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How to connect Gmail to an AI assistant safely

Short answer: Connect a dedicated Gmail mailbox (one you forward mail to, not your everyday inbox) through Integrations, using a Google app password instead of OAuth. Then turn on the Email skill for a chat or mode; every message the AI sends still stops at your approval first.

Steps

  1. Pick or create the Gmail address you want to dedicate to this. Only Gmail addresses are accepted; anything else is rejected.
  2. On that account, turn on 2-Step Verification, then go to Google Account → Security → App passwords and generate a 16-character app password.
  3. In Build Perch, open the app menu, choose Integrations, and expand the Gmail row.
  4. Paste the address and the app password, then click Save. The password goes straight into the Windows Credential Manager; the app’s own interface can replace or delete it later, but never read it back.
  5. Click Test connection. On success it reports how many messages are in INBOX.
  6. Click the mode pill above the compose box to open Chat Configuration, and turn on the Email skill for just this chat, or save it into a mode so every chat in that mode has it too.

Notes & gotchas

  • Connecting the mailbox and turning on the skill are two separate steps. Like every integration, Email is off by default until you opt it into a chat or mode.
  • Reads only cover the connected mailbox’s INBOX, not other folders or labels.
  • email_send and email_reply always stop at an approval banner: a “LEAVES YOUR MACHINE” card shows the recipient, subject, and body before anything goes out. They can never auto-approve, even with auto-approval set to “approve everything.”
  • Attachments the AI sends (a workspace file added to a message) are capped at 25 MB; incoming attachments it downloads with email_get_attachment aren’t size-limited.
  • Outlook.com isn’t supported: Microsoft removed app-password IMAP access for it.