Pilot + your IMAP server: the AI operates corporate email from any provider
Does your company use Rackspace, Zoho Mail, custom domains, or a corporate mail server? Pilot connects to any IMAP/SMTP mailbox and adds the AI layer your team needs, without migrating to Gmail or Outlook.
What IMAP / SMTP genérico does with Pilot
Pilot is an AI-driven, end-to-end business system, fully turnkey: communication, CRM, sales, scheduling, and operations are all included, with native corporate email. If you also have your own IMAP/SMTP mailbox from any provider, Pilot connects it and orchestrates it with AI; it never asks you to migrate servers.
Not every company lives in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Many have their own corporate domain hosted on Rackspace, Zoho Mail, Fastmail, ProtonMail, or in-house mail servers. Others use regional providers like GoDaddy Mail, Hostgator, Bluehost, or cPanel webmail. For those cases, the native Gmail or Outlook integrations don't apply.
Pilot solves the problem with a generic IMAP/SMTP connector: if your server speaks IMAP or POP3 to receive and SMTP to send (99% of the world's mail servers do), Pilot connects and operates just as it does with Gmail or Outlook. The AI reads the inbox, classifies, drafts replies, schedules follow-ups, and links every email to the customer's record in the CRM. You keep using your usual mail client (Apple Mail, Thunderbird, your provider's webmail) while Pilot operates in the background.
It's the ideal option when your company wants an AI layer but doesn't want to switch mail providers. The connection uses encrypted TLS and supports authentication with a password or dedicated tokens (App Passwords) if your provider offers them.
What you can do
- IMAP/SMTP connection to any mail server in the world (Rackspace, Zoho Mail, Fastmail, ProtonMail Bridge, cPanel, self-hosting).
- Drafts replies in your brand's tone, based on the customer's history.
- Automatic classification (opportunity, support, administrative, internal) with labeling by IMAP folders.
- Detects buying intent and creates opportunities in the CRM instantly.
- Schedules automatic follow-ups when a customer goes quiet.
- Two-way link with the CRM: every email is logged in the customer's record.
- Supports encrypted TLS 1.2 / 1.3 and authentication with App Passwords when the provider requires it.
- Compatible with individual mailboxes and shared mailboxes (one user with multiple aliases).
- Reporting: emails answered, average response time, conversations converted to sales.
Migrate to Gmail/Outlook or keep my IMAP?
If your company has years of history on a corporate domain hosted on Rackspace, Zoho Mail, or an in-house server, migrating to Gmail or Outlook is expensive and risky: there are licenses, history to move, rules and aliases to reconfigure, and employees often resist. Pilot's IMAP integration removes that trade-off: you keep your mail provider and add AI on top.
Compared with native Gmail or Outlook: the IMAP integration is slightly less deep; we can't manage advanced labels like in Gmail, nor Outlook Categories. But the AI agent's operation (reading, classification, drafting, follow-ups, CRM) is identical. If your provider supports OAuth (enterprise Yahoo Mail, Zoho Mail Enterprise), we can also use OAuth instead of a password.
Use cases where this integration shines
Teams that connect this tool with Pilot usually start with these scenarios.
Industries where this integration is most popular
Sectors with the highest combined adoption of this tool and Pilot.
How to connect it
- Ask your mail administrator for your account's IMAP/SMTP details: incoming server (imap.yourprovider.com), port (993 for SSL), outgoing server (smtp.yourprovider.com), port (465 or 587).
- If your provider requires App Passwords (Rackspace, Zoho Mail, Fastmail), generate a dedicated password for Pilot from the provider's panel.
- In Pilot, go to Settings > Integrations > Email > Add IMAP/SMTP account.
- Enter the details: IMAP host, port, SMTP host, port, username, password, or App Password. Pilot verifies the connection in seconds.
- Choose which IMAP folders Pilot processes (INBOX by default; you can exclude Sent, Trash, Spam, personal folders).
- Configure the AI agent's scope and save. Pilot starts processing new messages in under 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is my mail provider compatible?
Is it safe to give my password to Pilot?
Does it work with shared mailboxes?
And if my provider supports OAuth instead of a password?
Can I connect multiple mailboxes?
Connect your IMAP server to Pilot in 10 minutes
Book a demo, tell us which mail provider you use, and we'll show you the connection live. You'll watch the AI agent reading, classifying, and drafting replies in your corporate mailbox without migrating anything.
Request a demo