Key takeaways
- Search by address or company domain first; subject lines change and memories blur.
- Gmail and Outlook use different search words, so learn the few that matter in yours.
- Earlier conversations may sit in another inbox or in a colleague's activity in the CRM (in Beta), so look there too.
- Read the history before replying, so you do not repeat an offer or ask a question they already answered.
How do you search Gmail for a contact
Search Gmail for a contact with from: and to: followed by their address, or by their company's domain to catch their colleagues as well. Combine operators, such as from:company.com has:attachment, to find one document quickly, and add in:anywhere when the thread may sit in spam or deleted mail.
- from:name@company.com finds what they sent you.
- to:name@company.com finds what you sent them.
- from:company.com widens the search to everyone at that company.
- after:2026/01/01 and before:2026/06/30 narrow the dates.
- has:attachment finds the thread with the proposal in it.
How do you search Outlook by sender
In Outlook, type from: followed by the sender's name or address in the search box, then add terms for dates or attachments. Check the search scope as well: if it covers only the current folder, switch it to the whole mailbox when the conversation might be filed elsewhere.
- from:name@company.com for messages they sent.
- to:name@company.com for messages you sent them.
- received: with a date, or words such as last week, to narrow the period.
- hasattachments:yes for threads that carry files.
How do you find an old email conversation when you only remember the company
Search by the company's domain rather than a person, then narrow by date, because people come and go but the domain usually stays. If your contact has changed jobs, search their old domain and their name together.
If a colleague handled the account before you, the history may be in their inbox or in the activity on the account's CRM records. Check there before writing as if this were a first contact.
How does email search for sales work with an assistant
With an assistant, you describe what you want in plain words and it runs the search in your connected inbox for you. In Pebbles Ai, the assistants search and read Gmail and Outlook mail with the same tools, so a request to find everything exchanged with a company's finance team since spring, and what was offered, returns the matching threads and a short history in chat.
The history is the point: what was offered, what they pushed back on and what is still open. Ask for it as a list, check anything you will quote, then ask for the reply.
How to find past emails with a prospect, step by step
Search wide first, then narrow.
- Search by the prospect's email address in every inbox you use.
- Widen to their company's domain to catch colleagues who wrote to you.
- Narrow by date range or attachments until the relevant threads are in view.
- Check the account's CRM records for activity logged by colleagues.
- Ask an assistant to list what was offered, pushed back on and left open, then draft your reply.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilitySmartboxAssistants search and read Gmail and Outlook mail with the same tools, across every inbox you have connected, including more than one per provider.
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsCRM record pages show details, activity and linked records, so history logged by colleagues sits beside your own mail. The CRM is in Beta.
Common questions
Can the assistant search a colleague's inbox?
No, only the inboxes you have connected yourself. Ask the colleague, or check the account's CRM activity.
Do I need search operators when I ask an assistant?
No. Describe what you want in plain words; the operators help when you search Gmail or Outlook directly.
Why can I not find an email I know I received?
It may be in another inbox, in a folder your search skipped, or from an address you did not expect, such as a personal one. Widen the scope and search by company domain.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
