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Getting started with Cora

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Written by Anukshi
Updated over a month ago

What is Cora and how does it work?

Cora is an AI-powered email assistant that transforms your overflowing inbox into organized daily summaries called Briefs. Instead of wading through hundreds of emails, you get the important stuff surfaced while everything else waits in a beautifully formatted briefing.

Think of Cora as your personal email concierge—it doesn't just organize your emails, it understands them, learns your patterns, and helps you respond more efficiently.

How Cora organizes your email

Cora works on a simple principle: urgent stays in your inbox, everything else goes to your Brief.
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What stays in your inbox

  • Emails requiring immediate response

  • Time-sensitive communications

  • Messages from important contacts

  • Complex emails needing thoughtful consideration

What goes to your Brief

  • Newsletters and subscriptions

  • Promotional emails

  • Regular updates and notifications

  • FYI messages that don't need responses

This split means you can check your inbox for truly urgent items while knowing everything else is safely captured in your Brief.

What is a Brief?

A Brief is Cora's signature feature—a time-bounded collection of your non-urgent emails, delivered at scheduled times (typically morning and afternoon).

Instead of checking email constantly, you read your Brief once or twice a day and see everything important in a curated, summarized format.

What makes Briefs special:

  • Time-bounded: Each Brief covers a specific period, creating natural boundaries

  • Categorized: Emails are organized by type (newsletters, promotions, updates, etc.)

  • Summarized: AI-generated summaries let you understand emails without reading them fully

  • Beautiful: Designed to be enjoyable to read, not a chore

How Cora processes your emails

When an email arrives, Cora:

  1. Detects and fetches new emails every 10 minutes

  2. Classifies using your rules first, then AI if no rules match

  3. Assigns a category and takes the appropriate action (Brief, Draft, Inbox, or Archive)

  4. Generates summaries for emails going to your Brief

  5. Creates draft responses for emails that need replies

  6. Assembles your Brief at your scheduled times

What Cora can do

When you connect your Gmail account, Cora can:

  • Read emails to understand and categorize them

  • Apply labels to organize messages

  • Archive emails (move out of inbox without deleting)

  • Create draft responses for you to review and send

What Cora can never do

Cora has built-in limitations for your protection:

  • Can't delete emails: Nothing you do in Cora can permanently delete anything

  • Can't send emails automatically: You always have final control

  • Can't share your data: Your emails remain completely private

  • Can't access Trash or Spam: These folders are off-limits

  • Can't change your Gmail settings: Your configuration stays untouched

Requirements

Gmail only: Cora works exclusively with Gmail accounts, including:

  • Personal Gmail (@gmail.com)

  • Google Workspace (company email using Gmail)

Any email client: While your account must be Gmail-based, you can use any email client—Gmail, Apple Mail, Superhuman, Spark, or any other. Cora works at the Gmail server level.

Getting started

When you connect Cora to your Gmail:

  1. Immediate processing: Cora begins analyzing your inbox right away

  2. Smart categorization: Emails are automatically sorted

  3. First Brief: Within 24 hours, you'll receive your first Brief

  4. Learning phase: Cora observes your patterns and preferences

  5. Continuous improvement: Every interaction makes Cora smarter

Talking to Cora

You can communicate with the Cora Assistant through:

  • The web interface chat

  • Emailing [email protected] directly—perfect for forwarding specific emails or teaching Cora your preferences without leaving your inbox.

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