Know which emails need you before you open your inbox.
Inbox triage is an AI email triage agent. It reads your unread Gmail or Outlook mail from the last 24 hours, sorts every email into needs a reply, FYI or can wait, and posts one summary to Slack with a next step for each reply. It only reads. You build it in Arclyx from one sentence.
- 08:00Schedule fired
- 08:00Found unread mail from the last 24 hours
- 08:00Opened threads that needed a closer look
- 08:01Sorted every email into one pile
- 08:01Posted summary · 2 need a reply
Why does email triage take so long?
Because you have to open an email to know if it matters. Newsletters, receipts and real requests arrive in one list, and filters only catch what you predicted. So the morning goes on reading everything, and the customer question that needed an answer waits under the rest.
Without it
- Every email opened to find out if it matters.
- A customer question buried under newsletters.
- Filters that file away mail you needed.
- Replies that wait because nobody saw them.
With Inbox triage
- Every unread email sorted into one of three piles.
- What needs a reply comes first, with a next step.
- Nothing in your inbox moved, labelled or marked read.
- One summary in one channel.
How does AI email triage sort your inbox?
Every unread email goes into exactly one of three piles. What needs a reply comes first, and nothing is left out.
Needs a reply
Email that's waiting on you: a question, a request, a decision. Each comes with who sent it, a one-line reason and a suggested next step.
FYI
Email worth knowing about that needs nothing from you. One line each, so you can read the lot in a minute.
Can wait
Email you can read later or not at all, kept compact or grouped by sender.
An empty inbox
If there's no unread mail from the last 24 hours, it says so in one line rather than posting an empty summary.
How does an AI email triage agent work?
Every run follows the same four steps, then posts one summary. It reads Gmail or Outlook and writes only to Slack or your inbox.
- 1
Finds unread mail
Everything unread from the last 24 hours.
Gmail - 2
Reads what's there
Sender, subject and the first lines of each email.
Gmail - 3
Opens a thread only when needed
When the first lines aren't enough to decide.
Gmail - 4
Sorts and posts one summary
Needs a reply first, each with a reason and a next step.
Slack
- Weekdays at 8:00, before your first meeting
- @inbox-triage what came in since lunch?
- Run from a phone shortcut when you want a fresh sort
From one sentence to a sorted inbox in Slack.
Describe the job, let Arclyx draft the agent, test it once on your real inbox, then read what lands in #my-inbox. Your inbox stays exactly as it was.
Paste the sentence. Arclyx picks the tools it needs and asks what it can't work out.
What should it do?
Every weekday at 8, read my unread Gmail from the last 24 hours, sort each email into needs a reply, FYI or can wait, and send me one summary in #my-inbox with a next step for each reply.
- Tools it can use
- Gmail
- Slack
- Where should the summary go?
- Slack · #my-inbox
It writes the instructions and connects the tools. Nothing runs until you say so.
- Reading your description
- Writing the instructions
- Connecting the tools
Inbox triage
- Gmail
- Slack
Weekdays, 8:00
Try it once on your real tools. Every round is recorded: what it thought, which tool it used.
- Finds unread mailGmail · Search
- Opens threads that need itGmail · Get thread ×3
- Sorts and posts the summarySlack · Post
The output lands where you said, with a source for every item.
Asked whether their renewal can move to annual billing before Friday.
Next step: reply with the annual price, or say who will.
↗ example-a.com/ · Renewal questionSent a revised contract and wants a yes or no on the new terms.
Next step: check the changed payment terms, then reply.
↗ example-b.com/ · Revised contractMoved Thursday's call to 15:00. Calendar invite updated.
Nothing to do.
↗ example-c.com/ · Call movedInvoice for October sent. Paid by card on file.
Nothing to do unless the amount looks wrong.
↗ example-d.com/ · October invoiceTwo newsletters and a webinar invite.
Read when you have time.
↗ example-e.com/ · Newsletters
One summary, a quieter morning.
The same sorted summary helps anyone whose inbox fills up faster than they can read it.
Founders
The three emails that matter, before the day starts.
Operations
Vendor and customer requests that need an answer, in one list.
Executive assistants
A sorted view of a shared inbox to work from.
Sales
Customer and prospect emails that need an answer, at the top.
How do you triage email with AI?
Give an AI agent read access to your inbox, three piles to sort into, and a place to report. Each run it reads your unread mail, puts every email in exactly one pile, and posts one summary with what needs a reply first. In Arclyx that's five steps, starting with one sentence.
“Every weekday at 8, read my unread Gmail from the last 24 hours, sort each email into needs a reply, FYI or can wait, and send me one summary in #my-inbox with a next step for each reply.”
- 1
Describe the job
One sentence: which mail, how often, and where the summary goes.
- 2
Connect Gmail or Outlook
Arclyx asks for read access to your mailbox. It can't send from it or change anything in it.
- 3
Connect Slack
Pick the one channel it may post to, such as a private channel for you.
- 4
Watch a dry run
Optional. See one full run on your real inbox before anything is posted.
- 5
Schedule it
Weekdays at 8:00, or any time that suits you.
Or start from one of these sentences
“Every weekday at 17:00, sort my unread Gmail from today into needs a reply, FYI or can wait, and post it to #my-inbox.”
“When I ask, sort my unread Gmail from the last 24 hours and list only what needs a reply, oldest first.”
“Every morning, sort my unread Outlook mail and put anything from a customer at the top of needs a reply, with a suggested next step.”
“Every hour in working hours, sort the unread mail in our support Gmail and post what needs a reply to #support-inbox.”
AI email triage vs Gmail filters.
Doing it by hand, Gmail filters and importance markers each cover part of the job. Here is what each one does, and doesn't, do.
| By hand | Gmail filters | Gmail importance markers | Inbox triage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Looks at every new email | When you get to it | Only mail that matches a rule | Yes, and marks what it predicts is important | Yes, every unread email |
| Decides by | Your judgement | The search criteria you set | Who you email and what you open | What each email says |
| Says what to do next | You work it out | No | No | Yes, for each email that needs a reply |
| Changes your inbox | Yes, as you go | Yes: labels, archives, deletes or forwards | Adds a marker | No, it only reads |
| What you get | An inbox to read | Mail filed under labels | A marker on important mail | One sorted summary in Slack |
Source: Gmail help: create rules to filter your emails, checked 17 October 2026. Source: Gmail help: importance markers in Gmail, checked 17 October 2026.
Is it safe to let an AI agent read your email?
It can search and read Gmail or Outlook, and it can send you one summary, in Slack or by email. It never sends from, changes or deletes anything in your inbox, and every run is recorded with a spend ceiling.
Every run is recorded
Every step, in order
Each run keeps a trace: what it searched, which threads it opened, and how it sorted each email.
Every email, accounted for
The summary counts every unread email, so nothing is silently dropped.
What each run cost
Tokens and cost are recorded per run and per agent, next to your plan's limits.
A ceiling on every run
A run that would pass its dollar ceiling stops and tells you, rather than carrying on.
It can
- Search your Gmail or Outlook
- Read an email thread
- Post to one Slack channel you name, or email you
It can't
- Reply to, forward or draft email
- Label, archive or delete email
- Mark email as read or spam
- Email anyone but you
- Post anywhere else
AI email triage, answered.
What is AI email triage?
Sorting incoming email by what it needs from you, done by an AI model that reads each message. Instead of rules that match a sender or a word, the agent reads who wrote, what they asked and whether it's waiting on you, then puts each email in one pile.
How is it different from Gmail filters?
Filters act on mail that matches a rule you wrote, and they label, archive, delete or forward it. Inbox triage reads every unread email, decides by what it says, and changes nothing in Gmail. It tells you what needs a reply and why.
Does it reply to, archive or delete my email?
No. In Gmail or Outlook it can only search and read. It never replies, drafts, labels, archives, deletes, marks as read or marks as spam. Your inbox looks exactly the same after a run, apart from the summary if you chose email.
Does it write replies for me?
No. It's about sorting, not writing. For each email that needs a reply it gives a one-line reason and a suggested next step, and you write the reply yourself.
What if an email tries to give the agent instructions?
It treats every email as data to sort, never as instructions to follow. An email that says 'ignore your rules' is sorted like any other email.
Will it post passwords or codes to Slack?
No. It doesn't quote passwords, sign-in codes or financial details in the summary. It names the email and says what it's about, so you can open it in your inbox.
Which inbox does it read?
The Gmail or Outlook account you connect, and only its unread mail from the last 24 hours. It reads nothing else in that account.
Does it work with Outlook?
Yes. Connect Outlook Mail instead of Gmail, from Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com, and it sorts your unread mail the same way. In Outlook it only searches and reads, too: it never sends, drafts, moves or flags anything.
Can I get the summary by email instead of Slack?
Yes. Arclyx can send the summary to your own inbox instead of Slack, or as well as it. The email only ever goes to you, the person the agent runs for: it has no way to email anyone else.
Do I need to write code?
No. Describe the job in one sentence. Arclyx builds the agent, connects Gmail or Outlook and Slack, and shows you a dry run before you schedule it.
Agents that work well with it.
Build your inbox triage.
One sentence in, a working agent out. Join the beta and we'll set you up.