Synced, the AI inbox assistant, searches your connected sources to answer the message in front of it. Depending on what you've connected, that includes Gmail or Outlook mail, Slack messages, Google Drive and OneDrive files, calendar events, attachments on the incoming message, and documents Synced made for you earlier. It uses what it finds to draft the reply or attach the file. If a search turns up more than one plausible match, Synced asks you which one instead of guessing.
What Synced searches when a message arrives
Most of Synced's searching happens before you see anything. The first thing it does with a new message is work out what information the reply depends on, then go get it from wherever it lives.
| Source | What Synced looks for |
|---|---|
| Gmail and Outlook | Earlier threads with the sender, details and headers of specific emails, what was already promised |
| Slack | Messages and thread details that relate to the request |
| Google Drive and OneDrive | Files by name and content, which Synced can open, read, and attach |
| Google Calendar and Outlook calendar | Existing events and open time |
| The incoming message | Attachments the sender included, including PDFs and Office files |
| Files Synced created | Decks, docs, and spreadsheets from earlier requests, even in another conversation |
| The public web | Outside facts a request depends on, like a company or a public page someone referenced |
Synced searches only the sources you've connected. See Inboxes for what's available.
A search that crosses email and Drive
An illustration. The answer and the source file arrive together, and the reply waits for your approval.
Doing that by hand means one search in Gmail, a second in Drive, opening the PDF, and copying the clause into a reply. Synced does all four and shows you the result, with the file attached so Priya doesn't have to take anyone's word for it.
When a search finds more than one match
"Send me the proposal" is easy when there's one proposal. When Synced finds three files that could fit, or two people named Alex, it doesn't pick the likelier-sounding one. It sends a question to Decide with the options, and you tap the right one.
The same rule applies when a search comes back empty. If the reply needs a number or a date Synced can't find anywhere you've connected, it asks rather than writing something plausible. A confident wrong answer in an email you approved is worse than one extra tap.
Finding a conversation yourself
For the times you're the one looking, Messages in the iOS app has a search that matches conversation names, the latest message text, and subjects, and submitting a name looks past the conversations already loaded. The Files screen has its own search for documents Synced created, filterable by type (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images).
What Synced search doesn't cover
- Sources you haven't connected. No Dropbox or Notion yet; both are listed as coming soon.
- A full-mailbox search screen inside the app. Synced searches your mailbox while handling a request; for digging through years of mail yourself, Gmail or Outlook's own search is still the tool.
- Files you can't open. Synced reads Drive and OneDrive with the access your account has, nothing more.
Synced requests read-only access to Drive (drive.readonly) and uses Gmail's read scope to search messages. The full list of Google permissions and why each is needed is in the privacy policy.