Claude Gmail
Claude Just Organised My Entire Gmail Inbox
Here is how I used Claude, the Chrome extension, the Gmail connector and Gmail together to search my inbox, find invoice emails and apply a new label in real time.
Back to resourcesThere are four things you need running at the same time before you start.
Miss one and the task will not complete properly.
Here is what to set up.
Four Things, All At The Same Time
- Claude desktop app, open
- The Claude Chrome extension, enabled in your browser
- The Gmail connector, connected inside Claude
- Gmail, open and logged in inside Chrome
Get all four set up before you give Claude any instructions.
Step 1: Open The Claude Desktop App And Connect The Gmail Connector
Inside Claude, go to Customize, then Browse Plugins, then Connectors and search for Gmail.
Connect it. You will be taken to Gmail to log in and give Claude access to your account. Once you are back in Claude, select what you want to allow it to do in your inbox.
That is what gives Claude access to your Gmail.
Step 2: Make Sure Gmail Is Open In Chrome
Log into your Gmail account before you connect Claude or give it any instructions. That way there is no chance Claude sees your password.
Once you are logged in, leave the tab open and do not close it while the task is running.
Step 3: Enable The Claude Chrome Extension In Your Browser
Without the Chrome extension active, the Gmail connector can only read your existing labels. It cannot create new ones or apply them to any emails.
When it tries, you will get an error.
Enable the extension before you move on.
The Prompt That Worked For Me
Once everything is set up, give Claude a task. This is the one that worked for me:
Search my inbox for the entire last financial year.
Find every email that contains an invoice.
Create a new label called Invoice and apply it to all of them.Claude will search, find, create the label and apply it to each email in real time. You can watch the labels appearing inside your Gmail tab while it works.
Give Claude Space To Run
This kind of task uses a lot of tokens. If you have other things running in Claude at the same time, pause them.
Give it space to run on its own so it does not slow down or cut out partway through.
Search. Label. Organise.
Three steps.
One prompt.
A labelled inbox.
It took me longer than it should have to figure this out. Now you do not have to.