Getting started with the email assistant

Written By Kevin Ruth

Last updated 3 months ago

Use the email assistant to draft responses to permitting questions. It pulls from your jurisdiction's data so you don't have to look things up manually.

Important: The AI creates drafts - it never sends emails. You control what gets sent.

How it works

The assistant reads the incoming email to identify what's being asked, then pulls relevant information from your municipal data it has access to. If the email mentions an address, it also looks up property-specific data like zoning, lot dimensions, and critical area overlays. It uses all of this to generate a draft response.

Attachments are not read or taken into account when the Email Assistant creates a new draft.

Two ways to access

1. Outlook plugin (recommended for the fastest workflow)

Use the email assistant directly in Outlook without copy-pasting:

  1. Open Outlook

  2. Click on an email you want to respond to

  3. Find the Govstream.ai icon in the toolbar

  4. Click to open the email assistant sidebar

  5. Add instructions if you want (e.g., "keep it brief" or "include the relevant code section")

  6. Click Generate

When you click "Use Draft," Outlook opens a new reply window with your draft ready to edit and send. Depending on your Outlook layout, this may appear as a pop-out panel or a separate window. You can continue refining the draft using the instructions field and Generate button in the sidebar.

Good to know:

  • If nothing happens when you click "Use Draft," your browser may have blocked the pop-up. Look for a blocked pop-up icon in the address bar and allow it.

  • When you send an email drafted with the plugin, Outlook may show a confirmation prompt. This is normal and should go away in quickly, and won’t prevent emails from being sent.

See Troubleshooting if you run into issues.

Works with shared inboxes

You can use the email assistant with shared inboxes (like a department inbox) the same way you use it with your personal inbox. The workflow doesn't change - just open an email from the shared inbox and use the assistant as usual.

2. Web app

Use the email assistant on the web:

  1. Go to your Permit Guide URL (e.g., [your-city].govstream.ai)

  2. Navigate to Assistants using the left hand navigation bar, and open the Email Assistant

  3. Paste the email you want to respond to

  4. Add instructions if you want (e.g., "keep it brief" or "include the relevant code section")

  5. Click Generate draft

  6. Copy the draft back to Outlook to send

After generating

Review the draft for accuracy and edit as needed. If it's off, add instructions and regenerate. When you're happy with it, copy to your email and send.

Next steps

See Tips for better results for guidance on giving the AI instructions for better drafts.