Will Gmail forwarding send ALL my emails to Mail AI, including personal ones?

Yes — Gmail's forwarding setting applies to all incoming mail by default. If you want to forward only customer-related emails, use Gmail Filters instead: create a filter (e.g. by label, sender domain, or subject keyword) and set the action to 'Forward to' your Mail AI address. That way, personal emails stay in Gmail and only business emails go to Mail AI.

Does Mail AI store or read my entire Gmail inbox?

No. Mail AI only receives emails that Gmail actively forwards to your Mail AI inbound address. It has no access to your Gmail account, your past emails, or any messages you do not forward. Mail AI cannot log in to Gmail — it only receives what Gmail pushes to it.

What happens to emails after they are forwarded?

Gmail keeps a copy in your inbox (or archives/deletes it, depending on what you chose in the forwarding setting). The forwarded copy arrives in your Mail AI inbox where the AI summarises it and sends you an alert on Telegram or WhatsApp. Nothing is deleted from Gmail unless you explicitly choose that option.

Can I forward multiple Gmail addresses to Mail AI?

Yes. Each Gmail address needs its own forwarding rule, and each gets its own unique Mail AI inbound address. In the Mail AI dashboard, link each Gmail address separately — Mail AI handles them all independently with separate inboxes and SMTP credentials.

My verification email from Google never arrived in Mail AI. What do I do?

Check that you copied the forwarding address exactly — no extra spaces or characters. Then in Gmail, remove the forwarding address and add it again to trigger a new verification email. If it still does not appear, check the Mail AI inbox for a small delay (usually under 30 seconds). If you linked the Gmail address in Mail AI before completing verification, the verification email may appear there.

Can I use a Gmail filter instead of full forwarding?

Absolutely — and it is actually the recommended approach for businesses. In Gmail, go to Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → Create a new filter. Set your condition (e.g. from a specific domain, or with a specific label), then choose 'Forward it to' your Mail AI address. This keeps personal emails private and only routes relevant business mail to Mail AI.

How to Set Up Gmail Forwarding for Mail AI

Mail AI works by receiving a copy of your customer emails, summarising them with AI, and alerting you on Telegram or WhatsApp. For this to happen, Gmail needs to forward a copy of each incoming email to your Mail AI inbox address.

This guide walks you through the exact setup. It takes under 3 minutes, and you only do it once per Gmail address.

💡 Forwarding vs SMTP — what's the difference?
Forwarding is the inbound layer — it sends incoming emails to Mail AI so the AI can read and summarise them.
SMTP is the outbound layer — it lets Mail AI send replies from your Gmail address.
You need both. This guide covers forwarding. Once done, set up Gmail SMTP →

How It Works

📨Customer emails [email protected]

→

⚙️Gmail auto-forwards a copy

→

🤖Mail AI receives & summarises

→

📲You get alerted on Telegram / WhatsApp

Your original Gmail inbox is untouched — Gmail keeps a copy as normal. Mail AI only sees what Gmail forwards to it. It cannot access your Gmail account, read old emails, or log in on your behalf.

Step-by-Step Setup

1

Copy your Mail AI inbox address

In your Mail AI dashboard, go to Linked Email Accounts and click + Link New Email. Copy the unique forwarding address shown (e.g. [email protected]). You will paste this into Gmail in the next step.
Open Mail AI Dashboard →
2

Open Gmail Forwarding Settings

Sign in to Gmail. Click the gear icon (top right) → See all settings → open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
Open Gmail Settings →
3

Add your Mail AI forwarding address

Click "Add a forwarding address". Paste your Mail AI inbound address (e.g. [email protected]) → click Next → Proceed → OK.
Open Gmail Settings →
4

Confirm the verification email in Mail AI

Google sends a verification email to your Mail AI address. Go to your Mail AI dashboard → Inbox. Open the verification email from Google and click the confirmation link inside it.
Open Mail AI Dashboard →
5

Enable forwarding and save

Back in Gmail Settings → Forwarding tab, select "Forward a copy of incoming mail to [your Mail AI address]". Choose what to do with the original (keep, archive, or delete). Click Save Changes.
Open Gmail Settings →
6

Link the Gmail address in Mail AI dashboard

Return to Mail AI → Linked Email Accounts → enter your Gmail address (e.g. [email protected]) → click Save. Mail AI now knows which email address incoming forwarded messages belong to.
Open Mail AI Dashboard →

✅ Success looks like: Customer emails start appearing in your Mail AI inbox within seconds of arriving in Gmail. You will receive a Telegram or WhatsApp alert for each one with an AI summary.

Want to Forward Only Business Emails? Use a Gmail Filter

By default, Gmail's forwarding rule sends every incoming email to Mail AI — including newsletters and personal messages. If you want only customer emails to reach Mail AI, use a Gmail filter instead.

🔽 How to create a forwarding filter in Gmail

In Gmail, go to Settings → See all settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses
Click Create a new filter
Set your condition — for example, From: @yourdomain.com, or a specific subject keyword
Click Create filter → tick Forward it to → select your Mail AI address
Click Create filter to save

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Verification email never arrived in Mail AI

Double-check that you copied your Mail AI inbound address exactly — no extra spaces or missing characters. Then in Gmail's Forwarding settings, remove the address and add it again to trigger a fresh verification email. Verification emails usually arrive in Mail AI within 30 seconds.

Emails are not appearing in Mail AI after setup

Make sure you completed all three things: (1) added and verified the forwarding address in Gmail, (2) enabled forwarding and clicked Save Changes in Gmail, and (3) linked your Gmail address in the Mail AI dashboard. All three must be done for emails to flow through correctly.

I use Google Workspace — is setup different?

The steps are identical for Google Workspace accounts. However, if your IT admin has disabled email forwarding at the domain level, you will need to ask them to allow it for your account. Alternatively, your admin can set up a routing rule at the domain level in the Google Admin Console under Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → Routing.

⚠️ Important for Google Workspace admins: If users cannot add forwarding addresses, check Admin Console → Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → End User Access and ensure "Allow per-user outbound gateways" is enabled.

Next Step: Set Up Gmail SMTP for Replies

Forwarding handles the inbound side — Mail AI can now receive and summarise your customer emails. To complete the setup, connect Gmail SMTP so that Mail AI can send replies from your Gmail address when you click Reply in the dashboard.

Set up Gmail SMTP (outbound replies) →