The Tool Desk
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Start with the job, not the permission list
Write down the exact operations the agent must perform before configuring OAuth or another authorization method. “Read messages with a particular label and draft replies” is a narrower job than “manage the mailbox.” Map each operation to a separate capability where the provider allows it: reading, accessing message content, changing labels or folders, deleting, creating drafts, and sending.
Begin with read-only access for triage or summarization. If the task needs only routing or classification, check whether metadata is enough; message bodies and attachments expose more sensitive information. Add write or send authority only when the workflow requires it. Google advises choosing the narrowest Gmail scope the app needs (Gmail API scopes), and Microsoft similarly recommends requesting only the permissions needed for the application (least-privileged access guidance).
Choose a permission boundary that matches the workflow
Gmail: avoid the full-mail scope unless its extra powers are essential
Gmail API scopes differ in the mailbox operations they authorize. Google lists narrower options as well as sensitive scopes such as gmail.send and restricted scopes such as gmail.readonly, gmail.compose, and gmail.modify. The broad https://mail.google.com/ scope permits reading, composing, sending, and permanent deletion; Google says to use it only when immediate permanent deletion is required. Other tasks can use less permissive scopes. Review the current scope table against the actions your agent actually needs.
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For an agent that reads or drafts but should not send, do not assume that a convenient bundle of permissions is harmless. Verify the scope granted during consent and the operations exposed by your server-side tools. Gmail scope names and classifications are provider-specific; another provider’s authorization model may differ.
Microsoft Graph: reading, changing mail, and sending can be distinct
Microsoft Graph offers a useful separation of mail capabilities. Mail.ReadBasic excludes message bodies, previews, attachments, and extended properties. Mail.Read allows fuller reading. Mail.ReadWrite permits creating, reading, updating, and deleting mail, but does not itself grant sending; Mail.Send is a separate permission. See Microsoft’s mail permission reference.
This separation supports a reviewable workflow: an agent can create a draft with the permission needed for that job, while sending remains unavailable until an authorized person or separate control approves it. The exact permission and consent requirements depend on the account type and whether access is delegated or application-based.
Decide whether access is per-user or unattended
With delegated access, an app acts on behalf of a signed-in user. Application access allows a Microsoft Graph app to act without a signed-in user, which can suit a background service but raises the stakes of its permission scope. Microsoft recommends preferring delegated or resource-specific consent when those approaches meet the need. For application mail permissions, administrators can use application access policies to limit which mailboxes the app can access; configuration and applicability depend on the permission. Check the current permissions overview and mailbox access restriction guidance.
Before enabling unattended access, establish whether the integration reaches one mailbox or many, who can authorize it, and what an administrator can constrain. A service account or app registration is not automatically limited to the inbox that motivated its creation.
Treat every email as untrusted input
An incoming message can contain instructions aimed at the AI rather than the recipient. OWASP describes an email-assistant scenario in which malicious content can induce an LLM assistant to send spam (OWASP prompt-injection guidance). A message may inform a summary or draft, but it must not change the agent’s system policy, grant itself broader permissions, or authorize an external action.
Enforce that boundary in application code and tool design. Do not expose a send, delete, or bulk-update function to an agent that is not meant to perform that action. Treat message bodies, attachments, quoted threads, and retrieved content as data, not trusted commands. Require a person to review consequential actions such as sending or forwarding, bulk changes, deletion, and disclosure of sensitive content. Record the triggering request, proposed tool action, and approval so the action can be investigated later.
Protect credentials used while the user is offline
A background service needs a way to continue after the user is no longer present. Google’s server-side OAuth flow can return a refresh token when offline access is requested; the application stores it and uses it to obtain new access tokens after short-lived access tokens expire. That refresh token is a persistent credential, not a harmless setup artifact. Google describes the flow in its OAuth 2.0 web-server documentation.
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- Protect stored credentials and define how to revoke and delete them when the integration is retired or compromised.
- Keep an incident-response path for disabling the integration and reviewing actions performed with its authorization.
- Remove scopes that are no longer needed; Google recommends revoking formerly used scopes as soon as they are unnecessary (OAuth 2.0 guidance).
The appropriate storage design depends on the deployment. The key operational requirement is controlled access to persistent credentials and a working revocation process.
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Gmail scopes can trigger review requirements
Google classifies Gmail scopes that read, create, or modify message bodies, attachments, metadata, or headers as restricted under its Workspace policy. Depending on the app, data handling, and applicable exceptions, restricted-scope apps may face additional verification and server-side security-assessment requirements. Confirm the current scope classification, eligibility, and obligations before deployment using Google’s OAuth verification guidance and restricted-scope verification requirements.
Graph application permissions need deliberate admin controls
Application permissions can have broader tenant reach than a user-delegated grant. Confirm the required administrator consent, account support, and any mailbox restriction policy with the tenant administrator before enabling the integration. Permission-specific rules and available controls vary, so check the Graph references for the exact grant being used.
Design polling around current quotas
Gmail API quota limits changed on May 1, 2026. Google says projects that used the API between November 2025 and April 2026 continue with their previously set quotas, while projects created on or after May 1, 2026 are subject to the newer quotas. Because that affects background polling and retries, check the live Gmail API quota page for the project rather than relying on a fixed polling interval copied from another deployment.
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- Specify permitted operations. Describe the job narrowly—for example, read messages matching a defined criterion and prepare drafts, with no sending or deletion.
- Select provider-native authorization. Use the provider’s official API and consent flow where granular permissions are available; avoid broad protocol access when a narrower API scope supports the task.
- Grant the minimum scope. Prefer metadata-only or read-only access if sufficient. Add write or send capability only for an identified requirement.
- Constrain the tools. Make the agent’s callable methods match the approved scope; separate read, modify, draft, delete, and send actions rather than bundling them into an all-purpose mailbox tool.
- Set approval gates. Keep consequential external or irreversible actions behind human authorization, and log the proposal, action, and approval.
- Secure unattended credentials. Restrict access to refresh tokens or equivalent credentials, and test revocation and incident response.
- Validate before production. Check provider verification, admin-consent and mailbox policies, and current API quotas; repeat the review if permissions or agent capabilities change.
Apply the same method to other inbox providers
The Gmail and Microsoft Graph permissions described here are provider-specific. For another email, chat, or support inbox, consult that provider’s current authorization documentation and identify its equivalents for metadata, body and attachment access, modification, sending, delegated access, unattended access, revocation, and administrative restrictions. Do not assume that a permission with a similar name grants the same authority across providers.
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