Your inbox is a time sink. The average professional spends 28% of their workday on email. OpenClaw can cut that to a fraction — triaging, drafting, summarizing, and following up on emails, all from a Telegram message.
What OpenClaw Can Do With Your Email
1. Morning Email Briefing
Set up a daily cron job at 8am. OpenClaw scans your inbox and sends you a Telegram summary:
- 3 urgent emails that need replies today
- 5 new emails sorted by priority
- 2 follow-ups you haven't responded to
- Key action items extracted from email threads
You read a 30-second summary instead of scrolling through 50 emails.
2. Smart Email Triage
Message OpenClaw: "Check my email and categorize everything from today"
OpenClaw reads your inbox and groups messages:
- Urgent: Needs reply within hours
- Important: Needs reply this week
- FYI: Read when you have time
- Skip: Newsletters, promotions, automated notifications
3. Draft Replies from Telegram
Message: "Draft a reply to Sarah's email about the Q2 budget — tell her we can increase by 15% but need approval by Friday"
OpenClaw drafts a professional reply matching your writing style, ready for you to review and send.
4. Follow-Up Tracking
Message: "Remind me if John hasn't replied to my proposal by Wednesday"
OpenClaw checks your inbox on Wednesday and sends you a Telegram alert if John's reply is missing — with a suggested follow-up draft.
5. Meeting Prep from Email Threads
Message: "Summarize all emails about the product launch for my 2pm meeting"
OpenClaw pulls relevant email threads, extracts key decisions, open questions, and action items, and sends you a pre-meeting brief.
6. Automated Email Reports
Set up a weekly cron job: every Friday at 5pm, OpenClaw sends you a week-in-review — response times, unanswered emails, busiest senders, and pending action items.
How It Works
OpenClaw connects to your email through the Gmail MCP server or IMAP skill. Once connected, it can:
- Read emails and threads
- Search your inbox with natural language
- Draft replies matching your tone
- Track response status and follow-ups
- Summarize long threads into action items
All controlled through Telegram — no need to open your email client for routine management.
Setup Guide
Step 1: Deploy OpenClaw
Go to ClawTank and deploy an instance in under 1 minute.
Step 2: Connect Email
Install the Gmail skill or configure the email MCP server. Authenticate with your Google account (or IMAP credentials for other providers).
Step 3: Set Up Morning Briefing
Configure a daily cron job:
- Time: 8:00am
- Task: Scan inbox, categorize by priority, send summary to Telegram
Step 4: Train Your Preferences
Tell OpenClaw your email habits: "I always reply to clients within 4 hours. Newsletters can be ignored. Flag anything from my boss as urgent."
OpenClaw remembers and applies these rules to every triage.
Example Workflows
Freelancer Email Management
- Morning briefing: new client inquiries, pending invoices, project updates
- Auto-draft quick acknowledgments for client emails
- Weekly summary of billable hours mentioned in email threads
- Follow-up alerts for unpaid invoices
Sales Professional
- Daily lead alerts: new inbound inquiries categorized by potential
- Auto-draft personalized follow-ups for stale leads
- Meeting prep: summarize all email threads before client calls
- Weekly pipeline summary from email activity
Manager
- Morning triage: team requests sorted by urgency
- Auto-extract action items from group email threads
- Weekly report: team response times and open items
- Escalation alerts: flag emails waiting too long for replies
OpenClaw vs Dedicated Email AI Tools
| Feature | OpenClaw | Shortwave | Superhuman |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email triage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Telegram control | Yes | No | No |
| Works with other tasks | Yes (full AI assistant) | No (email only) | No (email only) |
| Proactive reminders | Yes | Limited | Limited |
| Persistent memory | Yes (remembers preferences forever) | Email-level | Email-level |
| Model choice | Any | Fixed | Fixed |
| Cost | $5-30/mo (full assistant) | $25/mo | $30/mo |
OpenClaw isn't just an email tool — it's a full AI assistant that happens to also manage your email. The same assistant that handles your inbox also manages your calendar, tracks your projects, and sends your daily briefing.
Get Started
Deploy OpenClaw on ClawTank in under 1 minute. Connect your email, set up a morning briefing, and take back the 28% of your day that email was stealing.