Outlook MCP server: Microsoft 365, Outlook.com and Hotmail

An Outlook MCP server lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT search, read and sometimes send your Outlook email. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the standard way these assistants connect to other apps. But "Outlook MCP" means two different worlds. A company on Microsoft 365 has official servers, admin approval and per-tool controls. Someone with a Hotmail address from 2008 has almost none of that.

This article separates the two: what Microsoft offers, what Claude and ChatGPT add, and what works for a personal account. The other providers are in email MCP servers compared.

Outlook MCP options compared

Checked on 27 October 2026, from Microsoft Learn, Anthropic's and OpenAI's help pages and the GitHub projects.

? = not documented. Work IQ deletes only if company policy allows it. Claude's connector sends only if an admin turns on its write tools, and can only delete drafts. ChatGPT sends on paid plans, on the web, after you confirm the draft.

Microsoft's official option: Work IQ MCP

Work IQ MCP is a single MCP server for all of a company's Microsoft 365 data, mail included. It doesn't have a neat "send email" button. Its tools are generic: one reads data, another runs an action, such as sending a message. What each person may do is set by the company's policies rather than by narrow permissions.

Microsoft says Work IQ MCP is generally available (Microsoft Learn) and paid by usage through Copilot Credits (Work IQ API). An older mail server is still listed, but Microsoft keeps it only for existing projects.

In practice this is for an IT team: it needs a company Microsoft 365 setup, admin policies and billing. There is no version for a personal Microsoft account.

Claude's Microsoft 365 connector

Claude's connector covers Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams on every Claude plan, Free included (Anthropic). By default it only reads: it searches your mailbox, its Archive folder and shared mailboxes you can open. Sending, forwarding, drafts and moving or labeling mail are extra tools. An admin has to approve them and your organization has to turn them on. It can't send emails with attachments.

A Microsoft global administrator has to approve the connector once for the whole company. Anthropic is explicit that personal accounts such as @outlook.com, @hotmail.com or @live.com can't be used (Anthropic).

ChatGPT's Outlook Email app

ChatGPT's Outlook Email app searches and reads messages and looks up people. In company workspaces, admins choose which actions are on, and some need a Microsoft admin's approval. Since 8 June 2026, Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users can send email from a chat on the web. ChatGPT writes a draft and you choose whether to send it (OpenAI release notes). OpenAI's pages don't say whether personal Outlook.com accounts work, or whether the app deletes mail.

Personal Outlook.com and Hotmail accounts

Two facts shape the options here:

1. A password isn't enough. Microsoft says Outlook.com requires "Modern Auth / OAuth2", meaning you sign in through Microsoft's own page (Microsoft Support). IMAP is the standard way mail apps reach a mailbox, and most IMAP MCP servers sign in with a username and password, so they won't connect. Microsoft 365 work accounts have the same rule (Microsoft Learn).
2. Microsoft's app access works. Microsoft Graph, the official way apps reach Outlook data, accepts personal accounts. Community servers that use it, such as ms-365-mcp-server, let you sign in with your Microsoft account. They can list, read, send, move and delete messages, and some have a read-only mode.

If you use one, start in read-only mode and add writing only when you need it.

Risks to keep in mind

• It can delete. A community server can do whatever its tools allow, deleting included.
• The whole mailbox. None of these options limits an agent to some folders or the last few days.
• Hidden instructions. An agent that reads Outlook mail reads text from strangers, and one email can steer it. See email prompt injection.

For developers

• Work IQ MCP signs in with Microsoft Entra ID. Its generic tools act on Graph paths: fetch /me/messages reads, do_action /me/sendMail sends. Access uses four broad OAuth permissions plus path, method and tenant policy.
• The older Agent 365 Mail MCP server (create, send, reply, update, delete) is kept only for backward compatibility.
• Claude's connector: a Global Administrator grants tenant-wide consent; write tools need Entra admin consent.
• ms-365-mcp-server: MIT, one tool per Graph endpoint (delete-mail-message included), personal accounts by default (--org-mode for work features), device-code sign-in, --read-only and --enabled-tools.
• outlook-mcp needs your own app registered in Azure.
• Basic authentication for IMAP is disabled in all Microsoft 365 tenants; Outlook.com needs OAuth2 for IMAP.

Outlook and MailTag

MailTag can't connect Outlook.com, Hotmail or Microsoft 365 today. It signs in to mailboxes with an app password over IMAP, and Microsoft doesn't allow that there. Sign in with Microsoft is next on its list. If you pick Outlook while connecting a mailbox, MailTag says so and shows a Tell me when it's ready button. What does work today, such as redirecting your mail to Gmail, is in Outlook app password.

What works today: in Outlook, add a rule that redirects your mail to a Gmail address, then connect that Gmail. Use Redirect to, not forward: a redirect keeps the original sender, so MailTag can sort it.

MailTag's MCP server works for Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, Fastmail and IMAP, not Outlook. Per agent, you choose which mailboxes, categories or views, how far back (30 days at most) and which fields it sees. The agent can relabel email and manage your categories and views. If you allow it, it reads an email's text and attachments and writes drafts. It can also send, within limits you set: replies only or new email too, only to people you've replied to or anyone, and 10, 50 or 200 a day. It can never delete email or move it out of your mailbox. See the MCP docs.

FAQ

Is there an official Outlook MCP server?

Yes, for Microsoft 365 work and school accounts: Work IQ MCP, billed by usage. Microsoft keeps an older mail server only for existing projects.

Can I use Claude with my Hotmail or Outlook.com account?

Not through Claude's Microsoft 365 connector, which only accepts work accounts. A community server such as ms-365-mcp-server accepts personal accounts.

Why won't my IMAP MCP server connect to Outlook.com?

Outlook.com requires you to sign in through Microsoft's page, and most IMAP MCP servers sign in with a password. Use a server that supports Microsoft sign-in.

Can Claude send email from Outlook?

Yes, if your organization turns on the connector's write tools and an admin approves them. By default it only reads, and it can't send emails with attachments.

Can MailTag connect my Outlook or Hotmail account?

Not yet. Microsoft doesn't allow the app-password sign-in MailTag uses, so you can only redirect your Outlook mail to a Gmail address and connect that.

Do I need a Copilot license for Work IQ MCP?

Microsoft bills Work IQ by usage through Copilot Credits. Unlike some other Copilot services on that bill, it doesn't list a Copilot license as a requirement.