Look Up the Right Person Through Google Contacts

You can connect Google Contacts to your muse so it looks up the people you already saved and uses the right email address, phone number, and notes when you write, plan, or prepare for a call.

What it does

Most mistakes with people are identity mistakes: the wrong person with the same first name, an old email address, or a number from three jobs ago. Connected, the muse reads the address book in the Google account you sign in with. Ask for a person by name and it returns the email address, phone number, company, and notes you saved. Tell it to stop and ask when two contacts share a first name, and never guess between them. Before a call, ask who the person is from your contacts and, when email is also connected, what you last said to each other. Ask it to build a list from saved contacts, such as everyone at one company or everyone in a city you are visiting. Ask it to spot gaps: people with no email address, clients with no phone number, and contacts with no company saved.

How to use it

1. Open the muse app and go to Settings, then Connectors.
2. Select Connect next to Google Contacts, sign in with the Google account that holds the contacts you use, and read the permission screen before you approve it.
3. Set approvals so sending an email or a message always waits for you.
4. Test with a lookup you can check: ask for the email address of someone you know and compare it with your contacts.
5. Use lookups first. Let drafts come after, and check the address line of every draft before you approve a send.

What you need

• A muse account, with access in the US, Canada, Japan, or Singapore
• A Google account with contacts saved in Google Contacts

What to watch for

• The muse cannot find people you never saved, and it cannot invent a detail. If it says a person is not in your contacts, believe it: not a gap to fill.
• It cannot tell you which duplicate is current. If the same person is saved three times with three numbers, it can show you all three, and only you know which one still works.
• Contact notes can hold private details you wrote for yourself. The muse reads what you saved and can quote it back, so keep notes factual and move anything private out.
• It reads one Google account. Contacts in a work account stay invisible unless you connect that account too.