Integrations · Outlook
Outlook email automation, described in one sentence
Say what should happen when a new email reaches your Outlook mailbox. Inbox drafts the reply, pulls out the details and passes the work to Teams, Slack or HubSpot.
The ClearMakes Inbox team · Last updated 29 September 2026
What is Outlook email automation in ClearMakes Inbox?
Outlook email automation in ClearMakes Inbox means workflows that start when a new email arrives in an Outlook or Microsoft 365 mailbox, then do the routine steps: draft a reply, pull out names, amounts or dates, and post to Teams, Slack, HubSpot or Notion. You describe each one in a sentence and check the steps. There is a free plan.
What an Outlook workflow can do
It handles the steps that follow a new email. It reads the mailbox through a connected app, so it doesn't depend on forwarding rules.
“When a customer emails about a delivery, draft a reply with the tracking link and post it to the Operations channel in Teams.”
- When an email arrives in Outlook
- Check it is about a delivery
- Draft a reply
- Post to the Operations channel in Teams
“When a new enquiry reaches sales@, add them to HubSpot with their company and request.”
- When an email arrives in Outlook
- Stop if it isn't a new enquiry
- Pull out the details: name, company, request
- Create the contact in HubSpot
- Post to Teams: post Outlook emails to a Teams channel.
- Post to Slack: Outlook to Slack automation.
- Record leads: add email leads to HubSpot.
How to connect Outlook
Sign in with Microsoft from the Apps page. A work account may ask for your admin's approval the first time.
Create a free ClearMakes account
Start from ClearMakes Inbox.Open Apps and connect Outlook
Microsoft's sign-in screen shows the permissions before you agree.Describe a workflow
Type what should happen to new emails; answer at most one question; check the steps.Switch it on
Each run is listed with its steps and anything it sent.
Other ways to automate Outlook
Outlook rules and Power Automate are already in many Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Use them for simple sorting and copying; use Inbox when you want the job described in words or spread across other apps.
| Way | What it costs | Good at | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlook rules | Free | Sorting, flagging, forwarding | Can't read what an email asks; external forwarding often blocked (bounce 5.7.520) |
| Power Automate | Free licence for work or school accounts with standard connectors; Premium $15 a user a month, paid yearly | Outlook and Teams flows inside Microsoft 365; trigger “When a new email arrives (V3)” | You build each flow from triggers and actions; premium connectors cost extra |
| IFTTT | Pro $2.99 a month | One simple rule | Outlook trigger polled hourly on Free, every 5 minutes on Pro |
| ClearMakes Inbox | Free: 3 apps, 100 runs a month. Starter: $29 a month for 5,000 runs | One sentence; replies, details and other apps in one run | Only starts from messages; newer company |
Limits, and who this is not for
If your company runs everything inside Microsoft 365 and needs only simple copies of emails in Teams, Power Automate is the natural fit.
- AI steps can misread an email now and then; prefer drafts for anything important.
- Shared mailboxes depend on how they are set up in Microsoft 365; connect an account that can open them.
- Free: 3 apps, 2 new workflows a month, 100 runs a month.
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Questions people ask
Does it work with Microsoft 365 work accounts?
Is Power Automate a better choice?
Can it draft replies in Outlook?
Why not just use an Outlook rule?
Keep reading
Let new Outlook emails take care of themselves.
Connect Outlook and describe your first workflow in one sentence.
Free plan: 3 apps, 2 new workflows and 100 runs a month.