The four-step search
Do not ask Claude to search everything.
- 1
Narrow
Combine at least two anchors and ask for at most five matches.
- 2
Compare
Check the result metadata and why each item matched.
- 3
Open
Read the best message or relevant Gmail thread.
- 4
Act
Quote the deadline, retrieve the attachment, draft the reply, or schedule the follow-up.
Reusable search brief
Fill only what you know.
- Gmail account
- Person or domain
- Topic or phrase
- Date range
- Unread or read state
- Needed output
Use the same idea in two settings
Personal
Find buried admin.
- Booking number
- School attachment
- Warranty email
Business
Recover decision context.
- Agreed price
- Original scope
- Latest client file
Limits
- Search one named account when several are connected
- Change one search variable at a time if the first query misses
Copy these prompts
- “In work Gmail, find up to five emails from northstar.io in the last 60 days mentioning renewal. Show why each matches.”
- “Open the newest match, quote the renewal date and price, and list unanswered questions.”
Common questions
- Why not summarise the whole inbox?
- A focused question is faster to check and much more likely to surface the right source.
- Can it retrieve attachments?
- Yes. Find the message first, then retrieve the specific attachment.