Email Setup Guide
Your AI assistant can send and receive emails using standard SMTP and IMAP protocols — no OAuth setup required. This guide covers Gmail (the most common case) and includes settings for other major providers. Once connected, your AI assistant can monitor an inbox, draft replies, and send emails in your voice.
What you'll need
- A Gmail or other email account
- 2-Step Verification enabled (for Gmail app passwords)
- A FixedCostAgents account (any tier)
rose@yourcompany.com or assistant@yourcompany.com rather than sharing your personal inbox. This keeps AI assistant communication separate and gives you full control over what your AI assistant sees.Gmail setup
Enable 2-Step Verification
Gmail requires 2-Step Verification before you can create app passwords. If you haven't enabled it already:
- Go to myaccount.google.com/security
- Under “Signing in to Google,” click 2-Step Verification
- Follow the prompts to set up phone-based verification
Generate an app password
Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords
In the “App name” field, type something descriptive like “FixedCostAgents” or your AI assistant's name, and click “Create”.
Google will generate a 16-character password:
Copy this password. You will use it instead of your regular Gmail password. The spaces are optional — you can enter it with or without them.
Add credentials to the FixedCostAgents portal
Log into your FixedCostAgents portal and navigate to:
Assistants → [your AI assistant] → Integrations → Email
Enter the following Gmail settings:
imap.gmail.com993smtp.gmail.com465your-email@gmail.comthe 16-character app password from Step 2Click Save.
Test the connection
Send an email to the address you configured. Then ask your AI assistant (through your messaging platform) to check for new emails.
You can also ask your AI assistant to draft and send a test email: “Send a test email to myself saying hello.”
Other email providers
The same setup works with any email provider that supports IMAP and SMTP. Here are the settings for common providers:
Outlook / Hotmail
outlook.office365.com (port 993)SMTP: smtp.office365.com (port 587)Use TLS for SMTP. May require an app password if MFA is enabled.
Yahoo Mail
imap.mail.yahoo.com (port 993)SMTP: smtp.mail.yahoo.com (port 465)Requires an app password (Account Security > Generate app password).
iCloud Mail
imap.mail.me.com (port 993)SMTP: smtp.mail.me.com (port 587)Requires an app-specific password from appleid.apple.com.
Custom domain (Google Workspace)
imap.gmail.com (port 993)SMTP: smtp.gmail.com (port 465)Same settings as Gmail. Use the full email (you@yourdomain.com).
Common issues
- Make sure you are using an app password, not your regular email password. Regular passwords do not work with SMTP/IMAP for Gmail (and most other providers with MFA enabled).
- Check for trailing spaces or line breaks when pasting the password.
- Verify that 2-Step Verification is enabled on your Google account.
What to do next
Teach your AI assistant your email voice. Forward 50–200 of your sent emails and tell your AI assistant to learn your writing style. See the First Week checklist (Meeting 2) for details.
Set up a messaging platform (Telegram, Telegram, or Slack) so you can interact with your AI assistant conversationally.
Try asking your AI assistant: “Draft a short email to a client thanking them for yesterday's meeting.” Review the draft and give feedback to train its writing style.
Your email credentials are encrypted at rest and stored securely. IMAP and SMTP connections use TLS encryption. Your AI assistant only processes emails from authorized senders.
Stuck? Reach out at support@fixedcostagents.com or join our Discord community.
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