Google Workspace adds email import from IMAP providers during setup
By Automate Basics, written with AI from Google's original
Google says Workspace admins can now import a user's past email from an IMAP provider during setup. The option is available to all Google Workspace customers, but this setup feature handles only one user's email.
What changed
Google says Workspace admins can now bring past email from an IMAP provider into Google Workspace as part of setting it up. The feature is generally available and works with IMAP servers used by providers including Hostinger, Zoho, Yahoo and iCloud.
Google describes a short process: connect to the chosen IMAP server, then enter the email address and password for the account being imported. The import runs in the background, so an admin can continue setting up Workspace. The new setup option imports past email for only one user. Google directs admins who need to import multiple IMAP accounts to separate guidance, rather than saying this option can move all their accounts at once.
Who can use the new email import?
Google says the new import option is for Workspace admins, not end users, and is available to all Google Workspace customers. It is available now for both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. Google does not specify a separate price for the feature or list different access rules by plan.
An admin must finish domain verification and activate email records before importing users and data. The IMAP option then appears during Workspace setup, according to Google. For a workplace moving from another email provider, the key limit is the one-user scope: an admin preparing to move several people's old mail should not assume this setup option will handle the whole team in one import.
How do I try it at work?
An admin setting up Google Workspace could start with one existing IMAP mailbox whose past messages the organization needs to keep. After verifying the domain and activating email records, the admin can choose the IMAP import option during setup, connect to the provider's server and enter that mailbox's email address and password, as Google describes.
Because the import runs in the background, check the result rather than treating the start of the process as proof that the mail has arrived. Look for past messages the user expects to find and note any apparent gaps before relying on the new mailbox as the record of earlier correspondence. If more than one account needs moving, consult Google's separate guidance for multiple IMAP accounts.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import email from more than one account with the new setup option?
Google says this new Google Workspace setup feature imports past email for only one user. It points admins who need to import email from multiple IMAP accounts to separate guidance. The announcement does not describe that wider process as part of this setup option.
When does the IMAP import option appear?
Google says admins can use the IMAP import option during Google Workspace setup after completing domain verification and activating email records. The feature is available now to all Google Workspace customers on both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains.
Does Google list an extra charge for importing past email?
Google says the new IMAP import option is available to all Google Workspace customers, but its announcement does not state a separate price. The option is for admins during setup, and this new feature imports past email for one user.
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Written with AI from Google's original and published after automatic checks: every figure here appears in the original, and no sentence is copied from it. The picture is AI-generated. The original is the authority.
Source: Seamlessly import your emails from any IMAP server to Google Workspace, Google, 23 Sept 2026.