06 · updated 2026-11-07

Connect Gmail with an app password

An app password sounds technical. It is not. It is a spare key that Google makes for one job.

You make it once and paste it in once. It takes about five minutes.

What an app password is

It is a 16 letter password that Google gives you for one app. It is not your normal Google password. You can cancel it at any time without touching anything else.

Never paste your normal Google password into your vault. It will not work anyway.

Before you start

You need 2-Step Verification turned on in your Google Account. That is the text or phone prompt you get when you sign in somewhere new.

If you use Gmail through work (Google Workspace), your admin may have to allow app passwords first. If you are the admin and you cannot see the option, that is the setting to look for.

How to do it

1. Sign in to your Google Account and turn on 2-Step Verification, if it is not on already.
2. Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords.
3. Make a new app password and call it With Voss.
4. Copy the password Google shows you. It only shows once.
5. On your vault website, go to Connections, then Email.
6. Choose Gmail, enter your email address and paste in the app password.
7. Save it.

Now test it. Ask your AI "What came into my Gmail today?"

What you get

Your AI can read your mail, search it and write drafts. Drafts land in your Gmail Drafts folder and wait for you. It can never send.

What you do not get

No calendar. This route is email only. If your AI says it cannot see your Google Calendar, that is why.

No coloured labels. Your AI can sort mail into categories on Microsoft 365 only.

When it stops working

If you change your Google password, Google cancels your app passwords. Your AI will stop seeing that mailbox.

To fix it, make a new app password and connect the mailbox again in Connections, Email.

Turn on the weekly status in Settings, Notifications. It comes Monday morning and lists what is still connected.

If you get stuck

• You cannot find the app passwords page. 2-Step Verification is probably off. Turn it on first.
• The page says the setting is not available. On Google Workspace, your admin has to allow it.
• The password is refused. Make a new one and paste it again. Spaces do not matter.

Still stuck? Go to Help, then Contact us. Do not send us the password.

Ask your AI

• "What came into my Gmail today?"
• "Search my Gmail for anything from Bidfood."
• "Draft a reply to the last email from Sarah."
• "Which mailboxes can you see?"