An agent in Outlook that sorts the unread inbox into what needs you, drafts the replies it can handle and writes a one page brief before each meeting
The problem
A manager on Microsoft 365 starts the day with eighty unread emails, half of them calendar responses and newsletters, and the three that need a decision are buried. Meeting prep means scrolling back through threads with each attendee, so people walk in without knowing what was last agreed.
How the agent works
The manager opens Outlook, pins the Claude for Outlook pane and asks what needs me. Claude reads unread mail and attachments and sorts them into three groups: action items with a one line reason each, items it can handle (scheduling asks, acknowledgements, standard documents) which arrive pre drafted, and noise that can be archived in one click. Drafts land unsent in Outlook's compose pane in the manager's own tone, learned from the sent folder, and Claude warns before adding anyone who was not on the thread. For a long thread it summarises what was decided, what is open and who owes what, with a citation to the specific email for each claim. Before the next event it pulls the last thread with each attendee and any attached documents into a one page brief. The add in does not hold the Mail.Send permission, so nothing goes out until the manager reads the draft and clicks Send.
Worked example
Anthropic's Claude for Outlook documentation describes exactly this flow, with prompts such as 'What needs me?', 'Draft replies for everything you can handle', 'Who owes what on this thread?' and 'Prep me for my 2pm'. It reads .docx and .xlsx attachments inline, finds meeting times across attendees and drafts the invite into Outlook's native appointment form. The add in is in beta on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans, installs from Microsoft AppSource, needs Exchange Online and a one time Microsoft Graph admin consent, and Anthropic advises reviewing every draft because inbound email can carry prompt injection.
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