ComparisonUpdated October 21, 2026

Best AI email assistant for Gmail: 6 options compared

If you already pay for a Google AI plan or Google Workspace, try Gemini in Gmail first: it is included there and can summarize, draft and, once you confirm, clean up your inbox[1][2][3]. If you want something that labels your inbox in the background and leaves reply drafts waiting, look at Fyxer and Inbox Zero; Shortwave and Superhuman replace the Gmail interface with their own email app[4][10][12][14]. Command Mail fits when your own agent, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Codex, should work across Gmail and other addresses with permissions you set precisely[17].

As of 2026-10-21. Command Mail is our product. All prices come from the vendors' own pages, checked on 2026-10-21.[1][2][4][9][12][14][17]

Updated: Fact-checked: About 10 min readAs Markdown

Contents
  1. Criteria and conflict of interest
  2. The six options at a glance
  3. Gemini in Gmail: built in, with confirmation
  4. Shortwave: a separate email app for Gmail
  5. Fyxer: labels in Gmail, you send
  6. Inbox Zero: open source and cheaper
  7. Superhuman: fast, with its own MCP server
  8. Command Mail: your own agent, limited permissions
  9. When another tool is the better choice
  10. When Command Mail fits
  11. Who Command Mail is not for
  12. Setup and switching: trying an assistant safely
  13. Further reading
  14. Frequently asked questions
  15. Sources

01Criteria and conflict of interest

We compare on five questions that actually matter with Gmail. Where does the assistant work: inside Gmail, in the background on your account, or in a separate app? Which accounts does it handle: only Gmail and Google Workspace, or other providers too? Who presses send in the end: you or the software? What does it cost per month? And can your own AI agent connect over MCP?

Command Mail is our product, so it does not get the top spot by default. For most Gmail users a tool that works directly in the account is the better fit, and we say for each option when it wins. We have not tested the other products ourselves; every statement relies on the vendors' help, docs and pricing pages.

02The six options at a glance

Gemini in GmailShortwaveFyxerInbox ZeroSuperhuman MailCommand Mail
Where it worksIn Gmail, "Ask Gemini" side panel[3]Its own email app on your Gmail account[5]In the background, results as Gmail labels and drafts[10]In the background on your existing account[20]Its own email app instead of Gmail[15]Separate inbox, Gmail arrives by forwarding[17]
AccountsGmail with an eligible Google plan or Workspace[3]Gmail and Google Workspace; other providers via forwarding into Gmail[6]Gmail and Outlook[9]Gmail, Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook[20]Accounts hosted by Google or Microsoft 365[15]Any address that can forward[17]
Who sendsYou; cleanup actions only after you confirm[3]You; the AI drafts and suggests cleanup[5]You; Fyxer never sends drafts automatically[11]You, after reviewing drafts[20]You; the MCP server can also send drafts directly[16]Your agent within your rules, from Pro and only from an address that can send there, not from the forwarded Gmail address[17]
Price per month (2026-10-21)Included in Google AI Plus €9.99 and AI Pro €21.99 (German prices)[1]; Workspace from €6.80 per user on a one-year commitment, before tax[2]Business $30, Premier $45, Max $120 per seat; free plan available[4][8]Free $0 (no automatic sorting or reply drafts), Pro $37 billed annually or $49 monthly, Team $64 or $99[9]Starter $18, Plus $28, Professional $42 billed annually; monthly $20/$35/$50[12]Starter $30 or $300 a year, Business $40 or $396 a year[14]Free €0, Pro €19 for the first 100 paying accounts, then €29, Team €39 per person[17]
Access for your own agentNot through Gemini in GmailOnly the other way round: Shortwave calls MCP servers[7]MCP from Team[9]MCP server[13]MCP server from Business[16]MCP, CLI and REST with separate permissions[17]

03Gemini in Gmail: built in, with confirmation

For most Gmail users Gemini is the starting point, because many Google plans already include it. Gmail Help says it requires an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan. On Google's German plans page, Google AI Plus costs €9.99 and Google AI Pro €21.99 a month, both listing Gemini in Gmail; the German Workspace page lists Gemini in Gmail from Business Starter at €6.80 per user a month before tax, with Standard at €13.60 and Plus at €21.10. These amounts apply to a one-year commitment and are billed monthly. Prices differ by country, and the page also showed time-limited discounts that we do not treat as list prices.[3][1][2]

On a computer you open it with "Ask Gemini" at the top right of Gmail. It summarizes long threads, drafts new emails or refines yours, finds details such as flight times, and proposes meeting times from Google Calendar. It can also archive, delete, label, star and mark messages read or unread. For these inbox actions, Gmail Help says nothing is processed until you explicitly confirm on a confirmation card. You can then undo for up to 60 seconds, but only until you send a new prompt; deleted messages stay in Trash for 30 days.[3]

Google lists the limits itself: Gemini can only apply labels that already exist, it does not process a request matching more than 10,000 threads, and it cannot mark multiple emails as spam. Help does not describe it sending email on its own. So Gemini works on request in the session you have open; for standing rules in the background you still use Gmail filters, as shown in Sort Gmail automatically.[3]

04Shortwave: a separate email app for Gmail

Shortwave replaces the Gmail interface with its own app and a built-in AI assistant. It writes replies in your style, searches your history with AI search and cleans up when asked: say "organize my inbox" and it suggests groups of threads to archive, label or delete, which you confirm step by step. AI filters, summaries and scheduling help come on top.[5]

Shortwave works with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts. Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail or Zoho only work by forwarding into a Gmail account and setting up "Send mail as" in Gmail. An Outlook.com address can receive that way but Shortwave cannot send from it, and Microsoft 365 and Exchange are not supported at this time according to the docs.[6]

The business tab of the pricing page lists Business at $30, Premier at $45 and Max at $120 per seat a month, with a 14-day trial, and the billing docs mention a free plan to get started. One paid seat covers all your own accounts signed in on the same device. Shortwave supports MCP, but in the opposite direction from what this comparison asks: its own assistant calls MCP servers such as Notion or HubSpot, from the Business plan and still in beta. We found no MCP server in the docs that would let Claude or ChatGPT operate your Shortwave inbox.[4][8][7]

05Fyxer: labels in Gmail, you send

Fyxer works in the background on your Gmail account. It labels incoming email by priority, first "To do" or "To respond", then FYI, then lower categories such as Notification and Marketing. In the dashboard you choose which categories stay in the inbox and which are archived under their label, for example with the "Focused" setting; changes apply to new email.[10]

Reply drafts appear for messages that need an answer, after Fyxer has analyzed about 300 of your recent emails for tone and structure. You find them in the drafts folder and inside the thread. The help center states plainly that Fyxer never sends drafts automatically, and it does not draft replies automatically for email received before setup.[11]

Pricing: Pro costs $37 per person a month billed annually or $49 monthly, Team $64 or $99. There is a free plan and a 14-day trial, but automatic sorting and reply drafts start with Pro. One seat covers several connected inboxes of the same person, such as Gmail plus Outlook. MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and your own tools is listed from Team; the pricing page does not say what that access may do.[9]

06Inbox Zero: open source and cheaper

Inbox Zero is an open-source AI assistant that connects directly to Gmail or Google Workspace. It sorts and labels incoming mail, drafts replies in your voice, blocks cold email and bulk-unsubscribes you from newsletters. Drafts wait in your inbox for you to send. You can stay in Gmail for that; Inbox Zero now also offers its own free email app that shows several Gmail and Outlook accounts in one inbox, with the AI as a paid add-on.[12][20]

Prices are $18 (Starter), $28 (Plus) and $42 (Professional) per user a month billed annually, or $20, $35 and $50 monthly; Plus includes two email accounts per user, and there is a seven-day trial. Because the code is public you can also host it yourself. The docs describe bringing your own AI key and an MCP server through which ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor can work with the account.[12][13]

07Superhuman: fast, with its own MCP server

Superhuman Mail replaces Gmail as your email app. You sign in with your Google account and then work in Superhuman on desktop and phone. It pays off mostly if you handle a lot of email from the keyboard.[15]

Help says only accounts hosted by Google or Microsoft 365 are supported, and there is no unified inbox across accounts. Starter costs $30 a month or $300 a year, Business $40 or $396. Auto Drafts, Ask AI and custom auto labels require Business, as does the MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other agents. Through it an agent can also send drafts directly; Superhuman recommends requiring confirmation for every call.[15][14][16]

08Command Mail: your own agent, limited permissions

Command Mail is a separate inbox for all your addresses, built for your own AI agent to work in. You connect Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Cursor over MCP and choose at connection time what it may do: read and sort, write drafts, send exactly the draft revision you approved, or send on its own within a daily limit. Each mailbox also gets an autonomy level, from read-only to automatic.[17]

Gmail mail arrives by automatic forwarding. Gmail asks you to verify the destination address and then switch forwarding on. Forwarding is not sync: what your agent sorts or archives in Command Mail does not change in Gmail. Nor does forwarding let Command Mail send as your Gmail address; it sends only from sender addresses that are set up to send there. If a reply should come from Gmail, your agent prepares it and you send it in Gmail. The steps are in Connect Gmail to Claude and Connect Gmail to ChatGPT.[18]

Free costs nothing and covers one mailbox, the last 90 days, reading, search, sorting and drafts, but no sending. Pro adds sending, up to ten mailboxes and full history for €19 a month for the first 100 paying Pro accounts, then €29; Team is €39 per person. Command Mail marks email content as untrusted data and flags suspected prompt injection. Agents do not write on their own to automated senders, mailing lists or no-reply addresses; that detection is heuristic and can miss cases.[17]

09When another tool is the better choice

  • Gemini in Gmail if you already have a Google AI or Workspace plan and want help summarizing, writing and occasionally cleaning up. No new account, no forwarding, no extra vendor.[1][3]
  • Shortwave if all your accounts are Gmail and you want a new email app with strong AI search and AI filters.[4][5]
  • Fyxer if you want your inbox labeled by morning and finished drafts in your Gmail drafts folder without steering an agent.[10][11]
  • Inbox Zero if you want the same idea for less, care about open source or want to self-host.[12][13]
  • Superhuman if you want a very fast email app and are happy to let your own agent send through its MCP server.[15][16]

Gemini, Fyxer and Inbox Zero work directly in your Gmail account, so labels, drafts and archive show up there. Command Mail cannot do that with forwarding.[3][10][20]

10When Command Mail fits

Command Mail fits when your own agent should do the work and Gmail is one of several addresses. A typical case is a personal Gmail account next to an Outlook address and a domain at a third provider. Your agent sees everything in one inbox and gets only the permissions you give it.[17]

It also fits when you want tight control over sending. An agent saves a draft, you approve that exact revision, and only then may it send. Sending without approval is off when you connect and additionally requires the sending mailbox to be set to automatic. Both apply only to sender addresses that can send in Command Mail, not to the forwarded Gmail address.[17]

11Who Command Mail is not for

Command Mail is not for you if you want to stay in Gmail and see sorted labels there. Forwarding moves mail one way only, and Command Mail cannot send from your Gmail address, so replies under that address stay with Gmail. It is also not for you if you do not use your own AI agent and only want writing help; Gemini, Fyxer or Inbox Zero serve you better.[17]

The operator is FYN Labs LLC in the United States; according to the privacy policy, hosting and database run on Cloudflare and attachments are stored in Cloudflare's EU jurisdiction. Command Mail does not hold certifications such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001. Fyxer lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001 on its pricing page, which matters if your company requires them.[19][9]

12Setup and switching: trying an assistant safely

Start with reading before you grant write or send rights. Gemini builds that in, because every cleanup action needs your confirmation. With Fyxer and Inbox Zero, spend a week just watching the labels and checking drafts before you rely on them. With Command Mail you approve only reading and drafts when you first connect, and enable sending separately later.[3][11][17]

Before switching to Shortwave or Superhuman, check that all your accounts are supported. If you have a work address on Microsoft 365 next to Gmail, Shortwave does not handle it at this time according to its docs.[6][15]

13Further reading

How replying with AI works in general is covered in Reply to emails with AI. The direct route through Claude and ChatGPT is in Connect Gmail to Claude and Connect Gmail to ChatGPT. The same question for Outlook is answered in Best AI email assistant for Outlook.

You can start Command Mail for free and connect your agent afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gemini in Gmail free?

No. It needs an eligible plan: for personal accounts a Google AI plan such as AI Plus or AI Pro, for businesses Google Workspace from Business Starter. Google's German pages list AI Plus at €9.99 and AI Pro at €21.99 a month, and Business Starter at €6.80 per user a month on a one-year commitment, billed monthly, before tax; prices differ by country.

Will Gemini delete or archive email without asking?

No. According to Gmail Help, Gemini only archives, deletes, labels or marks messages after you explicitly confirm, and you can then undo for up to 60 seconds, as long as you do not send a new prompt.

Does Shortwave work with Outlook or Microsoft 365?

Only partly. Shortwave works with Gmail and Google Workspace accounts. An Outlook.com address can be forwarded into a Gmail account to receive mail, but Shortwave cannot send from it, and Microsoft 365 and Exchange are not supported at this time according to its docs.

Which assistant sends email on its own?

Fyxer never sends by itself according to its help center, and with Gemini in Gmail you send the draft yourself. Superhuman's MCP server can send drafts directly once you allow that tool. In Command Mail an agent sends without per-message approval only with the mail:send permission from a mailbox set to auto; a draft you approved it can send with mail:send-approved at every level except read. Either way only from a sender address that can send in Command Mail; forwarding does not make your Gmail address one.

Can I keep using Gmail with Command Mail?

Partly. Gmail keeps receiving and forwards to Command Mail, but whatever your agent sorts or archives there does not show up in Gmail. Replies from your Gmail address you still send in Gmail.

Sources

  1. Google One: plans (German prices) one.google.com, accessed
  2. Google Workspace: pricing (Germany) workspace.google.com, accessed
  3. Gmail Help: Collaborate with Gemini in Gmail support.google.com, accessed
  4. Shortwave: Pricing shortwave.com, accessed
  5. Shortwave Docs: The Shortwave AI Assistant shortwave.com, accessed
  6. Shortwave Docs: Use Shortwave with other email providers shortwave.com, accessed
  7. Shortwave Docs: Using MCP with Shortwave shortwave.com, accessed
  8. Shortwave Docs: Billing shortwave.com, accessed
  9. Fyxer: Pricing fyxer.com, accessed
  10. Fyxer Help Center: Gmail, labels and inbox view support.fyxer.com, accessed
  11. Fyxer Help Center: How Fyxer drafts your emails support.fyxer.com, accessed
  12. Inbox Zero: Pricing getinboxzero.com, accessed
  13. Inbox Zero Docs: index (Connect MCP, own API key) docs.getinboxzero.com, accessed
  14. Superhuman Help Center: Pricing Plans help.superhuman.com, accessed
  15. Superhuman Help Center: Managing Accounts help.superhuman.com, accessed
  16. Superhuman Help Center: Superhuman Mail MCP Server help.superhuman.com, accessed
  17. Command Mail: llms.txt (plans, permissions, autonomy) commandmail.app, accessed
  18. Gmail Help: Automatically forward Gmail messages support.google.com, accessed
  19. Command Mail: Privacy policy commandmail.app, accessed
  20. Inbox Zero: Home page getinboxzero.com, accessed
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