Email Management: Sort by Client and Project

Client-based email management starts with categories that explain where a message belongs and what should happen to it. AI Email Filter evaluates your category prompts in a connected IMAP mailbox. Start with one project, inspect the classifications and expand using your own results.

Choose a maintainable folder structure

Use client folders when you retrieve correspondence by relationship. Use project folders when one client has several engagements that should remain separate. Add a few cross-client categories for work such as billing review.

These names are illustrative. Overlapping categories make it harder to understand a classification.

The classifier chooses one category per message. It does not assign both a client category and a billing category at once. If billing should take precedence, make that distinction explicit and exclude billing messages from project descriptions. Multiple actions within one category are a separate feature.

Write prompts with evidence and exclusions

Name the client, project references and expected message types. Explain what does not belong. A model cannot reliably recognize a relationship or project you have never described.

Example project prompt:

Messages about the Alpha Website project, including design reviews, staging feedback and launch planning. Look for the name or reference ALPHA-WEB. Exclude vendor newsletters and invoices unrelated to this project.

Example billing prompt:

Purchase invoices, payment reminders and billing questions from the vendors named in the account description. Exclude advertising, discounts and messages that merely mention prices.

These are starting instructions, not proven production rules. Classification can use a sender, subject and text preview. If those contain no distinguishing evidence, the project may not be identifiable. An attachment alone is not proof that a message belongs to a particular client.

Test client sorting in the review queue

1. Connect your existing mailbox.
2. Create one or two categories with distinct descriptions and actions.
3. Classify a small selection without applying moves.
4. Check false matches and missed matches, including forwards and senders who work on several projects.
5. Refine the descriptions and apply the actions you approve.

For mixed-purpose senders, review existing saved assignments and message-level results separately. Sender Smart Categories can reuse an eligible saved category for matching messages; a changed subject can trigger another classification. A saved sender category does not guarantee that every future message belongs to the same project.

Surface requests that need review

Multi-Action Rules combine actions such as moving and flagging. Describe concrete signals, such as an explicit reply deadline or approval request. Treat flags as review aids, rather than trusting a model to detect every deadline.

Configure forwarding deliberately and check the recipient and content. Moving an original later does not recall a copy already sent to someone else.

Fixed rules or content-based sorting?

Use a fixed rule when a stable address or subject reference fully describes the match. The Gmail filter examples demonstrate that approach.

Test prompts when the wording varies and you can describe the intended category. Review accuracy and where email data is processed. Bring Your Own LLM explains why processing within your infrastructure requires self-hosting both application and model.

Client-email questions

Can a new contact match an existing project?

Possibly, if the message contains enough evidence matching its description. Review uncertain cases; a new sender alone does not establish a project.

Can two projects share a sender address?

Yes. Evaluate each message individually and give the categories distinct references and exclusions.

Does this create a shared inbox or assign work to people?

This workflow organizes a connected mailbox and its message actions. It does not by itself establish ticket assignment, shared-inbox ownership or CRM records.

How should I measure whether it helps?

Review a fixed sample of your own messages. Record incorrect matches, missed project mail and corrections. Compare the same criteria after a prompt change; a general accuracy or time-saving claim does not replace that check.

See the longer small-business walkthrough and pricing for plans and account limits.