | Sends an email you asked for | Only when you approve it. | | Archives, moves, labels or deletes a few emails you name | Does it right away and tells you, because it can be undone: archived mail stays in Archive, deleted mail goes to Trash. Say "undo" to put it back. | | Cleans up by sender or search, or more than 25 emails | Shows you how many emails and which accounts first, and waits for your yes. | | Files low-priority mail | On its own, if Auto-archive is on for that address (it is by default). Turn it off under **Settings → Email**. | | Runs an automation you set up | A rule that only labels mail or texts you is saved right away. A rule that archives, moves or forwards is shown to you before it's saved, then runs on each matching email. Rules can't reply. | ![Settings, Email: switches for Auto-archive low-priority mail, CRM logging, Email drafting with one switch per mailbox, whether drafts go to your mail app's Drafts, and Email labeling.](https://get-alfred.ai/blog-images/docs/settings-email.jpg) *Settings → Email on a test account, where auto-archive and drafting are switched on or off. The address is hidden.* Anything alfred_ does to your mail happens in Gmail or Outlook too. Your mail stays with your provider. ## Limits and troubleshooting | Situation | What to know | | - | - | | Up to six accounts | Gmail, Outlook, IMAP and Microsoft shared mailboxes all count toward the six. Connect them under Settings → Connected Accounts. | | An answer misses an email | Check the account is still connected, then ask again with the sender's name. | | A newly connected inbox looks empty | Recent mail arrives first; older mail fills in over the next few minutes. | | Outlook won't connect | Some work accounts need an admin's approval first. See [Microsoft 365 admin approval](https://get-alfred.ai/docs/connect/microsoft-admin-approval). | | Something important was archived | Find it in Archive, then tell alfred_ in a sentence ("anything from Harbor Facilities is a client") so it stays in the inbox next time. Or turn Auto-archive off for that address. | | You don't want drafts written on their own | Turn off **Email drafting** for that address under Settings → Email. You can still ask for a draft any time. |