Email automation does not always need an AI bot. If your incoming work requests follow a predictable pattern, exact rules can identify relevant messages and create a consistent follow-up task. Use AI only when interpreting varied language adds value to the process.
Start with the smallest useful rule
Choose a narrow condition such as an exact sender address plus a subject containing 'work order.' In Lani Orbit, rules can also inspect message text and attachment presence. Decide whether all configured conditions must match or whether any one condition is enough. Test both a matching sample and a realistic message that should be ignored.
For example, a service coordinator could create a task titled 'Review work order: {subject}' for messages from a known customer. This is an example configuration, not a promise that every message containing those words requires action. Start with one workflow and review the resulting tasks before expanding it.
Understand the Gmail permission request
Google separates Gmail permissions into scopes. Its documentation identifies gmail.readonly as permission to read mailbox resources without writing to them. Google also explains OAuth consent as a separate authorization step. Signing in to a CRM with Google therefore does not, by itself, establish a mailbox-reading connection.
Reference [1]Test a live workflow in the right order
After the site's email integration is configured, open the published Lani Orbit app and connect Gmail from Email automations. Create a workflow, choose Without AI, enter your conditions and task template, and test a sample. Rule-only sample previews run locally and do not send the sample to an AI provider.
Activate the saved workflow and send a fresh matching message to the connected inbox. New workflows process messages received after creation; old mail is not automatically backfilled. Select Scan now, inspect Email history and verify the resulting task. Scanning the same message again should not create a second task. Automatic scans while the app is closed require a separately configured scheduler.
Use AI intentionally and keep its limits visible
AI mode can help classify messages whose wording varies and produce a task title and summary. In this implementation, matching message text is sent to the configured AI provider. Rules mode makes no AI requests. Choose the mode according to the content you are comfortable processing and the kind of decision you need.
Neither mode sends replies, deletes messages or opens attachment contents. HTML-only messages use Gmail's plain-text snippet, so a body rule may miss text outside that snippet. If access expires, use Reconnect Gmail. If a scan fails, review the setup checklist and workflow error before assuming that no matching messages exist.
References and further reading
Primary sources explain general CRM, pipeline and Gmail concepts. Lani Orbit instructions describe this implementation; external references do not imply endorsement or identical features.