Most founders who ask about Google mean one thing: will my calendar and inbox work here, or will I keep copying things between tabs. They work, in four places, and each place asks Google for its own access. That second part is what trips people up, so this page maps where each connection lives and what it allows.
This is a built-in integration. Google is one of only two providers Liftoff can connect for calendar and email, the other being Microsoft. If your company runs its calendar somewhere else, you can't connect it during setup.
Four places Google connects, and what each one is for
Each row below is a separate sign-in on Google's own screen. Nautis never sees your Google password.
| Where | What you connect | What it does | Who connects it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liftoff setup | Google Calendar, then Gmail, as two separate Google prompts | Lets your Chief of Staff find free time, avoid clashes, book meetings you approve and handle email | The workspace owner, during first setup |
| MailBox | A Gmail account, through Connect mailbox | Read, reply and send from one inbox, with AI summaries and smart replies | Members with create permission on the Email module. Each mailbox uses a slot |
| Meetings | Google Calendar, from Integrations in the Meetings sidebar | Writes bookings to your real calendar, shows your external events, blocks busy slots and offers Google Meet as a location | Each person connects their own calendar. No admin needed, and it gives agents no access |
| Integrations catalog | Gmail, as a tool for agents | Agents call Gmail actions on demand, once an admin enables it for agents | Owners and admins only |
Only the catalog row has the separate Agent access switch. MailBox and Meetings are modules you use yourself, and the Chief of Staff works through them with approval cards.
How the Nautis Google Workspace integration is set up in Liftoff
- Open Liftoff. It starts on its own for a new workspace, or click the Let Nautis set up your company card on the dashboard.
- On the tools step, click Connect next to Google Calendar and sign in on Google's screen.
- Click Connect next to Gmail. Google asks again, because calendar and mail are separate permissions on its side.
- A small window handles each sign-in and closes itself. On a phone you're sent to Google and brought back afterwards.
- Once a calendar is connected, click Continue. The calendar is the one connection this step requires.
Read Google's consent screen before you click Allow, since it lists exactly what's being requested. Google sorts Gmail permissions into tiers. Its scope list marks reading mail and the broad read-and-send scope as restricted, which means an app using them must pass Google's restricted-scope verification, plus a security assessment if it stores that data on servers. Sending alone is listed as sensitive. Google's Calendar docs tell developers to choose the narrowest scope that works.
Gmail inside MailBox
MailBox is a real email client. Open it, click Connect mailbox, pick Gmail, and approve access on Google's page. You come back to a confirmation with your address on it. New mail shows up within seconds, and older mail takes a few minutes to finish indexing.
Your email stays with Google. Nautis reads it live and keeps a text copy of the threads it indexes, so AI search and summaries can find them. Disconnecting revokes Nautis's access with Google, and a mailbox removed by mistake comes back intact when you reconnect.
Plan size matters here. Launch includes one connected mailbox, Voyage two and Fleet five, and owners can add paid slots on top (see pricing). If two founders share a Launch workspace, connect the address investors actually write to, and use Manage sharing so the other founder can work it too.
The AI features, such as Summarize thread, Suggest reply and Extract tasks, run on Nautis AI credits, never on your Gmail quota. Attachments up to 25 MB can go straight to a data room with Move to Data Rooms.
Calendar and Google Meet in Meetings
Meetings needs three things before anyone can book you: an event type, an availability schedule and a connected calendar. The setup checklist on the bookings page tracks all three.
With Google Calendar connected, anything already on it blocks those slots, and your Google events appear next to Nautis bookings. Toggle Show external calendar events to hide them. When you create an event type, Google Meet is one of the location types. It shows as not connected until the matching integration is.
If you finished Liftoff, you may already have an Intro call · 30 min page, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Invitees don't need a Nautis account. They pick a slot, enter a name and email, and the booking lands on your Google Calendar.
What your Chief of Staff may do with Google, and what it won't
- It reads your calendar to find free time and avoid clashes. Without one connected, it can only suggest times.
- Draft emails always open as a card you can edit before anything goes out.
- Sends and bookings wait for your approval by default. Owners and admins can change a capability to Run without asking under Chief of Staff, Settings, Agent Autonomy.
- It never deletes emails or calendar events.
- Every action, automatic or approved, is logged in AI Activity, which owners and admins can open.
- Gmail from the catalog follows the Integrations rules: reads run without a prompt, writes ask unless Connected app actions (Integrations) is set to Run without asking, and emails to other people also need AI Copilot external sends (email & social) set the same way.
A Tuesday with Google connected
At 7:00 am the briefing lists today's meetings from your calendar next to overdue invoices and pipeline items. An angel replies to your update asking for time on Thursday. You ask the Chief of Staff to find 30 minutes and answer her. It checks your calendar and drafts a reply, which waits as a card. You change one line and approve.
Mid-morning, a long thread with your lawyer has twelve messages. Summarize thread gives you the action needed in a few sentences, and the term sheet attached to it goes to your fundraising data room in one click. None of this required a second app open in another tab, which is the whole point of connecting Google at all.
When the Google connection breaks
- Yellow banner in Meetings with a Reconnect button. Google revoked access or the token expired. Click Reconnect and sign in again.
- MailBox shows an error. Disconnect and reconnect the mailbox from Email settings to re-authorize it.
- Mailbox limit reached. Your slot pool is full. An owner or admin can add slots from Manage slots.
- Google Meet shows as not connected. Connect Google from Integrations, then reopen the event type.
- Google says the app is blocked. Your company's Google admin controls this. Google's admin guide lets admins mark an app Trusted, Limited, limited to specific Google data, or Blocked, and restrict services such as Calendar. Ask them to allow it.
- You removed Nautis in your Google Account. Removing access from your Google Account's third-party connections cuts Nautis off. Reconnect from Nautis when you want it back.
FAQ
Does the Nautis Google Workspace integration copy my Gmail into Nautis?
Your email stays with Google. MailBox works as an email client: it reads mail live and keeps a text copy of the threads it indexes for AI search and summaries. Gmail used by agents from the Integrations catalog is different. It's called on demand, and nothing from it is copied into Nautis.
Why does Google ask me to sign in twice during setup?
Liftoff connects Google Calendar and Gmail as two separate steps, and Google asks for each one on its own. Microsoft works differently: one Outlook sign-in covers both mail and calendar.
Can my Chief of Staff delete Google Calendar events or emails?
No. The setup guide says the Chief of Staff never deletes emails or calendar events. It can propose bookings and draft emails, which wait for your approval unless an admin has changed the autonomy setting.
We use Gmail but a different calendar. Can Liftoff connect it?
Liftoff only offers Google and Microsoft for calendar and email, and it needs a calendar to continue. If your calendar is somewhere else, connect Google Calendar or Outlook, or the Chief of Staff can only suggest times rather than book them.