Ask your mailbox lets you ask LocalInbox a question in plain words, such as “when is the Q3 deck due?”. It finds the relevant mail on your Mac and writes a short answer, with a numbered source after each claim that opens the email it came from. When your mail doesn't answer the question, it says so instead of guessing.
Needs macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence. Without it, this feature is hidden and everything else works.
How it works
- Press ⌘K and type a question.
- LocalInbox searches your mail two ways at once: full-text search, and on-device sentence vectors that match meaning rather than exact words.
- Apple's on-device model writes an answer from the best passages, citing each one.
- Click a numbered source to open that email.
Good questions to ask
- When is the Q3 deck due?
- What did the landlord say about the deposit?
- Which flight did I book for March?
- What's the Wi-Fi password for the office?
Private by design
The index, the vectors and the model all live on your Mac. Your question and your mail never leave it.
Questions
Can it answer from attachments?
Text in image and PDF attachments is recognised on your Mac and becomes searchable, so search finds it. Answers come from the passages search finds.
Does it make things up?
Each claim in an answer cites the email it came from, so you can check it in one click. If the mail it finds doesn't answer the question, it says so.