Desired result
A defined, reviewable outcome
Give each permitted message a category, priority, owner, structured summary, and next action without allowing an agent to send beyond approved response boundaries.
Business workflow
Automate a Shared Email Inbox with AI
Turn a crowded shared mailbox into a visible workflow that separates routine requests from messages requiring judgment, private handling, or a fast human response.
The problem
Where the workflow breaks today
Shared inboxes mix urgent customer questions, invoices, spam, internal requests, and routine updates. Manual triage slows responses and obscures ownership.
How the workflow works
Move from trigger to accountable handoff
Ingest selected mail
Monitor only approved labels or mailboxes and exclude private folders from processing.
Classify the request
Detect intent, urgency, language, attachments, and required business context.
Draft or route
Prepare an answer from approved sources or assign the message to the right human queue.
Confirm and track
Send only when policy allows, record the action, and surface messages that remain unresolved.
Agents involved
Assign a specific role to each stage
Agent roles describe possible workflow responsibilities. Final configuration and availability depend on the selected implementation.
Inbox Manager
Classifies messages and coordinates routing.
View details →Email Assistant
Drafts context-aware replies for review.
View details →Document Processing Agent
Extracts permitted fields from attached documents.
View details →Integrations involved
Connect only the systems the outcome needs
Gmail
Message threads, labels, drafts, and approved sends.
View details →Microsoft 365
Outlook mail, calendar context, and internal collaboration.
View details →Slack
Escalation alerts and internal decision requests.
View details →Human approval points
Keep consequential decisions with people
Approval design should reflect the actual risk, audience, and permissions of this workflow.
✓Require review before sending legal, financial, complaint, cancellation, or account-access responses.
✓Do not open or process unsupported attachment types automatically.
✓Allow staff to change priority, owner, and response before any external send.
Example workflow
Supplier document request
A supplier emails a document and deadline. The workflow classifies the request, extracts the permitted reference fields, drafts an acknowledgement, assigns an operations owner, and waits for approval before sending.
Workflow boundary
An example, not a promise of availability
This illustrates how roles, integrations, and controls can be arranged. Connection support and final behavior must be confirmed during implementation.
Implementation considerations
Decisions to make before execution
✓Start with one mailbox and a narrow set of categories.
✓Define retention and handling rules for personal or confidential email.
✓Protect against instructions embedded in message bodies and attachments.
✓Measure routing accuracy and unresolved queues before enabling approved auto-replies.
Related workflows
Continue from an adjacent business outcome
FAQ
Questions to resolve when planning this workflow
Can replies be sent automatically?
Routine, low-risk replies may be eligible after policy review; sensitive, uncertain, or consequential messages should remain approval-gated.
Does the agent need access to every mailbox?
No. Use the narrowest mailbox, label, or folder scope that supports the chosen workflow.
Discuss this workflow with our team.
Bring the outcome, current systems, approval needs, and exception paths you want to design.