Use any AI to generate a custom Gmail filter system — your people, your categories, your priorities. Import once, forget forever. Works with any AI tool.
Don't overthink it. 6-10 categories is plenty. You can always add more later by creating a new Gmail filter manually.
Generate a Gmail filters XML file I can import at Gmail Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses > Import filters. My important people (label these emails and mark as important): - [PERSON 1 NAME]: [their email or email domain, e.g. sarah@company.com] - [PERSON 2 NAME]: [their email] - [PERSON 3 NAME]: [their email] My categories (auto-label all matching emails): - Finance: emails from [your bank], [credit card], [payroll], and any subject containing "invoice", "payment due", "statement", "bill" - Medical: emails from [your doctor/clinic domain], [pharmacy], [insurance], and subjects containing "appointment", "results", "prescription" - Travel: emails from airlines, hotels, Airbnb, rental cars, and subjects containing "itinerary", "booking confirmation", "check-in" - Shopping: emails from Amazon, [other retailers], and subjects containing "order confirmed", "shipped", "delivery" - Newsletters: emails with unsubscribe links, Substack, any newsletters I subscribe to Noise to archive automatically (never hits inbox): - LinkedIn notifications (not direct messages) - Promotional emails older than 30 days - Social media notifications (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) Rules: 1. VIP people emails: label + mark important + star 2. Finance and Legal: label + mark important 3. Everything else: label only 4. Shopping and Newsletters: label + skip inbox (archive immediately) Output a single valid Gmail filter XML file. Use the exact format Gmail accepts for import. Include all filters in one file.
Be specific with emails and domains — the more specific, the better the filters work. You can paste sample email headers if the AI needs help with patterns.
1. Open Gmail on desktop (import doesn't work on mobile) 2. Click gear icon → "See all settings" 3. Click "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab 4. Scroll to bottom → click "Import filters" 5. Choose your saved .xml file → click "Open file" 6. On the preview page: CHECK "Apply new filters to existing conversations" ↑ This is the magic toggle — it backfills your entire inbox history 7. Click "Create filters" Gmail will spend 10-30 minutes applying labels to your backlog. You can close the tab — it runs in the background.
Gmail auto-creates any labels it doesn't recognize. You'll see them appear in your sidebar within a few minutes.
I just imported Gmail filters that created these labels: [LIST YOUR LABELS] Now help me configure Gmail Multiple Inboxes for a focused inbox view. I want to see: 1. My most urgent emails (starred + unread) 2. VIP people I care most about (unread only) 3. Finance/important category (unread only) 4. Everything else that needs my attention (unread, minus newsletters and shopping) Give me the exact Gmail Multiple Inboxes configuration: - Each panel's name - The Gmail search query to use for each panel - Settings > Inbox > Inbox type: Multiple inboxes Format it as a table I can copy into Gmail settings.
To enable: Gmail Settings → Inbox → Inbox type → Multiple inboxes. You can configure up to 5 panels.
I have an existing Gmail filter system. I want to add a new filter for: [DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT: e.g. "emails from my new accountant john@firm.com, label as Finance and mark important"] Generate a Gmail filter XML snippet I can import to add just this filter. Use the same XML format as before — I'll import it and it'll merge with my existing filters.
You can also create simple filters manually: Gmail Settings → Filters → Create new filter. Takes 30 seconds for one-off additions.
Build me a Gmail inbox zero system. I'll describe my life and you generate: 1. A gmail-filters.xml file I can import to Gmail 2. A README with setup instructions and my label cheat sheet 3. Suggested Multiple Inbox panel configuration My important people: [LIST] My categories: [LIST] Noise I want archived: [LIST] Save both files to a new folder called inbox-zero/ in my current directory.
Claude Code will generate the XML, save it locally, and give you import instructions. Takes one prompt.