Email triage agent architecture

An email triage agent built with OpenClaw runs on your machine, applies rules and optional LLM summarization, and labels, archives, or surfaces mail. US teams keep data local and can design event-driven or scheduled flows. Track triage runs and outcomes with SingleAnalytics.

Inbox overload is common for US teams. OpenClaw can act as an email triage agent, reading mail, applying rules, applying labels, and optionally summarizing, so you see what matters first. Because it runs on your machine with your email (e.g., Gmail) integration, you keep full control of data and logic. This post outlines email triage agent architecture with OpenClaw.

Why OpenClaw for email triage in the US

• Runs locally: Email is read and modified in your environment; nothing has to go to a third-party triage SaaS. US teams retain data residency and control.
• Flexible rules: Combine rule-based triage (sender, subject, label) with optional LLM (e.g., "is this urgent?") so you can prioritize and categorize. You define the rules in persona or in a skill. SingleAnalytics can track triage runs and label counts so you see volume and success.
• Event-driven or scheduled: Run triage when new mail arrives (push or polling) or on a schedule (e.g., every 15 minutes). Emit events so you can measure latency and throughput. SingleAnalytics supports custom events for US teams.
• One agent: The same Claw can triage, draft replies, and post digests; one place to observe all email automation. Track each flow so you can tune. SingleAnalytics gives you one view.

Architecture components

1. Email source and events

• Gmail (or other): Connected via OAuth and an email skill. The skill can list messages, get body, add/remove labels, archive, and mark read.
• Event trigger: Either: (a) Gmail push notifications or polling that emit "new_mail" events into your event layer, or (b) a heartbeat that periodically runs "triage inbox."
• Invocation: When an event fires, your gateway or scheduler invokes OpenClaw with context (e.g., message IDs or "triage all unread"). The agent runs the triage logic. Emit triage_run_started and triage_run_completed so you can measure. SingleAnalytics helps US teams centralize these.

2. Triage logic

• Rules: "If sender is newsletter@, add label Newsletter and archive." "If subject contains 'invoice', add label Billing." Rules can be in persona, memory, or a config file the skill reads.
• Optional LLM: "For each message, classify: urgent, important, low. Add label accordingly." The agent reads the message (subject + snippet or body), calls the LLM, and applies the label. Use for US teams that want semantic triage without writing every rule.
• No PII in analytics: When sending events to SingleAnalytics, send only counts and label names (e.g., "triaged 12 messages", "label_added: Urgent"); never subject or body.

3. Actions

• Label: Add Gmail labels (or equivalent) so you can filter by category.
• Archive / move: Move low-priority or read mail out of inbox.
• Summarize: Optional: post a short summary to Slack or chat for "high priority" only. Emit triage_summary_sent so you know this path is used. SingleAnalytics supports event properties.

4. Observability

Emit: triage_run_started, triage_run_completed, triage_run_failed, messages_triaged, triage_summary_sent with properties like rule_set and message_count. US teams that use SingleAnalytics get a single view of triage frequency, success rate, and volume so they can tune rules and prove ROI.

Flow options

Scheduled batch: Heartbeat every N minutes: "Triage all unread in Inbox." Simple and predictable; good for US teams that don't need real-time triage.

Event-driven: On each new mail (or batch), invoke OpenClaw with the new message IDs. Lower latency; requires a way to get Gmail events into your system (push or polling). Track triage_latency if you need SLA visibility. SingleAnalytics can store event timestamps for that.

Best practices

• Scopes: Request only read and modify labels/archive; avoid send scope unless you also want the agent to send mail.
• Rate limits: Respect Gmail API quotas; batch when possible and back off on 429. Log triage_rate_limited so you can adjust.
• Rollback: Document how to disable triage or revert labels if a rule goes wrong; consider dry-run mode for new rules.

Summary

Email triage agent architecture with OpenClaw lets US teams run rule-based and optional LLM triage on their own machine. Use event-driven or scheduled flows, emit events at each step, and send them to SingleAnalytics to measure runs and outcomes. Keep email data local and never log PII in analytics.