> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getinboxzero.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# AI Personal Assistant
> Create rules that automatically manage incoming email.
The AI Personal Assistant organizes your inbox for you. Describe how you want your email handled in plain English, and it labels, archives, forwards, and drafts replies automatically as mail arrives.
Open **Assistant** in the left sidebar or visit [Assistant](https://www.getinboxzero.com/automation). You can also create and manage rules through [AI Chat](/essentials/ai-chat).
## Getting Started
The video uses Gmail. Outlook users follow the same Assistant flow; label actions become Outlook categories, and messages can be moved to Outlook folders. See [Using Outlook](/essentials/outlook-guide).
### Create Rules from Instructions
1. Open **Assistant**.
2. Describe how you want your email handled in the instruction box.
3. Review the rules generated from your instructions.
4. Save the rules.
Use **Add rule manually** when you want to build the condition and actions yourself.
## How Rules Work
Each rule has a condition and one or more actions. When an incoming email matches the condition, Inbox Zero performs the configured actions.
### Conditions
Conditions can use AI instructions, static fields, or both.
* **AI condition**: Describe the meaning of the emails that should match, such as `Apply this rule if this email is asking me to set up a call.`
* **Static condition**: Match text in `From`, `To`, or `Subject`, such as `From` contains `@example.com`.
### Actions
A rule can contain multiple actions. Available actions can vary by email provider and connected apps:
* Label
* Move to folder
* Archive
* Delete
* Draft replies
* Send replies
* Forward
* Send email
* Mark as read
* Star
* Mark as spam
* Add to digest
* Call webhook
* Add Todoist task (requires a connected Todoist integration). Leave the task and description blank and the AI writes them from each matching email, or type your own wording to use it as-is.
* Notify in a connected Slack, Teams, or Telegram account
* Deliver a draft reply to a connected messaging account for review
* Notify the sender
See [Email Digest](/essentials/email-digest), [Call Webhook](/essentials/call-webhook), and [Delayed Actions](/essentials/delayed-actions) for actions that need additional configuration.
### AI-Generated Content
For actions with editable content, put an AI instruction inside double curly braces:
```text theme={null}
Hi {{name}},
{{write a response expressing interest in their proposal and ask about their timeline}}
Best regards
```
Inbox Zero generates the content inside each `{{...}}` placeholder from the email context. Text outside the placeholders remains as written.
### Delayed Execution
Supported actions can run after a delay instead of immediately. Open the action's **More options** menu and choose **Add delay**. Delays can range from 1 minute to 90 days. See [Delayed Actions](/essentials/delayed-actions).
### Apply to Threads
When **Apply to Threads** is disabled, the rule runs only on the first message in a conversation and is skipped for later replies. This is useful for standalone mail such as newsletters or receipts.
### When Multiple Rules Can Apply
By default, the assistant chooses one rule per email. Enable multi-rule selection in **Assistant** > **Settings** when you want several rules to match the same message.
## Learned Patterns
The assistant learns from corrections and from how you handle messages.
* Open a rule to review its learned patterns.
* Add or remove sender and domain patterns when you need explicit control.
* Use the History tab's **Fix** action to explain an incorrect match and update the rule.
## Test Rules
Open the [Test tab](https://www.getinboxzero.com/automation?tab=test) to run your rules against an email or free-form text. **Test All** evaluates the selected email against all rules without applying the actions.
## Assistant Settings
Open **Assistant** > **Settings** to configure behavior shared across rules, such as auto-drafting, writing style, and the email digest. See [Assistant Settings](/essentials/assistant-settings).
### Conditions
Conditions can use AI instructions, static fields, or both.
* **AI condition**: Describe the meaning of the emails that should match, such as `Apply this rule if this email is asking me to set up a call.`
* **Static condition**: Match text in `From`, `To`, or `Subject`, such as `From` contains `@example.com`.
### Actions
A rule can contain multiple actions. Available actions can vary by email provider and connected apps:
* Label
* Move to folder
* Archive
* Delete
* Draft replies
* Send replies
* Forward
* Send email
* Mark as read
* Star
* Mark as spam
* Add to digest
* Call webhook
* Add Todoist task (requires a connected Todoist integration). Leave the task and description blank and the AI writes them from each matching email, or type your own wording to use it as-is.
* Notify in a connected Slack, Teams, or Telegram account
* Deliver a draft reply to a connected messaging account for review
* Notify the sender
See [Email Digest](/essentials/email-digest), [Call Webhook](/essentials/call-webhook), and [Delayed Actions](/essentials/delayed-actions) for actions that need additional configuration.
### AI-Generated Content
For actions with editable content, put an AI instruction inside double curly braces:
```text theme={null}
Hi {{name}},
{{write a response expressing interest in their proposal and ask about their timeline}}
Best regards
```
Inbox Zero generates the content inside each `{{...}}` placeholder from the email context. Text outside the placeholders remains as written.
### Delayed Execution
Supported actions can run after a delay instead of immediately. Open the action's **More options** menu and choose **Add delay**. Delays can range from 1 minute to 90 days. See [Delayed Actions](/essentials/delayed-actions).
### Apply to Threads
When **Apply to Threads** is disabled, the rule runs only on the first message in a conversation and is skipped for later replies. This is useful for standalone mail such as newsletters or receipts.
### When Multiple Rules Can Apply
By default, the assistant chooses one rule per email. Enable multi-rule selection in **Assistant** > **Settings** when you want several rules to match the same message.
## Learned Patterns
The assistant learns from corrections and from how you handle messages.
* Open a rule to review its learned patterns.
* Add or remove sender and domain patterns when you need explicit control.
* Use the History tab's **Fix** action to explain an incorrect match and update the rule.
## Test Rules
Open the [Test tab](https://www.getinboxzero.com/automation?tab=test) to run your rules against an email or free-form text. **Test All** evaluates the selected email against all rules without applying the actions.
## Assistant Settings
Open **Assistant** > **Settings** to configure behavior shared across rules, such as auto-drafting, writing style, and the email digest. See [Assistant Settings](/essentials/assistant-settings).