> Compare Gmail and Revdoku for AI agents. Explore dedicated inboxes, aliases, mailbox permissions, attachments and connections for your workflow.

# Gmail vs Revdoku for AI Agents

Use **Revdoku when your AI agent needs a separate incoming inbox**. Use **Gmail when it needs your existing conversations or must send from a Gmail address**.

Revdoku provides email inboxes for AI agents and apps, with storage for original messages, attachments and generated documents. You control which mailboxes each agent can access. [Receiving documentation](/api/#incoming-email-into-a-mailbox)

## Gmail vs Revdoku at a glance

| Decision | Gmail | Revdoku |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Main purpose | General-purpose email tied to Google identity | Separate agent inboxes with file storage |
| Receiving and attachments | Read messages and retrieve attachments via the [Gmail API](https://developers.google.com/workspace/gmail/api/reference/rest/v1/users.messages.attachments/get) | Receive email; access messages, attachments and original files |
| Agent access separation | Scopes control operations; `gmail.readonly` permits mailbox-wide reading | Connections can be limited to selected mailboxes |
| Aliases | Plus addressing, Workspace aliases and eligible primary-address changes follow different rules | Extra receiving addresses on eligible paid plans; plan-dependent |
| Integrations | Supported API and [Gmail MCP Developer Preview](https://developers.google.com/workspace/gmail/api/reference/mcp) | [Skill, CLI, MCP and API](/docs/) |

Gmail supports AI integrations. Choose an existing Google mailbox or a separate agent inbox.

## Choose permissions for your AI agent inbox first

In the Gmail API, `gmail.readonly` permits reading mailbox messages and settings. Application label or thread filters do not narrow token permissions.

`gmail.send` allows sending without inbox-reading access. `gmail.compose` manages drafts **and sends**. The broad `mail.google.com` scope permits permanent deletion. Gmail add-ons have current-message scopes for specific interactive use cases. [Google’s scope definitions](https://developers.google.com/workspace/gmail/api/auth/scopes)

OAuth permissions can change as an application grows: Google supports incremental authorization, with applicable user consent and verification. [OAuth best practices](https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/resources/best-practices)

In Revdoku, authorize each agent connection to access its intended mailboxes and perform its intended operations. Follow the authorization flow for your chosen CLI, MCP or API connection. Permissions cover accounts or selected mailboxes. Use separate mailboxes for workflows with different access requirements; folders are not independent permission boundaries. [Connection and access documentation](/docs/)

## Email aliases add addresses, not separate inboxes

An alias shares the mailbox without creating an independent security boundary for another agent.

Gmail has three distinct rules:

- **Plus addressing:** variations like `name+research@gmail.com` share an inbox. The primary-address rename interval does not apply. [Google’s plus-address guidance](https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282734?hl=en)
- **Workspace aliases:** administrators can add up to 30 free aliases per user, all sharing that user’s mailbox. [Workspace alias documentation](https://knowledge.workspace.google.com/admin/users/add-or-delete-an-alternate-email-address-email-alias)
- **Primary Gmail address changes:** eligible existing Google Accounts can create one new primary `@gmail.com` address per 12 months, up to three times in total. The old address remains an alternate; both share an inbox. This is not a blanket alias limit. [Google’s address-change rules](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/19870?hl=en)

Revdoku aliases leave the primary address unchanged. Aliases share mailbox history, quotas and permissions, require administrator access and count toward your plan’s allowance. See [alias documentation](/api/#mailbox-aliases) and [account limits](/api/#account-limits).

## Worked example: three agents, three incoming email inboxes

**Example workflow:** one owner creates three Revdoku mailboxes. Use the receiving addresses Revdoku assigns to these mailboxes.

| Mailbox | Incoming material | Connection and output |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Research | Newsletters and research attachments | Research agent, limited to this mailbox; saves a digest |
| Support intake | Requests and screenshots | Triage agent, limited to this mailbox; saves proposed responses |
| Invoice intake | Supplier messages and invoice PDFs | Invoice agent, limited to this mailbox; saves extracted fields for review |

The owner then grants each connection the read/write access its task needs. Your chosen parser or model handles invoice extraction.

Keep the original message and attachment beside the agent's result so a person can check its interpretation. Revdoku stores the received material; your agent or application performs document extraction. [Message and file access](/api/).

## When Gmail fits better

Choose Gmail for agents needing existing conversation history or your Gmail sending identity. API quotas differ from message-sending limits. Check current project quotas and handle quota errors with exponential backoff and jitter. [Gmail quota guidance](https://developers.google.com/workspace/gmail/api/reference/quota)

Keep correspondence and sending in Gmail while using separate Revdoku inboxes for incoming evidence and processing results.

For sending limits, OAuth scope choices and the reported suspension story, read [Gmail for AI Agent](/blog/gmail-for-ai-agent/).

[Create your free inbox](https://app.revdoku.com/users/sign_up), then [connect your agent](/connect/) or see the [API](/api/).

Give your AI agent
a free email address

Your AI agent or app gets a unique email address, like myagent@revdokumail.com . It can receive emails and attachments, send replies and store files.

Create your AI agent’s inbox

Connect AI…

Copy this setup prompt and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or another AI app. It walks you through signup and connecting.

Copy setup prompt

Connect Revdoku so you can create and manage email mailboxes for my AI agents, read emails and attachments, and store files. Follow https://revdoku.com/llms-install.md to set up access.

Developer options
Skill MCP cURL TS/JS Python

npx skills add revdoku/revdoku --skill revdoku -g

For Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and other coding agents.

https://mcp.revdoku.com

Add as a custom connector in Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor. Steps

curl https://api.revdoku.com/v1/mailboxes \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $REVDOKU_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"mailbox": {"email": {
"username": "acme-orders",
"domain": "revdokumail.com"}}}'

Creates a mailbox with your API key. API reference

const key = process.env.REVDOKU_API_KEY;
const url = "https://api.revdoku.com/v1/mailboxes";
const res = await fetch(url, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
Authorization: `Bearer ${key}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({ mailbox: { email: {
username: "acme-orders",
domain: "revdokumail.com",
} } }),
});
console.log(await res.json());

Creates a mailbox with your API key. API reference

import os, requests
key = os.environ["REVDOKU_API_KEY"]
res = requests.post(
"https://api.revdoku.com/v1/mailboxes",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {key}"},
json={"mailbox": {"email": {
"username": "acme-orders",
"domain": "revdokumail.com",
}}},
timeout=30,
)
print(res.json())

Creates a mailbox with your API key. API reference

AI Agent
Claude Code
ChatGPT

myagent@revdokumail.com

billing@notion.so 9:42 AM

October invoice

Your October invoice for $24.70 is attached.

noreply@github.com 9:38 AM

Your sign-in code

Use 482 916 to sign in to your account.

team@acme.studio Yesterday

Project brief

Hi! Here’s the brief for our next project.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Should I move my existing Gmail conversations to Revdoku?

Use Gmail when your agent needs your existing conversation history or Gmail sending identity. Revdoku fits workflows that need a separate incoming address and a workspace for source files and processing results. You can use both, keeping correspondence in Gmail and routing workflow-specific submissions to Revdoku.

### How do I keep one agent from accessing another agent’s email?

Create separate Revdoku mailboxes and restrict each agent connection to its assigned mailbox and required operations. Aliases and folders do not provide independent access boundaries. In Gmail, labels and application filters do not restrict the mailbox-wide access granted by `gmail.readonly`.

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