What MailDesk AI can and cannot access

MailDesk's AI helps you read and reply to email faster — it can flag suspicious messages, summarise long threads, answer questions about a conversation, and draft replies. This page explains, in plain terms, exactly what the AI is allowed to see, what it is never given, and how you stay in control. Nothing here is marketing: every statement matches how the product actually behaves.

Available in: MailDesk Pro (and the Cockpit module for manager briefings). MailDesk Basic has no AI.

MailDesk's AI helps you read and reply to email faster — it can flag suspicious messages, summarise long threads, answer questions about a conversation, and draft replies. This page explains, in plain terms, exactly what the AI is allowed to see, what it is never given, and how you stay in control. Nothing here is marketing: every statement matches how the product actually behaves.

The short version

• AI works per mailbox. An administrator can turn it on or off for each mailbox independently.
• When AI runs, it is given only the email (or the thread) you are working on — never your whole inbox, never other people's mail, never your Odoo business records.
• Attachments are never sent automatically. They are only included if an administrator opts that mailbox in and you explicitly ask the AI to look at an attachment.
• You choose the AI provider. You can use a major cloud provider, or run a local AI server inside your own network, in which case email content never leaves your premises.

What the AI is given

* Attachments are included only when both conditions are true: the mailbox has Allow AI attachment analysis switched on, and you explicitly request attachment analysis on that message.

The email text handed to the AI is plain text (HTML is stripped) and is clearly marked as untrusted data so that content inside an email cannot hijack the AI. The AI is never given passwords, access tokens, your contact database, CRM records, invoices, or messages belonging to other users.

What the AI never receives

• Binary attachments — unless explicitly opted in (see above).
• Any Odoo record (contacts, leads, tickets, orders, invoices) — even when an email is linked to one.
• Email from mailboxes or threads you are not currently working in.
• Other users' mail.
• Credentials or authentication tokens.

How access is controlled (four layers)

AI only runs when all of these allow it. They are checked on the server every time — not just hidden in the interface:

1. Global switch — an administrator can disable all AI at once.
2. Per-feature switch — individual features (summarise, reply draft, etc.) can be turned off.
3. Per-mailbox switch — "Allow AI Features" — off for a mailbox means no AI for that mailbox, full stop.
4. A provider must be configured with a valid key (or a local server).

Permissions required. You only ever see AI results for mailboxes you already have access to. There is no special elevation — standard Odoo access rules still apply. Turning AI on/off and choosing a provider is an administrator task.

Where your data goes, and what is kept

• Email content is sent to the AI provider you configure, per request, to produce a result.
• Using a cloud provider (OpenAI, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, xAI Grok, DeepSeek): the request is governed by that provider's privacy and retention policy.
• Using a local / self-hosted server (for example Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM): email content stays on your network and is never sent to a third party.
• If no provider is configured, MailDesk falls back to Odoo's built-in AI service, governed by Odoo's terms.
• MailDesk stores the AI's output (the summary, the verdict badge, the draft) next to the email so you don't have to regenerate it. MailDesk does not store the email content as a separate AI copy.
• Saved AI conversations keep only the question-and-answer turns — never the raw email body.

Turn AI on

1. Go to Settings → MailDesk → AI Providers and create a provider.
2. Click Set API Key and paste your key (for a local server, set the server's base URL instead).
3. Click Test Connection — a green status means it works.
4. Click Set as Active.
5. Make sure the mailbox has Allow AI Features switched on (MailDesk → Configuration → Mailbox Accounts → [account]).

Expected result: open an email and a security badge appears after a moment; Summarise and Ask AI become available on threads.

Turn AI off

• For one mailbox: MailDesk → Configuration → Mailbox Accounts → [account] → switch Allow AI Features off.
• For one feature or everything: an administrator can disable it in MailDesk settings.
• Remove a provider: Settings → MailDesk → AI Providers → open the record → Delete (the stored key is cleared with it).

Troubleshooting

Available in MailDesk Pro 18.0.4.1.0+. Provider names and behavior verified against the Pro AI service code.