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Overview

GAIA integrates with Gmail to help you manage your inbox, compose messages, and automate email workflows. Use AI to summarize emails, draft responses, and take bulk actions on messages.

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Setting up email integration

1

Connect Gmail

Navigate to Settings > Integrations and click Connect Gmail.
2

Authorize access

Grant GAIA permission to read, send, and manage your emails.
3

Start managing emails

Once connected, access your inbox from the Mail section in the sidebar.
GAIA connects to your Gmail account using secure OAuth authentication. Your credentials are never stored.

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Inbox overview

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Email list view

The main email view displays:
  • Sender: Who sent the email
  • Subject: Email subject line
  • Preview: First few lines of the email body
  • Date: When the email was received
  • Status indicators: Unread, starred, or has attachments

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Loading and pagination

Emails are loaded in batches of 20 for better performance. Scroll to load more messages automatically. The inbox uses efficient pagination from apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:13.

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Search and filters

Find specific emails quickly:
  • Text search: Search by sender, subject, or content
  • Status filters: Show unread, starred, or archived messages
  • Date filters: Find emails from specific time periods
  • Label filters: Filter by Gmail labels
Use Gmail search syntax for advanced queries, like from:[email protected] subject:invoice.

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Reading emails

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Opening messages

Click any email to view the full content:
  • Full email body with proper formatting
  • Attachments (click to download)
  • Sender details and reply-to address
  • Email headers and metadata

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Email threads

GAIA displays email conversations as threads:
  • See all messages in the conversation
  • Collapsed view for easy navigation
  • Expand individual messages to read them
  • Thread context helps understand the conversation flow
Threads are retrieved via apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:347.

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AI summaries

Get instant email summaries powered by AI:
1

Open the email

Click on any email in your inbox to view it.
2

Click Summarize

Look for the Summarize button in the email viewer.
3

Read the summary

GAIA will analyze the email and provide a concise summary of the key points, action items, and important information.
Summaries are especially useful for:
  • Long emails or threads
  • Complex discussions
  • Quick triage of your inbox
  • Understanding emails in different languages
Email summaries are generated using AI and include importance scoring from apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:291.

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Email actions

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Basic actions

Perform common email operations:
  • Click the envelope icon on an email
  • Or ask GAIA: “Mark this email as read”
  • Keep track of messages you need to revisit
  • Click the star icon to mark important messages
  • Starred emails are easier to find later
  • Filter your inbox to show only starred messages
  • Remove emails from inbox without deleting them
  • Archived emails can be found in Gmail’s All Mail
  • Great for keeping inbox clean while preserving history
  • Delete emails you don’t need
  • Trashed emails can be restored within 30 days
  • Or use untrash to restore immediately
All actions can be performed via the UI or by asking GAIA in chat.

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Bulk operations

Manage multiple emails at once:
1

Select emails

Use checkboxes to select multiple messages in your inbox.
2

Choose action

From the bulk action menu, select:
  • Mark as read/unread: Update read status for all selected
  • Star/Unstar: Mark multiple as important
  • Archive: Clean up inbox in bulk
  • Trash: Delete multiple messages
3

Confirm

The action applies to all selected emails immediately.
Bulk operations are optimized for performance and use dedicated API endpoints at apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:105.
Bulk delete operations are permanent after 30 days. Review your selections carefully.

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Composing emails

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Manual composition

1

Click Compose

Find the Compose button in the mail interface.
2

Fill in details

Enter the email information:
  • To: Recipient email addresses
  • Cc/Bcc: Additional recipients (optional)
  • Subject: Email subject line
  • Body: Your message content
  • Attachments: Upload files (optional)
3

Send or save draft

Click Send to deliver the email, or Save Draft to finish later.

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AI-powered composition

Let GAIA write emails for you:
1

Describe the email

Tell GAIA what you want to write: “Compose an email to the team about the project update”
2

Provide context

Give key points or information to include:
  • Main message
  • Tone (formal, friendly, professional)
  • Length preference
  • Action items or next steps
3

Review and refine

GAIA generates a draft. You can:
  • Use it as-is
  • Ask GAIA to revise: “Make it more concise”
  • Edit manually before sending
4

Send

Once satisfied, send the email directly from GAIA.
AI composition works great for common email types: follow-ups, meeting requests, status updates, thank you notes, and more.

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AI writing options

Customize AI-generated emails with these options:
  • Writing style: Professional, friendly, formal, casual
  • Content length: Brief, standard, detailed
  • Clarity option: Concise, balanced, comprehensive
  • Tone: Adjust for your audience and context
These options are available via the AI compose interface from apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:276.

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Reply and forward

Respond to emails efficiently: Reply:
  • Click Reply on any email
  • GAIA pre-fills recipient and subject
  • Write your response or use AI to draft it
Reply All:
  • Respond to all recipients in a thread
  • Useful for group conversations
Forward:
  • Share emails with others
  • Add context or notes before forwarding

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Drafts

Work on emails over time:
  • Drafts are saved automatically in Gmail
  • Resume editing from your draft folder
  • Send drafts when ready using the Send Draft button
  • Draft sending is handled via apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:258

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Email intelligence

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Importance detection

GAIA analyzes emails to determine importance:
  • High importance: Urgent or critical messages
  • Medium importance: Standard work emails
  • Low importance: Newsletters, notifications
Important emails are highlighted in your inbox, helping you prioritize.

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Automatic summaries

GAIA can automatically summarize incoming emails:
  • Enable in Settings > Email > Auto-summarize
  • Summaries include key points and action items
  • Great for processing high-volume inboxes
  • Summaries are cached for fast access at apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:291
Bulk summary retrieval is optimized to fetch summaries for multiple emails at once from apps/web/src/features/mail/api/mailApi.ts:319.
Find emails using natural language:
  • “Show me emails from last week about the client project”
  • “Find unread messages from Sarah”
  • “Search for emails with attachments from this month”
GAIA translates your query into Gmail search syntax automatically.

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Email workflows

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Automated processing

Create workflows to handle emails automatically:
  • Auto-archive: Archive newsletters or low-priority senders
  • Auto-label: Categorize emails by sender or subject
  • Auto-forward: Forward specific emails to other accounts
  • Auto-respond: Send automatic replies to common queries
See the Workflow Creation guide for details.

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Email-triggered workflows

Trigger actions when emails arrive:
  • Create todos from emails with action items
  • Add calendar events from meeting invitations
  • Send notifications for important emails
  • Run custom automation based on email content

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Integration with other features

Calendar:
  • Create events from email meeting requests
  • Add meeting attendees from email threads
  • Schedule follow-ups directly from emails
Todos:
  • Convert action items to tasks
  • Link todos to original emails for context
  • Set due dates based on email urgency
Chat:
  • Ask questions about your emails
  • Get email summaries in conversation
  • Manage email actions through natural language

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Advanced features

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Contact management

GAIA learns from your email interactions:
  • Frequently contacted people appear in suggestions
  • Auto-complete for email addresses
  • View contact history and recent emails
  • Quick access from the contact list interface

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Email templates

Create reusable email templates:
  1. Write a common email (e.g., meeting request)
  2. Save as template with variables (e.g., [meeting time])
  3. Reuse the template and fill in variables
  4. Save time on repetitive emails

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Attachments

Manage email attachments:
  • View: Preview attachments in the email viewer
  • Download: Save attachments to your device
  • Upload: Attach files when composing
  • AI analysis: Ask GAIA about attachment contents

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Email scheduling

Schedule emails to send later:
  • Compose the email now
  • Set a future send time
  • Email sends automatically at the scheduled time
  • Great for time zone differences or optimal send times

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Tips for effective email management

Process inbox regularly

Review emails daily. Use archive, delete, or star to keep inbox clean.

Use AI summaries

Summarize long emails to save time. Focus on key points and action items.

Leverage bulk actions

Select multiple emails for faster processing. Archive or delete in batches.

Create email workflows

Automate repetitive email tasks. Let GAIA handle routine messages.

Use search effectively

Natural language search finds emails faster than scrolling.

Let AI draft replies

Save time composing responses. GAIA can write professional emails quickly.

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Troubleshooting

  1. Check your Gmail connection in Settings
  2. Verify you have internet connectivity
  3. Try refreshing the mail view
  4. Reconnect your Gmail account if needed
  1. Ensure Gmail is properly connected
  2. Check that you have send permissions
  3. Verify recipient addresses are valid
  4. Check for attachment size limits (25MB)
  1. Ensure you’re on a paid plan with AI features
  2. Try refreshing the email
  3. Check that the email has sufficient content
  1. Check your Gmail filters and labels
  2. Search in Gmail directly to verify
  3. Refresh the GAIA mail view
  4. Check if emails are in spam or trash

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Next steps

Workflow Creation

Automate email processing with workflows.

Chat Interface

Manage emails through natural language conversations.

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