How to email an AI
The short version
To email an AI, sign up for Airbox to get a private email address, connect the AI provider of your choice — Claude, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and more — with your own API key, then forward or BCC any email to that address. Airbox sends it to your AI and emails the answer back into your inbox.
What you need
- A free Airbox account
- An API key from any supported AI provider (you bring your own and stay in control)
Choose your AI provider
Each guide links you straight to the provider's key page and walks you through the same three steps:
Claude AI
Route email to Anthropic Claude with your own API key
ChatGPT
Use ChatGPT models through Airbox — same OpenAI API connection, friendlier naming
OpenAI
GPT models via the official OpenAI API — full model catalog and API features
Google Gemini
Google Gemini models via the Gemini API
Perplexity
Sonar models with web-aware answers on your key
Mistral
Mistral models on your own API key
Kimi (Moonshot)
Moonshot AI Kimi models
1. Get your Airbox address
Create a free account and open the dashboard to make an inbox. You get an unguessable address like c4f8xxxx@airbox.fyi. Save it as a contact or BCC it on outgoing mail. See the quick start for the full walkthrough.
2. Connect your AI
Airbox is bring-your-own-AI. Pick a provider below, grab an API key, and paste it into Airbox once. You can connect more than one and choose per email.
- Create an API key with your chosen provider (links in the guides below).
- In your Airbox dashboard, go to Connections → + AI & LLM provider and paste the key.
- Set it as your inbox default and Save. Switch providers any time with @claude, @chatgpt, @gemini, and friends.
3. Send your first email
Forward or BCC any email to your Airbox address. To ask for something specific, put a short instruction on the trusted surface — the subject, the first body line, or a (* … *) block at the top:
Subject: Fwd: Q3 planning thread (* @claude summarize this and list the action items *) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- ...the email you forwarded...
A plain send or forward with no instruction works with any provider — Airbox summarizes and lists action items by default.
Anything else in a forwarded email is treated as content to read, never as a command. More in the command syntax and forwarding guides.
What you can do
- Summarize long threads from any inbox
- Draft and rewrite replies
- Extract dates, tasks, and key facts
- Route different inboxes to different AIs
Frequently asked questions
- Which AI providers can I email?
- Claude (Anthropic), ChatGPT / OpenAI, Google Gemini, Perplexity, Mistral, OpenRouter, Kimi, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, plus tool connections like Notion, GitHub, and MCP servers.
- Do I need my own API key?
- Yes. Airbox is bring-your-own-AI — you connect your own provider key, so you control the model and pay the provider directly with no AI markup from Airbox.
- How much does it cost?
- Airbox has a free plan to get started. You bring your own AI provider API key, so you pay the provider directly for the tokens you use — there is no AI markup from Airbox.
- Is it safe to point Airbox at my real email?
- Yes — that's exactly what Airbox is designed for. Airbox only acts on mail from senders you allow, and it only treats the subject and first body line (or a (* … *) block) as instructions. Everything else in a forwarded email is quarantined as untrusted content and never obeyed for your own security and privacy. Your API keys stay fully encrypted.
Ready to try it?
Get your private Airbox address and send your first AI-routed email in minutes. Free to start — bring your own AI.