Documentation
Everything you need to know about using Email PA to manage your inbox more efficiently.
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Getting Started
Welcome to Email PA! 👋
Email PA is your AI-powered personal assistant for Gmail. It automatically categorizes your emails, drafts replies in your voice, and reminds you to follow up when people haven't responded. Think of it as having a smart assistant who reads all your emails and helps you focus on what matters most.
🚀 Quick Start (3 Steps)
- Sign in with Google – Click "Continue with Google" and authorize Email PA to access your Gmail.
- Initial sync – We'll process your recent emails to learn your inbox patterns (usually takes a few minutes).
- Configure your preferences – Visit Settings to customize categorization, draft replies, and follow-up reminders.
What Email PA Does For You
Organizes Your Inbox
Automatically labels every email so you know exactly what needs attention and what doesn't.
Drafts Replies
Creates personalized draft responses for emails that need your reply – you just review and send.
Follow-up Reminders
Tracks emails you've sent and reminds you when someone hasn't replied yet.
Custom Automations
Create workflows that trigger SMS alerts, Slack messages, or email forwards automatically.
Dashboard Overview
The Dashboard is your home base in Email PA. It gives you a quick overview of what's happening in your inbox and what needs your attention.
What You'll See
👋Welcome Card
At the top of your dashboard, you'll see a dynamic welcome card that changes based on your inbox status:
🆕 New User
Welcome tutorial with a sync button to get started processing your emails.
📥 Emails Need Attention
Shows count of emails to respond to, with quick links to review drafts or open Gmail.
✅ All Caught Up
Celebrates your inbox zero status with fun messages and a celebrate button!
📬Priority Inbox
This section highlights emails that need your immediate attention – specifically those categorized as "To Respond" that are still in your inbox. These are the emails Email PA thinks you should reply to.
📧Latest Emails
See your most recently processed emails with their categories, intents, and draft status. Click any email to see its full details and history.
⚡Automation Activity
Keep track of which automations have been triggered recently and how many times each one has run.
Understanding Email Status Badges
Each email also shows its category badge (like "To Respond", "FYI", "Marketing") and, if detected, its intent (like "Sales Inquiry", "Meeting Request").
Navigation
From the dashboard, you can quickly access:
- Settings – Configure categorization, drafts, follow-ups, and more
- Automations – View and create custom workflow automations
- Digest – See detailed analytics about your email patterns
- Emails – Browse and search through all processed emails
Email Categorization
Email PA's intelligent categorization is the foundation of how it helps you manage your inbox. Every incoming email is automatically analyzed and labeled so you can quickly see what needs your attention.
How It Works
- Email arrives → Email PA is notified via Gmail's push notifications
- Custom rules check → First, your custom rules are applied (if any match)
- AI analysis → If no rules match, our AI analyzes the email's content, sender, and context
- Label applied → The email gets a Gmail label and optionally auto-archived
The 8 Categories
Emails that need your reply – questions, requests, or conversations where you're directly addressed.
Informational emails for your awareness – no response needed, but good to know.
Comments on shared documents, collaborative threads, or discussion responses.
Automated system notifications, receipts, confirmations, and alerts.
Calendar invites, meeting changes, rescheduling notices, and event updates.
Threads where you've sent a message and are waiting for the other person to respond.
Emails you've already handled or responded to – complete and done.
Promotional emails, newsletters, and marketing messages.
Auto-Archive
For each category, you can choose whether to automatically archive (remove from inbox) emails of that type. This keeps your inbox focused on what matters most.
Settings
Go to Settings → Categorization to configure:
- Enable/disable categorization – Turn the entire feature on or off
- Respect my categories – Skip emails that already have labels or filters applied
- Auto-archive per category – Choose which categories should be automatically removed from your inbox
"Respect My Categories" Explained
When enabled, Email PA will skip categorizing emails that already have organizational signals. This is useful if you have existing Gmail filters or workflows.
When "Respect My Categories" is ON, Email PA skips emails that:
- Already have Gmail labels (other than system labels like "Inbox", "Sent")
- Were moved by Gmail filters to specific folders
- Have been manually organized by you
- Are in nested labels or categories you've created
✅ Turn ON if you:
- Have existing Gmail filters that work well
- Use labels for specific projects or clients
- Want Email PA to only handle "unlabeled" mail
- Have a hybrid manual + automated system
❌ Turn OFF if you:
- Want Email PA to categorize everything
- Don't use Gmail labels or filters
- Want consistent categorization across all mail
- Are new to Gmail organization
Custom Rules & Instructions
Custom rules and AI instructions let you fine-tune how Email PA categorizes your emails. Rules provide exact matching for specific senders, while AI instructions give the classifier additional context about your preferences.
When to Use Rules
✅ Great for
- VIP clients who should always be "To Respond"
- Internal newsletters that are always "FYI"
- Specific systems that send notifications
⚠️ Consider
- Rules are exact – AI might be more flexible
- Too many rules can be hard to manage
- Start with AI, add rules only when needed
🎯 Best Practice
- Use for consistent, predictable senders
- Let AI handle varied email types
- Review and prune rules periodically
Creating a Rule
Go to Settings → Categorization → Custom Rules to create new rules.
Rule Components
Match Type
Choose what part of the email to match:
- Sender – Match the sender's email address (e.g., "boss@company.com")
- Domain – Match the sender's domain (e.g., "company.com" matches all emails from that company)
- Subject – Match text in the email subject line
Pattern
The text to match against. Matching is case-insensitive and supports partial matches.
Category
Which category to assign when this rule matches.
Priority
When multiple rules could match, higher priority rules are checked first. Use 0 for normal priority.
Understanding Rule Priority
When an email could match multiple rules, Email PA uses priority to decide which rule wins. Rules are evaluated from highest priority (largest number) to lowest.
Priority Example
Imagine you have these two rules:
| Rule | Match | Category | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule A | Domain: company.com | FYI | 0 |
| Rule B | Sender: ceo@company.com | To Respond | 10 |
An email from ceo@company.com matches BOTH rules. Because Rule B has higher priority (10 > 0), the email is categorized as "To Respond" – which is exactly what you want for your CEO's emails.
When to Use Higher Priority
- VIP senders who override domain rules
- Specific subjects that override sender rules
- Exceptions to broad domain rules
Priority Best Practices
- Use 0 for most rules (default)
- Use 10+ for important exceptions
- Use 100+ for critical overrides
- Keep a mental hierarchy: Domain < Sender < VIP
Examples
| Match Type | Pattern | Category | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sender | ceo@mycompany.com | To Respond | Always prioritize emails from your CEO |
| Domain | newsletter.com | Marketing | Catch all emails from a newsletter service |
| Subject | Notification | Tag system-generated emails |
AI Classification Instructions
In addition to exact-match rules, you can give the AI custom instructions for categorization. This is useful when you want to guide the AI's decisions without creating rules for every scenario.
When to Use AI Instructions vs Rules
Use Rules When:
- You know the exact sender or domain
- The categorization should ALWAYS be the same
- You want guaranteed, deterministic behavior
Use AI Instructions When:
- You want to guide decisions without exact matches
- Context matters (e.g., "usually" or "if applicable")
- You're describing patterns or preferences
Example Instructions
"Emails from @bigclient.com are always 'to_respond'"
"Treat newsletters from industry sources as 'fyi' not 'marketing'"
"GitHub notifications should be 'notification' not 'to_respond'"
Go to Settings → Categorization → Custom Rules & Instructions to add your AI instructions.
AI Draft Replies
One of Email PA's most powerful features is automatically generating draft replies for emails that need your response. Instead of staring at a blank compose window, you'll have a thoughtful starting point ready to review.
How It Works
- Email categorized as "To Respond" → Email PA identifies emails that need your reply
- AI generates draft → Based on the email content and your preferences, a draft is created
- Draft saved to Gmail → The draft appears in your Gmail Drafts folder, properly threaded
- You review & send → Edit if needed, then send when ready
Reply Preferences
Tell Email PA when you typically reply to emails:
Reply to Everything
"I reply to almost everything, even just to be polite" – Default to drafting replies unless it's clearly spam.
Reply When Useful
"I reply when I can add value or something new" – Skip drafts if nothing helpful would be added.
Reply to Direct Questions
"I only reply to direct questions or requests" – Draft replies only for explicit asks.
Custom Tone & Instructions
Make the AI sound more like you by providing custom instructions:
Example Instructions
"Keep replies short and casual. Use first names. Don't be overly formal – we're a startup, not a law firm. Sign off with 'Cheers' not 'Best regards'."
You can include guidance about tone, length, formatting, phrases to use or avoid, and your communication style.
Reviewing Drafts
When a draft is ready, you'll see a "Draft Ready" badge on the email in your dashboard. From there you can:
- View the draft – See the AI-generated response and the original email
- Edit in Gmail – Make changes directly in your Gmail drafts
- Send – Send the reply when you're satisfied
- Discard – Delete the draft if you don't need it
Scheduling Link
Make it easy to schedule meetings by adding your calendar link:
How It Works
When enabled, Email PA will include your scheduling link in draft replies when a meeting would be helpful to move things forward.
"Would you like to hop on a quick call to discuss? Here's my calendar: https://calendly.com/yourname"
Works with Calendly, Cal.com, or any scheduling service. The link will be auto-clickable in the recipient's email client.
Settings
Go to Settings → Draft Settings to configure:
- Enable/disable draft replies – Turn AI drafts on or off
- Reply preference – Choose when you typically reply
- Custom tone – Add personalized instructions for the AI
- Scheduling link – Include your calendar link when meetings are suggested
Follow-up Reminders
Never let an important email slip through the cracks. Email PA tracks emails you've sent and reminds you when someone hasn't replied within your specified timeframe.
How It Works
- You send an email → Email PA notes that you're now waiting for a response
- Thread marked "Awaiting Reply" → The conversation is labeled and tracked
- Time passes → Email PA monitors for incoming replies
- No response received → After your configured number of days, the email is resurfaced
- Follow-up prompted → The thread moves back to "To Respond" with a suggested follow-up draft
The "Awaiting Reply" Status
When you send an email and you're the last person to message in the thread, Email PA automatically categorizes it as "Awaiting Reply." This happens because:
- The ball is in the other person's court
- You don't need to take action right now
- Email PA will remind you if they don't respond
Configuring Follow-up Timing
Choose how many days Email PA should wait before resurfacing unanswered emails:
1-2 days
For urgent business or time-sensitive matters
3-5 days
Recommended for most business emails
7+ days
For non-urgent communications or busy contacts
What Happens at Follow-up Time
When an email hasn't received a response within your timeframe:
- The email thread is moved back to "To Respond"
- You'll see it in your Priority Inbox
- If draft replies are enabled, a follow-up draft may be generated
- The original context is preserved so you know exactly what you're following up on
Settings
Go to Settings → Follow-up Settings to configure:
- Enable/disable follow-ups – Turn the feature on or off
- Days before follow-up – Set your preferred wait time (1-30 days)
Emails Page
The Emails page is your command center for viewing and managing all processed emails. Browse, filter, and take action on any email that Email PA has analyzed.
Accessing the Emails Page
Click Sync in the navigation bar to access the Emails page. From here you can browse all your processed emails and trigger a manual sync if needed.
Filtering Your Emails
Use the filter dropdowns at the top to narrow down what you're looking at:
Category Filter
Filter by any of the 8 categories – "To Respond", "FYI", "Marketing", etc. Great for focusing on emails that need action.
Intent Filter
Filter by detected intent – "Sales Inquiry", "Support Request", "Meeting Request", and more.
Draft Filter
Show emails "With drafts" (AI draft created), "Without drafts", or all.
Archive Filter
Show "Archived" emails, "Not archived" (still in inbox), or all mail.
Understanding Status Icons
Each email row shows quick status icons that tell you at a glance what's happened:
Email has been moved out of your inbox
Email is still in your Gmail inbox
AI draft reply has been generated
No AI draft for this email
A follow-up draft has been generated
Waiting for the recipient to respond
Taking Action on Emails
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on any email row to access quick actions:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Categorize with AI | Re-run AI categorization on this email (useful if context has changed) |
| Write draft with AI | Generate an AI draft reply (only shows for "To Respond" emails) |
| Manual category | Directly assign a category (To Respond, FYI, Marketing, etc.) |
| Generate Follow-up | Create a follow-up draft for "Awaiting Reply" emails |
Syncing Emails
Email PA processes emails in real-time, but you can manually sync if needed:
Sync Now Button
Click "Sync Now" in the top right to fetch recent emails from Gmail. Useful after re-enabling Email PA or if you suspect some emails weren't processed.
Email Detail Page
Click on any email to see its full details, activity history, and take additional actions.
What You'll See
Email Header
Subject, sender, and a snippet of the message. Click "Show full message" to expand the complete email body.
Status Cards
Quick view of category, inbox status, draft status, and follow-up status.
Activity Timeline
Chronological history of everything that happened to this email – categorization, draft creation, automation triggers, and more.
Timestamps
When the email was received, first processed, last updated, and when drafts/follow-ups were generated.
Draft & Follow-up Previews
If Email PA has generated content for this email, you'll see preview sections:
- Draft Preview – Shows the AI-generated reply draft. Review it here before editing in Gmail.
- Follow-up Preview – Shows the follow-up message generated when someone hasn't replied.
Taking Action
From the email detail page, you can:
- Navigate between emails – Use "Previous Email" and "Next Email" links at the top
- Generate Follow-up Draft – For "Awaiting Reply" emails, click the button to create a follow-up message
- View automation activity – See which automations triggered for this email and their success/failure status
Draft Review Workflow
The Draft Review page is your dedicated workspace for efficiently reviewing and sending AI-generated replies. Instead of jumping between Gmail and Email PA, you can power through your drafts in one focused session.
Accessing Draft Review
There are several ways to access the Draft Review page:
- From the Dashboard, click "Review Drafts" in the welcome card when emails need attention
- Click any "Draft Ready" badge on an email to jump directly to that draft
- Navigate to the Emails page and click on emails with the draft icon
The Review Interface
📨 Original Email (Top)
See the original email you're replying to – subject, sender, when it was received, and a snippet of the content. Click the external link icon to open it directly in Gmail.
✍️ Your Draft Response (Bottom)
The AI-generated draft appears in an editable text area. Review it, make changes, then decide what to do with it.
Navigation
When you have multiple drafts to review, use the navigation controls:
Previous
Go to the previous draft in your queue
Position
See where you are in your draft queue
Next
Skip to the next draft
Available Actions
Mark as Done
Mark this email as handled without sending anything. Use this when:
- You've already replied another way
- No response is actually needed
- You want to clear it from your queue
Save Edit
Save your edits to the draft without sending. Use this when:
- You want to edit now, send later
- You need more time to think
- You want to polish the response more
Send Now
Send the reply immediately. The email is sent from your Gmail account:
- Appears in your Gmail "Sent" folder
- Properly threaded with the conversation
- Email is marked as "Actioned"
Discard
Delete the draft entirely. Use this when:
- The AI draft isn't useful
- You want to write your own reply from scratch
- The email shouldn't have gotten a draft
Workflow Tips
🚀 Power Through Your Drafts
- Review – Read the original email and the AI draft
- Edit (if needed) – Make changes to match your voice or add information
- Send or Save – Send immediately or save for later
- Next – Move to the next draft automatically
Email Analytics
The Digest gives you powerful insights into your email patterns – who's emailing you, who you're emailing, what types of emails you receive, and how you're managing your inbox over time.
Accessing Analytics
Click Digest in the navigation menu to access your email analytics dashboard.
Date Range Filtering
Filter your analytics to focus on specific time periods using the dropdown in the top right:
Current day's activity
Previous day's activity
Current calendar week
Previous calendar week
Rolling 7-day window
Rolling 30-day window
Current calendar month
Previous calendar month
Current calendar year
Previous calendar year
Summary Statistics
At the top of the Digest, you'll see four key metrics for the selected period:
Emails Received
Total incoming emails
Emails Categorized
Successfully labeled
Emails Archived
Moved out of inbox
Drafts Created
AI replies generated
Activity Chart
The main chart shows your email activity over time. Use the dropdown to switch between different data series:
Available Chart Series
Emails that arrived in your inbox
Emails that were labeled
Emails moved out of inbox
AI draft replies created
Emails you've sent
Breakdown Reports
Below the chart, you'll find four breakdown reports. Click "See all" to view the complete list for each:
Categories
See how your emails are distributed across the 8 categories. Click any category to jump to filtered emails.
Intents
Understand the purpose of your emails – sales inquiries, support requests, meeting requests, etc.
Top Senders
Discover who sends you the most emails. Great for identifying high-volume contacts or noisy senders.
Top Recipients
See who you email most frequently. Useful for understanding your outbound communication.
Understanding Intents
Email PA's AI can detect the underlying purpose of an email. This helps with automations and gives you deeper insights:
Someone interested in buying
Help or assistance needed
Scheduling a call or meeting
Progress or project updates
Files or documents being shared
Appreciation or gratitude
Follow-up or deadline reminder
News or announcements
General questions or inquiries
Using Analytics Effectively
Ideas for using your analytics:
- Identify automation opportunities – If one sender sends lots of "Notification" emails, create a rule to auto-archive them
- Spot communication imbalances – Are you emailing someone a lot more than they email you? Might be time to schedule a call instead
- Reduce email overload – High volume of Marketing emails? Consider unsubscribing from some lists
- Prioritize relationships – See which contacts generate the most "To Respond" emails and ensure those get attention
- Track your productivity – Compare "Received" vs "Drafts" to see how Email PA is helping you respond faster
Automations
Automations let you create powerful workflows that trigger when specific emails arrive. Get instant alerts, route emails to the right people, or connect to other tools – all automatically.
Standard Automations
Email PA includes three built-in automations that you can enable in Settings:
📂 Categorization
Automatically categorize and label every incoming email.
Then: Apply intelligent category labels
✍️ Draft Replies
Generate AI draft responses for emails needing replies.
Then: Create personalized draft
🔔 Follow-up Reminders
Resurface emails when you haven't received a reply.
Then: Move back to "To Respond"
Custom Automations
Create your own automations by combining triggers and actions:
Triggers (When)
Specific Intent
Trigger when AI detects a specific purpose – like sales inquiries, support requests, or meeting requests.
Specific Sender
Trigger for emails from a particular person or email address.
Contains Keyword
Trigger when the subject or body contains specific words.
From Domain
Trigger for all emails from a specific company domain.
Actions (Then)
📱 Send SMS
Get instant text message alerts on your phone.
💬 Post to Slack
Send notifications to a Slack channel.
📨 Forward Email
Automatically forward to another address.
🔗 Send to Webhook
Connect to Zapier, Make, or custom services.
Creating an Automation
Go to Automations → New Automation to use the step-by-step wizard:
- Step 1: Choose trigger – Select what should initiate the automation
- Step 2: Choose action – Select what should happen when triggered
- Step 3: Review & activate – Name your automation and turn it on
Example Use Cases
| Automation | Trigger | Action |
|---|---|---|
| VIP Client Alerts | Email from @bigclient.com | Send SMS to your phone |
| Support Routing | Intent: Support Request | Post to #support Slack channel |
| Contract Review | Keyword: "contract" | Forward to legal@company.com |
| Sales Lead Capture | Intent: Sales Inquiry | Send to CRM webhook |
Organizations & Teams
Organizations let you collaborate with teammates, share settings, and manage Email PA as a team. Perfect for businesses where multiple people need intelligent email management.
What Organizations Offer
Team Management
Add teammates and manage who has access to your organization.
Centralized Billing
One subscription for your whole team, easier expense management.
Role-Based Access
Owners manage the organization, members use Email PA.
Creating an Organization
Go to Settings → Company to create or manage your organization.
- Create organization – Give your organization a name (e.g., your company name)
- Invite teammates – Enter their email addresses to send invitations
- They sign in – Invited users join automatically when they sign in with Google
Inviting Team Members
To invite someone to your organization:
- Go to Settings → Company
- Enter the email address of the person you want to invite
- Click "Preview" to see the invitation email
- Click "Send invite" to send the invitation
Roles & Permissions
| Role | Can Do |
|---|---|
| Owner |
|
| Member |
|
Managing Members
As an owner, you can:
- View all members – See who's in your organization and their roles
- Remove members – Remove someone's access to the organization
- Revoke invites – Cancel pending invitations that haven't been accepted yet
Team-Wide AI Instructions
Owners and admins can set AI instructions that apply to all team members. This ensures consistent email handling across your organization.
Classification Instructions
Guide how emails are categorized for everyone:
"Support tickets from Zendesk should be 'to_respond'"
Draft Instructions
Set tone and formatting guidelines for AI drafts:
"Always sign off with 'Best, [Name]'"
Go to Settings → Company → AI Instructions to configure team-wide settings.
Gmail Integration
Email PA works directly with Gmail, creating labels and drafts that appear in your regular Gmail app. Understanding this integration helps you get the most out of Email PA.
How Email PA Connects
- OAuth sign-in – You sign in with Google and grant Email PA permission to access your Gmail
- Real-time notifications – Gmail sends us a notification whenever a new email arrives
- Processing – We analyze the email and apply categories, drafts, etc.
- Gmail updates – Labels and drafts are created directly in your Gmail account
Labels Created by Email PA
Email PA creates the following labels in your Gmail (you'll see them in the sidebar):
Emails needing your reply
Informational emails
Document comments, discussions
System notifications
Calendar & meeting emails
Waiting for response
Already handled
Promotional emails
AI-Generated Drafts
When Email PA creates a draft reply:
- The draft appears in your Gmail Drafts folder
- It's properly threaded – attached to the correct conversation
- Opening the email shows the draft as a reply
- You can edit it in Gmail just like any other draft
- Nothing is sent until you click Send
Syncing Emails
Email PA processes emails in real-time as they arrive. If you need to manually sync:
Manual Sync
Click the "Sync" button on your Dashboard to trigger a manual synchronization. This fetches recent emails that may have been missed.
Permissions Explained
When you sign in, Email PA requests these Gmail permissions:
| Permission | Why We Need It |
|---|---|
| Read emails | To analyze and categorize your incoming messages |
| Modify labels | To apply category labels to your emails |
| Create drafts | To generate AI draft replies in your Gmail |
| Send emails | To send invites and (with your approval) forward emails via automations |
Using Gmail Alongside Email PA
Email PA is designed to enhance Gmail, not replace it:
- ✅ Continue using Gmail normally – web, mobile, or desktop
- ✅ All labels and drafts are in Gmail – no separate app needed
- ✅ Gmail filters and rules still work – Email PA respects them if configured
- ✅ You're always in control – nothing sends without your approval
Privacy & Security
We take your privacy seriously. Here's everything you need to know about how Email PA handles your data.
Our Privacy Principles
Your Data Stays Yours
We don't sell your data. We don't use your emails to train AI models. Your information is used only to provide the service.
Encryption Everywhere
All data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256). Your emails are protected at every step.
Delete Anytime
Close your account and we promptly delete your data. You're always in control.
Minimal Access
We only request Gmail permissions that are necessary for the features you use.
How We Use AI
Email PA uses AI to categorize emails and generate draft replies. Here's how it works:
What we share with AI models
- Email subject lines and body text (for categorization and drafts)
- Sender information (to understand context)
- Your custom instructions (to personalize drafts)
What we DON'T do
- ❌ We don't use your data to train public AI models
- ❌ We don't store your emails longer than necessary
- ❌ We don't share your data with third parties for advertising
Data We Store
| Data Type | Purpose | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Email metadata | Track categories, intents, and processing status | While your account is active |
| Your settings | Remember your preferences and rules | While your account is active |
| Automation logs | Show you when automations triggered | 30 days |
| Account info | Authentication and billing | While your account is active |
Account Security
We use industry best practices to keep your account secure:
- Google OAuth – We never see your Google password. Authentication is handled securely by Google.
- Token security – Access tokens are encrypted and stored securely.
- Regular audits – We conduct annual security audits through third-party firms.
- Infrastructure – Hosted on Heroku (Salesforce) with SOC 2 Type II certification.
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you have rights regarding your personal data:
🇪🇺 European Users (GDPR)
- Access your data
- Correct inaccuracies
- Request deletion
- Data portability
- Object to processing
🇺🇸 California Users (CCPA/CPRA)
- Know what data we collect
- Request deletion
- Opt-out of data sales (we don't sell data)
- Non-discrimination
Contact Us
For privacy questions or to exercise your rights:
Email:support@emailpa.com
We respond to all privacy requests within 30 days (45 days for California residents).