How to Run an AI Email Automation Agent with OE Runtime

Read your inbox, prioritise what needs a reply, and send professional follow-up emails automatically. OE Runtime lets you run a local AI email agent over SMTP — works with Gmail, Outlook, or any mail server.

The Agent YAML

Create a file called agent.yaml inside an email/ directory:

name: Email Assistant
description: Summarize inbox and send a follow-up email
instructions: |
  You are an email assistant. Read the inbox via IMAP and send emails via SMTP.
  Draft professional, concise messages. Never send without confirming recipient and subject.
  Complete all steps fully before writing your report.
steps:
  - name: Read Inbox
    content: |
      Fetch the 10 most recent unread emails from the inbox.
      For each email note: sender, subject, date, and a one-sentence summary of the body.
  - name: Draft and Send Reply
    content: |
      From the unread emails, identify the one that most urgently needs a reply.
      Draft a professional acknowledgement reply and send it via SMTP.
      Subject: Re: [original subject]
      Body: acknowledge receipt and state that a full response will follow within 24 hours.
  - name: Report
    content: |
      Summarize what was done:
      - Number of unread emails found
      - Brief summary of each email (sender, subject, urgency level)
      - Which email was replied to and why
      - Confirm the reply was sent successfully
connectors:
  - connection_name: My Email
    connection_type: smtp

The Config File

Create oe-config.json in the same directory:

{
  "llm": {
    "provider": "openai",
    "model": "gpt-4o",
    "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY"
  },
  "server": {
    "enabled": false,
    "port": 3333,
    "apiKey": "your-secret-api-key"
  },
  "connectors": [
    {
      "connection_name": "My Email",
      "connection_type": "smtp",
      "host": "smtp.gmail.com",
      "port": 587,
      "user": "[email protected]",
      "password": "YOUR_APP_PASSWORD",
      "from": "[email protected]"
    }
  ]
}

For Gmail, generate an App Password at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords (requires 2FA enabled). For Outlook use smtp.office365.com port 587. For other providers update host, port, and credentials accordingly.

Download OE Runtime

Run the Agent

Windows

# Run the agent
oe-runtime-win.exe email/agent.yaml --config email/oe-config.json

macOS

# Make executable (first time only)
chmod +x oe-runtime-macos

# Run the agent
oe-runtime-macos email/agent.yaml --config email/oe-config.json

Linux

# Make executable (first time only)
chmod +x oe-runtime-linux

# Run the agent
oe-runtime-linux email/agent.yaml --config email/oe-config.json

Running as an API Server

Add --serve to start OE Runtime as an HTTP server on port 3333:

oe-runtime-win.exe --serve --config email/oe-config.json

Then send a request:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3333/run \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"yaml": "email/agent.yaml", "params": {}}'

Or import the Postman collection (download above) to test all endpoints visually.

Use Cases

• Inbox triage and prioritisation — Automatically scan your inbox each morning, rank unread emails by urgency, and send acknowledgement replies to the most time-sensitive ones. This ensures nothing falls through the cracks even during busy periods without requiring you to manually process every message.
• Sales follow-up automation — Send personalised follow-up emails to prospects after demos, proposal submissions, or trial sign-ups without manual copywriting. Configure the agent to run on a schedule and tailor each message based on the recipient's context and the stage of the conversation.
• Customer support triage — Route and acknowledge incoming support requests automatically so customers know their issue has been received and is being reviewed. The agent can classify urgency, send an appropriate holding reply, and log the interaction for your support team.
• Invoice and payment reminders — Automatically send payment reminder emails to clients with overdue invoices by querying your invoicing data and drafting personalised messages. The agent can escalate the tone for older overdue invoices while keeping initial reminders polite and professional.
• Event and meeting confirmations — Send booking confirmations, calendar invites, and pre-event reminders for webinars, consultations, or interviews without manual effort. The agent can be triggered by a new booking event and personalise each confirmation with the attendee's name and specific event details.
• Internal status reporting — Automatically email weekly status summaries, project updates, or metric reports to stakeholders without anyone needing to write them manually. The agent compiles data from connected sources and delivers a formatted email digest to the relevant distribution list.
• Lead nurturing sequences — Run drip email campaigns for new leads by sending a series of educational or value-add emails over time. Each email is personalised with the lead's name and the product or topic they expressed interest in, maintaining engagement without manual intervention.
• Post-purchase follow-up — Send automated thank-you emails, onboarding guides, and check-in messages to new customers after a purchase or sign-up event. Thoughtful post-purchase communication improves retention and reduces churn by making customers feel supported from day one.