Help Centre › Building Processes
This article describes the RPA Outlook functionality to classify e-mails using AI.
For a full list of available functions, please read OUTLOOK functions.
Description
The OUTLOOK Classify e-mails function uses AI to classify e-mails in a folder into custom categories. You define the category labels (e.g. invoice, support, spam, newsletter) and the AI classifies each e-mail. Optionally, classified e-mails can be automatically moved, categorised, or flagged.
Setting it up
To use the OUTLOOK Classify e-mails function, follow these instructions:
{{popups:rpas/add:action=outlook-classify-email}}
Once on a process map:
- Navigate to the process where you would like to add the OUTLOOK Classify e-mails function
- Click on the green button's drop-down (right side of the green button labelled "Process")
- On the menu that appears, click on the "+ Activity" item
- From here you can select the OUTLOOK Classify e-mails option
- Click "Add" once you are done
Input parameters
| Parameter | Required | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories | Yes | Table | - | Category labels to classify into, e.g. invoice, support, spam |
| Folder | No | Text | Inbox | Folder to classify |
| Limit | No | Text | 20 | Maximum number of e-mails to classify |
| Action | No | Select | None | Action after classification: Move to folder, Set category, or Flag |
| Variable | Yes | Text | - | Variable to store classification results |
Output variables
| Variable | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | List | A list of dictionaries, each containing: id, subject, category |
Errors
| Error | Description |
|---|---|
| Outlook not open | Outlook is not running |
| Folder not found | The specified folder does not exist |
| AI processing error | The AI could not classify the e-mails |
Tips
- Use clear, distinct category names for better classification
- Start with a small limit to test classification accuracy
- Combine with the move action to automatically sort e-mails into folders