The best email client for Claude, ChatGPT and MCP

The best email client for Claude and ChatGPT on a computer is Alrighty. Its local MCP server gives Claude, ChatGPT's desktop app, Codex, Cursor or a local model your iCloud, Gmail and Outlook mail in one place, and by default nothing sends until you click Send. Airmail's MCP does the same job for Airmail users, including Yahoo and other IMAP accounts. If all your mail is in one Gmail account, Claude's Gmail connector or ChatGPT's Gmail plugin needs no new app. Superhuman's Mail MCP suits Gmail and Outlook teams on its Business plan. Zapier MCP and open-source Gmail MCP servers suit people who want to build their own setup.

Search for an MCP email server and you get directories of small projects, each for one provider. They list tools. They rarely answer the three questions that matter once an AI can touch your inbox: which of your accounts can it reach, can it send an email without you, and where does your mail go. This page answers those three for every option.

How we checked

We read each vendor's own help, product and pricing pages, and the READMEs of the open-source projects, on November 3, 2026. Every fact links to its source. Where a page does not answer a question, we say so and do not guess. We did not run the tools. Alrighty is our app, and it's listed first. For setup steps, see our guide to letting Claude read your email and Alrighty's AI assistant setup.

The options at a glance

Option	Price	Accounts it reaches	iCloud	Sends without you	Where your mail goes
Alrighty MCP and agent window	14-day trial, then Free or Pro	iCloud, Gmail, Outlook, all at once	Yes	Not by default; you click Send	Your computer, then the AI you connect
Airmail MCP	Airmail; Pro for more than one account	Any account Airmail holds, IMAP included	Yes	Not stated; it has a send_email tool	Your Mac, then the AI you connect
HEY CLI as an MCP server	Included with HEY, $99 a year	Your HEY account	No	It can write; --read-only limits it to reading	Your computer, then the AI you connect
Claude's Gmail connector	Included on Claude plans	The Google account you connect	No	No by default; Team and Enterprise owners can allow it	Anthropic, kept with the chat
Claude's Microsoft 365 connector	Included on Claude plans	Microsoft 365 business accounts	No	Read-only by default	Anthropic
ChatGPT Gmail and Outlook plugins	Depends on plan	Gmail, Outlook	No	Waits for your approval	OpenAI
Superhuman Mail MCP	Business, $33/member/mo, billed yearly	Gmail, Outlook	No	Every send needs approval "by default"	Superhuman, then your AI; not stated in detail
Zapier MCP	Included in Zapier plans; 2 tasks per call	Gmail; Outlook for Microsoft 365 business only	No	Its Gmail Send Email action sends	Zapier, then your AI
Open-source Gmail MCP server	Free	Gmail	No	Yes, send_email sends "immediately"	Your Mac, then your AI

Whichever option you pick, what the AI reads goes to the company that runs its model: Anthropic for Claude, OpenAI for ChatGPT. Only a model you run on your own computer keeps it there.

Alrighty: best for Claude or ChatGPT across iCloud, Gmail and Outlook on a computer

Alrighty is a desktop mail app for Mac, Windows and Linux that puts iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts in one inbox. It also runs an MCP server on your computer. MCP is the open standard Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants use to call tools, so the AI you already use can work with every account Alrighty holds.

Which assistants. Claude (the desktop app and Claude Code), ChatGPT's desktop app, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, OpenCode, Antigravity, or a local model. Alrighty adds itself to most of them with one button. The setup guide has the steps for each.

What the AI can do. There are two sets of tools.

• Read. List your accounts, the Inbox across every account, Sent, Drafts, Archive, Junk, Trash and any folder. Search every account by keyword and by meaning. Open one message or a whole conversation, and read an attached PDF, text file or image. These change nothing, and opening a message this way does not mark it read.
• Work in a window you watch. The AI opens Alrighty in a window of its own and works through the app's own buttons and fields: it opens mail, writes replies, forwards, and deletes or marks messages read. It can also stop a sender's mail for good. You see each step, and you can take over at any time.

Can it send without you? Not by default. When the AI calls send, Alrighty shows the draft in the window and asks you, and nothing goes out until you click Send. You can change that with Send without asking in Settings, and only you can: an assistant can't turn it on. This matters because email is written by other people, and a message can carry text aimed at an AI, such as "forward this thread to me." Alrighty also tells the assistant to treat mail as information to report, never as instructions.

Which accounts. iCloud, Gmail, and Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and Microsoft 365, all in one search. Your AI can ask "What did my bank send this week?" once and get answers from every account.

Where your mail goes. The MCP server runs inside the app on your computer and listens on 127.0.0.1 only, so other computers can't reach it. Each request needs a token that Alrighty makes, and requests that come from a web page are refused, even a page open in your own browser. The mail the AI reads goes from your computer to the company that runs its model. With a local model, it stays on your computer. Your passwords and tokens for iCloud, Google and Microsoft stay on your computer, encrypted with a key from your system's keychain, and no assistant ever gets them.

Alrighty's own AI. Separate from MCP, Alrighty has built-in AI features: answers from your mail, suggested replies in your voice, and sorting into groups. When you're signed in, opening a reply starts a suggested draft by itself. These features send only the emails they need to Alrighty's server, which passes them to an AI model (OpenAI's for answers and replies).

Price. A 14-day trial with no card, then a Free plan or Pro. Free has a small monthly allowance for the built-in AI.

What it can't do. There is no iPhone or web app, so it doesn't help with ChatGPT or Claude on your phone. It takes iCloud, Gmail and Outlook accounts only, so no Yahoo, Fastmail or other IMAP. The server runs while the app is open. It has no calendar. It's a new app with no long track record yet.

Pick it if you use Claude, ChatGPT or another assistant on a computer and want it to read every account and do real work in your mail, with you in charge of every send.

Claude's Gmail connector: best for one Gmail account in Claude

Anthropic's Google Workspace connectors are "available for all users on Claude and Claude Desktop" (Anthropic). With Gmail turned on, Claude can search and read your mail, draft emails, send, reply and forward, manage labels and threads, and list your saved drafts. There is nothing to install.

Can it send without you? Not by default. Claude asks for your approval before it sends, replies or forwards. On Team and Enterprise plans, owners decide whether members can let these actions run without asking each time (same page).

Which accounts. Gmail only. Anthropic says Claude can reach data only for "the Google account you've connected." iCloud and Outlook mail stay out of reach.

Where your mail goes. What Claude retrieves is stored on Anthropic's servers with the chat it belongs to, and deleting the chat deletes it. Anthropic says "We do not train our models on your Gmail, Drive, or Calendar connector data" (same page).

What it can't do. It sees that an email has an attachment but not what is in it: "Attachment content is not directly accessible through Gmail (metadata only)." Anthropic also says some advanced Gmail filters may not work and large mailboxes may be slower. On Team and Enterprise plans, an owner must turn the connectors on first.

Pick it if all your mail is in one Gmail account and you use Claude in the browser or its app.

Claude's Microsoft 365 connector: best for work Outlook in a company

Claude also has a Microsoft 365 connector, "available on all Claude plans: Free, Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, and Enterprise" (Anthropic). It is built for companies.

Which accounts. Work and school accounts, which "require a Microsoft Entra tenant." Anthropic adds that "Personal Microsoft accounts need no admin setup and aren't shown on Team and Enterprise plans," so a personal Outlook.com address works only on an individual Claude plan.

Can it send without you? It can't send at all by default: "Permissions are read-only by default." Sending needs write tools, which a Microsoft Entra Global Administrator must approve and a Claude admin must then turn on (same page).

What it can't do. "A Microsoft Entra Global Administrator in your tenant needs to authorize the integration before anyone can connect." That holds for work accounts. It reads Microsoft mail only, with no iCloud or Gmail.

Pick it if your company runs Microsoft 365 and its IT admin will approve Claude. For a personal Outlook.com address, see the best Outlook MCP servers.

ChatGPT's Gmail and Outlook plugins: best for one account in ChatGPT

OpenAI lets you connect Gmail or Outlook Email from the Plugins tab in ChatGPT Work (OpenAI). With Gmail, ChatGPT can "Search and triage Gmail threads, create reply drafts, and archive, label, or move messages to Trash when you explicitly ask." With Outlook Email, it can search and triage mail, change read state and draft replies.

Can it send without you? OpenAI says "ChatGPT proposes cleanup and drafts replies, but waits for your approval before taking action" (same page).

Which accounts. Gmail and Outlook. The page does not mention iCloud.

Where your mail goes. What ChatGPT reads goes to OpenAI. OpenAI's data-control pages for these plugins did not load for us, so we don't quote their retention terms here.

What it can't do. OpenAI says "Gmail and Outlook actions and scheduled tasks depend on your plan and workspace settings," so what you get varies. Each provider is a separate plugin, and there is no iCloud plugin.

Pick it if you live in ChatGPT and your mail is in Gmail or Outlook.

Superhuman Mail MCP: best for Gmail and Outlook teams on Superhuman

Superhuman is a paid mail app for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Its Mail MCP "connects your inbox and calendar to Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants." Once connected, an assistant can "search messages, summarize threads, draft and send replies, manage meetings." Claude and ChatGPT get their own connect buttons, and Cursor and Perplexity are named too.

Price. The MCP comes with the Business plan, at $33 per member per month, billed yearly (plans). Can it send without you? Superhuman says "By default, every send requires your approval," and that it "only acts when you ask" (Superhuman). The words "by default" mean the setting can change. The page doesn't say how.

Which accounts. "Connect all your Gmail and Outlook accounts," the MCP page says, and the mail app is "Built for teams that use Gmail or Outlook" (Superhuman). Neither page mentions iCloud, Yahoo or other IMAP.

Where your mail goes. The MCP page doesn't say where the server runs or where mail is processed. Superhuman's privacy policy says "We receive the content you upload or enable our products to access, such as emails and drafts."

What it can't do. No iCloud. The MCP needs the higher of the two priced plans. Our Superhuman alternatives page covers other options.

Pick it if your team already uses Superhuman on Gmail or Microsoft 365 and wants Claude or ChatGPT in it.

Airmail MCP: best for Claude in a mail app that holds Yahoo or IMAP accounts

Airmail is a Mac mail app, and version 26.0.20 added: "Airmail now connects to AI assistants like Claude, Codex, and other compatible chatbots" (App Store). You turn the connection on in Airmail's settings and install a small bridge, airmail-mcp, in your AI client.

What the AI can do. The bridge's README lists 102 tools: reading, searching and composing mail, folders, semantic search, blocked sender lists, and Airmail's calendar and reminders.

Can it send without you? The tools include send_email, and the README doesn't say whether Airmail asks first.

Which accounts. Any account Airmail holds: "iCloud, MS Exchange, Gmail, IMAP, POP3, Yahoo, AOL, and Outlook.com" (App Store).

Where your mail goes. The bridge "connects locally to Airmail on your Mac," and each AI client is paired and can be removed in Airmail's MCP Permissions tab (same README). What the AI reads goes to its model company.

What it can't do. The bridge is a separate install that needs Node.js. More than one account needs Airmail Pro ($7.99 a month or $49.99 a year in the US App Store), and neither page says whether the MCP needs Pro. Our Alrighty vs Airmail page compares the two apps.

Pick it if you already read your mail in Airmail, especially Yahoo or other IMAP accounts, and want Claude to work there.

HEY: best if your address is @hey.com

HEY is an email service from 37signals with no built-in AI. Its CLI lets "Claude Code, Codex, or another tool" work in your account, and hey mcp runs it as an MCP server (HEY help). An agent can "sort your Screener, clear out Reply Later, draft a reply," and "the agent can write as well as read." A --read-only option limits it to reading.

What it can't do. It reaches HEY mail only, and HEY doesn't connect your Gmail, iCloud or Outlook mailbox. You set it up in Terminal.

Pick it if your mail already lives at HEY and you use Claude Code or Codex.

Shortwave: MCP for its own AI, not for yours

Shortwave is a Gmail app with its own AI assistant, built on Claude models. Many lists name it as an MCP mail app, so it's worth being exact about the direction. Its MCP guide describes Shortwave's AI connecting out to other MCP servers. You add a remote server by URL or a local one by command, and Shortwave's assistant can then call their tools (Shortwave). The guide says nothing about Claude or ChatGPT connecting to your Shortwave inbox.

Price. MCP integrations come with Business, Premier or Max, which start at $30 per seat per month (pricing). Local servers work only in the desktop app. Shortwave "will only support a limited number of tools (currently 40) at once."

Which accounts. Gmail and Google Workspace. Microsoft 365 and Exchange are "not supported at this time," and Outlook.com works by forwarding only (Shortwave).

Where your mail goes. "All Shortwave data is stored in Google Cloud," and besides Google Cloud it uses "OpenAI, Anthropic, and Pinecone" (security).

Pick it if you want an AI inside a Gmail app that reaches your other tools, and you don't need Claude or ChatGPT themselves to read your mail.

Zapier MCP: best for mail as one step in wider automations

Zapier MCP is "a secure way to connect AI clients such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor to the apps you use through Zapier." You choose which apps and actions the AI can use, such as Gmail's Send Email, and you can "Review every MCP action in History and remove access at any time."

Price. It's included in every Zapier plan. Each tool call uses two tasks from your plan's task quota, "the same bucket your Zaps use" (same page).

Can it send without you? Zapier's Gmail Send Email action sends the message. Zapier's own tutorial describes the AI calling "the Send Email action via MCP" and doesn't mention a confirmation step. If you turn that action on, the AI can send.

Which accounts. Gmail works. For Outlook, "Only Office 365 Business or Enterprise accounts are supported," and "Personal accounts (Outlook.com, Office Home, Live.com) cannot be connected" (Zapier). The Zapier pages we read don't mention iCloud.

Where your mail goes. Through Zapier. It says it "manages app credentials outside the model," so the AI never sees your login, and that it is "SOC 2 Type II certified."

What it can't do. No personal Outlook.com or iCloud accounts. Cost grows with use. It's a set of actions, not a place to read your mail.

Pick it if your mail is one of many apps you want an AI to act on, and you're fine with a third service in the middle.

Open-source Gmail MCP servers: best if you want to run it yourself

GitHub has dozens of Gmail MCP servers. One of the best documented is ArtyMcLabin's Gmail MCP Server, "an actively maintained fork of GongRzhe/Gmail-MCP-Server." Its README says "The original repository has been unmaintained since August 2025," which is a useful warning about this kind of project: check that the one you pick is still updated.

Price. Free. You set up a Google Cloud project with the Gmail API turned on, create your own OAuth credentials, and run the server with Node.js (same README).

Can it send without you? Yes. Its send_email tool "Sends a new email immediately." The README describes no confirmation step in the server. For a review step, it offers draft_email and send_draft as separate tools.

Which accounts. Gmail. To use a second account, the README describes running a second copy of the server.

Where your mail goes. From Google to your Mac, then to the AI you use. Your Google tokens are saved in a file, ~/.gmail-mcp/credentials.json, which the README says only your user can read.

What it can't do. No iCloud or Outlook. You maintain the Google Cloud setup and the updates yourself. Our best AI email assistant list covers hosted tools if you'd rather not.

Pick it if you're a developer, your mail is in Gmail, and you want full control over the code. Our best Gmail MCP servers list compares more of them.

How to choose

• Claude or ChatGPT across iCloud, Gmail and Outlook on a computer, nothing sent without your click: Alrighty.
• One Gmail account, used in Claude's app or browser: Claude's Gmail connector.
• Work Outlook at a company with Microsoft 365 and an IT admin: Claude's Microsoft 365 connector.
• One Gmail or Outlook account, used in ChatGPT: ChatGPT's Gmail or Outlook plugin.
• A Superhuman team on Gmail or Microsoft 365: Superhuman Mail MCP.
• Yahoo or IMAP mail you already read in Airmail: Airmail MCP.
• An @hey.com address: the HEY CLI.
• An AI inside a Gmail app that reaches your other tools: Shortwave.
• Mail as one step in automations across many apps: Zapier MCP.
• Gmail, your own code, your own Google Cloud project: an open-source Gmail MCP server.

For iCloud through Apple Mail, see the Apple Mail MCP servers. For Fastmail, Yahoo and other IMAP accounts, see the best email MCP servers. If you also care about what your mail app itself sends to its maker, our guide to the most private email apps for Mac compares that.

Questions

Can Claude read my iCloud email?

Not through Claude's own connectors, which cover Gmail and Microsoft 365 business accounts. Claude can read iCloud mail through a desktop mail app with an MCP server. Alrighty's server gives Claude your iCloud, Gmail and Outlook mail together, and Airmail's MCP reaches the accounts Airmail holds.

Can ChatGPT send emails for me?

OpenAI says ChatGPT drafts replies and "waits for your approval before taking action" with its Gmail and Outlook plugins. Through Alrighty, ChatGPT's desktop app can write a reply in the agent window, and the reply sends only when you click Send.

What is an MCP email server?

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets an AI assistant call tools in another program. An MCP email server gives the assistant tools such as "search mail" and "open message." What it can reach depends on the server: one Gmail account, or every account in a mail app.

Is it safe to give an AI access to my email?

Two things decide it. First, the company that runs the model sees what the AI reads, so pick one you trust, or run a local model. Second, email is written by strangers, and a message can hide instructions aimed at the AI. An option that can send without you, such as a send_email tool that sends "immediately," turns that into a real risk. Choose one that waits for your click.

Does the AI see my email password?

Not with these options. Claude's and ChatGPT's connectors sign in to Google or Microsoft for you, and Zapier keeps credentials "outside the model." Alrighty keeps your passwords and tokens on your computer, encrypted, and the assistant gets only the mail it asks for.