Integrations

Microsoft Outlook Integration

Connect Outlook so Assistant can search your mailbox, summarize threads, read attachments, and draft, reply to, forward, or send email from a chat. August reads your mailbox live through Microsoft each time you ask, so there is nothing to sync or index first.

To use August inside Outlook, next to the email you have open, install the Outlook Add-in. It uses this integration to read and act on your mailbox, so connect Outlook here first.

What the Integration Does

Once Outlook is connected and turned on for a chat, Assistant can:

  • Email search: Find messages with a plain-language request, for example emails from opposing counsel about a specific deadline.

  • Thread summarization: Convert long email threads into concise matter updates that highlight current status, key issues, and decisions.

  • Drafting and replies: Draft new emails, edit drafts, reply, and forward. Sending always pauses for your approval.

  • Attachment review: List an email's attachments and import the ones you need into August for analysis.

  • Mailbox organization: Mark messages read or unread, flag them, set importance or categories, move or archive them, and manage mail folders. These changes also pause for your approval.

Setup Requirements

You need an active August account with integration access and a Microsoft account with an Outlook mailbox.

How to Connect Outlook

August never receives your Microsoft password. If your tenant restricts user consent, your Microsoft 365 administrator approves the August app once before anyone can connect.

  1. Open the account menu (your name in the sidebar) and select My profile.

  2. Select the Integrations tab and click Connect next to Outlook.

  3. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 account.

  4. Review the permissions August requests (read, write, and send mail, read contacts, and read and write your calendar), then accept them.

You return to August with your mailbox listed under Outlook. You can also connect from the Integrations menu in the chat composer, which shows a switch to turn Outlook on or off for that chat once you're connected.

Common Use Cases

Summarize Long Email Threads

Turn multi-thread email chains into concise summaries that highlight key issues, decisions, and next steps. Use this for case updates, negotiation history, or client correspondence reviews.

Draft Contextual Replies

Ask Assistant to draft a reply that draws on the earlier thread, for example a response to a meeting request that references what was agreed last week. Review the draft, then approve sending.

Search and Retrieve Emails

Find specific emails using natural language queries. Ask the Assistant to retrieve emails from opposing counsel about deadlines, or locate all messages related to a particular matter.

Review Attachments

Import an email's attachments, then ask Assistant to extract key terms, flag issues, or compare them with other documents.

Email Attachment Handling

When Assistant opens an email, it sees each attachment's name, ID, content type, and file size, so it can pick the files you need before importing them.

Which Attachments Are Listed

By default, August lists only document attachments. It leaves out:

  • Inline attachments: Embedded images and other inline content.

  • Calendar invites: Files with extensions like .ics or content type text/calendar.

Ask for every attachment when you need inline images or calendar files too. Files over 50 MB and cloud-linked attachments can't be imported.

Importing Attachments

You can import attachments from an email in two ways:

  • Import all attachments: Bring all listed attachments into August for analysis or storage.

  • Import selected attachments: Name the specific files you need when you only want a subset of the email's attachments.

Removing Attachments from Drafts

For draft emails, you can delete attachments directly from the message. Open the draft in the email viewer and remove any unwanted attachments before sending.

Attachment deletion is only available for draft messages. Once an email has been sent, you cannot remove attachments from that message.

Calendar

When Outlook is connected and turned on for a chat, Assistant can also work with your default Outlook calendar. It can list events for a time window you name, create, update, or delete events, and accept, tentatively accept, or decline meeting invitations.

Listing events runs right away. Calendar changes always pause for your approval first, and the approval card shows the event's subject, time, location, attendees, and any comment before you approve.

Attendees are notified in Outlook: a new event with attendees sends them an invitation, an update notifies them of the change, and deleting a meeting you organized sends them a cancellation.

If calendar actions fail because your Outlook connection predates calendar access, disconnect Outlook and connect it again so August can request calendar access.

Troubleshooting

The connection failed or timed out

Check your network connection and ensure you're signed into the correct Microsoft 365 account. Clear your browser cache and retry. If the issue persists, verify with your IT administrator that Microsoft Graph API access is not blocked by organizational policies.

Assistant can't find my emails

Check that Outlook is turned on in the chat composer's Integrations menu, and that the right mailbox is marked Active under My profile > Integrations. If you have more than one Microsoft account connected, click the one you want to make it active. If it still fails, remove the account and connect it again.

I can't send emails from August

Verify that your Microsoft 365 account includes send permissions. Some organizations restrict send access for third-party applications. Contact your administrator to confirm the August integration has full mailbox permissions.

Security and Authentication

August uses industry-standard security for all integrations:

  • Authentication method: Microsoft sign-in through Microsoft Graph

  • Credential storage: No passwords are stored by August. Authentication tokens are encrypted and managed securely.

  • Data access: August accesses only the mailbox content you authorize and does not retain credentials.

For details on how August protects your data across all integrations, see Security and Privacy Overview.

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