Triggers from Outlook

Monitor your Outlook inbox for new emails and automatically trigger agent automations. When an email arrives that matches your criteria, Swiftask instantly activates your configured automation—perfect for handling customer inquiries, processing applications, or any email-driven workflow.

Overview

Outlook triggers let you connect your Outlook 365 mailbox to Swiftask. When a new email arrives in your monitored folder, Swiftask automatically runs your agent automation. Instead of manually checking emails and responding, your agent handles the task automatically—24/7.

Think of an Outlook trigger as a bridge between your email and your agent. Every time someone sends an email to your monitored inbox, your agent wakes up and processes it according to your instructions.

Prerequisites

Before creating an Outlook trigger, you need:

• A Swiftask account (sign up at swiftask.ai)

• An agent configured with clear objectives, instructions, and necessary skills (send email, log data, etc.)

• An Outlook 365 account (personal or business email)

• Access to Automations in your Swiftask workspace

• Permission to create triggers in your workspace

Step-by-step guide

Step 1: Access the Triggers section

Navigate to the agent you want to connect to Outlook.

1. Click Agents in the left sidebar

2. Find your agent and click to open it

3. In the left sidebar, look for the Automations section

4. Click Triggers (marked as NEW)

You'll see a list of any existing triggers for this agent.

Step 2: Choose the trigger type

Click the New Trigger button (red button with + icon).

A dialog opens showing available trigger types.

1. Look for the Outlook 365 Email option

2. Read the description: "Monitor your Outlook inbox for new emails using modern OAuth2 authentication"

3. Click Outlook 365 Email to select it

Step 3: Connect your Outlook account

The dialog advances to the connection step.

You'll see a form with:

Trigger Name

1. Click the input field labeled "Trigger Name"

2. Enter a descriptive name that identifies this trigger

3. Examples: "Customer Support Email", "Job Applications", "Sales Inquiries"

4. This name appears in your triggers list and logs

Connect your Outlook account

1. Click the red button labeled "Connect your Outlook account"

2. A new browser window opens for Outlook authentication

3. Sign in with your Outlook 365 credentials

4. Grant Swiftask permission to access your mailbox (all required permissions are requested automatically)

5. After authentication, you're redirected back to Swiftask

Step 4: Configure Outlook monitoring

After connecting your account, the dialog advances to the configuration step.

You'll see a form with several options to customize how Swiftask monitors your Outlook inbox.

Email Folder

• Select which Outlook folder to monitor

• Default: "Inbox"

• You can choose other folders if needed

Email Filter

• Optional: Use OData filter syntax to refine which emails trigger the automation

• Example: "UNSEEN" (only unread emails)

• Leave blank to process all emails in the folder

• This helps reduce unnecessary automation runs

Mark as Read

• Toggle: ON or OFF

• When enabled, Swiftask marks emails as read after processing

• Useful to prevent duplicate processing

Download Attachments

• Toggle: ON or OFF

• When enabled, email attachments are included in the trigger payload

• Enable this if your agent needs to process attachments

Authorized Domains

• Optional: Comma-separated list of allowed sender domains

• Example: "client.com, supplier.fr, *.partner.eu"

• Supports wildcard patterns like *domain.com

• Only emails from these domains trigger the automation

• Leave blank to allow all domains

Authorized Email Addresses

• Optional: Comma-separated list of VIP email addresses

• Example: "ceo@company.com, manager@client.com"

• Only emails from these specific addresses trigger the automation

• Useful for high-priority emails

• Leave blank to allow all addresses

Step 5: Review your trigger

After configuring your settings, click Next.

The dialog advances to the review step.

You'll see a summary of your Outlook trigger configuration:

• Trigger type: Outlook 365 Email

• Description: "Monitor your Outlook inbox for new emails using modern OAuth2 authentication"

• Trigger Name: Your entered name

• Connected Account: Your Outlook email address

• Folder: The folder you selected

• Filter: Your OData filter (if any)

• Mark as Read: ON or OFF

• Download Attachments: ON or OFF

• Authorized Domains: Your domain list (if any)

• Authorized Email Addresses: Your VIP list (if any)

Review the information to ensure it's correct.

Step 6: Create the trigger

Once you've reviewed the configuration:

1. Click the red Create Trigger button

2. The dialog closes

3. You're returned to the Triggers list

4. Your new Outlook trigger now appears in the list with status "Active"

Your Outlook trigger is now live. When new emails arrive in your monitored folder, Swiftask will automatically run your agent automation.

Practical use cases

Use case 1: Customer support email automation

Setup: You receive customer support emails at support@company.com.

Trigger configuration:

• Folder: Inbox

• Filter: UNSEEN (only unread emails)

• Authorized Domains: Leave blank (accept all)

Agent action: Your support agent reads the email, searches your knowledge base for relevant information, and sends a response to the customer.

Result: Customers get instant responses to common questions without manual intervention.

Use case 2: Job application processing

Setup: Job applicants send resumes to jobs@company.com.

Trigger configuration:

• Folder: Inbox

• Filter: Leave blank

• Authorized Domains: Leave blank (accept all)

Agent action: Your HR agent receives the application, extracts key information, screens the resume, and adds the candidate to your tracking system.

Result: All applications are automatically processed and organized.

Use case 3: VIP customer inquiries

Setup: You want to prioritize emails from your top clients.

Trigger configuration:

• Folder: Inbox

• Authorized Email Addresses: "vip1@client.com, vip2@client.com, vip3@partner.com"

Agent action: Your agent routes VIP inquiries to a specialized team or provides premium support.

Result: High-value customers get priority treatment automatically.

Tips & best practices

Use specific trigger names: Choose names that clearly describe what the trigger does. "Customer Support Email" is better than "Trigger 1".

Start with a test folder: If you're new to Outlook triggers, create a test folder and have emails sent there first. Once you're confident it works, switch to your main folder.

Use email filters wisely: The "UNSEEN" filter prevents reprocessing the same email. Use it to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Enable "Mark as Read" for clarity: After your agent processes an email, marking it as read helps you track which emails have been handled.

Use authorized domains for security: If you only expect emails from specific companies, restrict by domain to prevent unwanted automation runs.

Test with a sample email: Before going live, send a test email to your monitored folder to verify the trigger works correctly.

Additional resources

• Introduction to automating with agents – Learn the broader concepts of agent automation

• Creating an automation with agents – Set up the full automation workflow after creating your trigger

• Agents > Setting objectives & instructions – Configure what your agent should do when the trigger fires

• Agents > Skills (AI Tools) – Add capabilities like sending emails or updating databases

• Triggers from webhook – Learn about webhook-based triggers for other integrations

• Triggers from email (IMAP) – Alternative email trigger using IMAP protocol

Ready to automate your email workflow? Create your first Outlook trigger now and let your agent handle incoming emails automatically. Your trigger will be live and monitoring your inbox within minutes.