MailBridge AI · Practical guide
Connect your existing email to ChatGPT
Use an AI assistant with your business mailbox without changing your address or moving your email.
Can ChatGPT work with my existing business email?
MailBridge AI connects a mailbox you own or are authorized to use through IMAP. Your email address and upstream provider stay the same. MailBridge supplies authorized email tools; the AI client interprets the returned messages and helps you summarize or draft. This is useful when your hosting or custom-domain mailbox has no suitable native AI integration.
1. Check the mailbox before connecting
You need an IMAP server reachable from cloud infrastructure, valid TLS and credentials accepted by your provider. An app password may be required. A local-only mail bridge or an unsupported authentication method will not work simply because the provider has an email address. Sending has separate SMTP or supported HTTPS transport requirements.
2. Connect in MailBridge, then authorize your AI client
Request an invitation, sign in and add your own mailbox in the web application. Enter passwords only in the mailbox form, never in an AI conversation. Use the existing MailBridge ChatGPT connection where available and complete OAuth. Start with mail.read. Add mail.send only when you intend to authorize sending. ChatGPT availability depends on your account and workspace; a public catalog listing is not claimed.
3. Ask for a bounded, useful result
For example: “Show my connected mailboxes, summarize the five latest messages in my work inbox and prepare a reply to the client’s question. Do not send it.” MailBridge lists the account-owned mailbox, retrieves message metadata and reads selected messages. The assistant should base its summary on the returned content and identify anything it could not read. Preparing a draft does not send it.
Send only after reviewing the message
Choose the sender, recipients and final content, then explicitly ask to send. A configured authorized transport and mail.send are both required. A receipt showing accepted means the transport accepted the request; it does not prove delivery, inbox placement, opening or reading. Check the same execution before retrying an uncertain send.
Start with the actual Free allowance
Free is permanent and needs no card: one mailbox, 300 read operations and 30 send requests per UTC calendar month. Access currently requires an invitation. MailBridge plans do not include a ChatGPT subscription or email hosting. Review compatibility and plan limits before relying on a workflow.