Real Agent Cases

Clear 23,000 emails and unsubscribe from newsletters in Gmail with ChatGPT's Gmail connection

Posted
by Timothy Powell (LinkedIn)
Last checked
Method:
How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Outcome

A poster connected his Gmail and calendar to ChatGPT, then asked it to list all his subscriptions from his emails, unsubscribe from all but the ones he wanted, create deletion rules for the rest, and delete Promotions, Updates, Social and Trash. He says he deleted over 23,000 emails and made his inbox usable again, and ChatGPT told him when it was finished.

Agent

ChatGPT

Prompt Original prompt

Exact prompt as published in the source.

Read my email and make a list of all my subscriptions based on my emails

Try this in:

Sends the Original prompt shown above. ChatGPT and Grok open with it filled in, and ChatGPT may send it straight away. Gemini opens empty, so we copy the prompt for you to paste. Every button also copies it.

Opens in a new tab. We don't see what you send.

These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google or xAI, and your results may not match the source.

Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Run this task now, exactly as written below. Everything you need is here, so start straight away and only stop if something required is missing or a rule below tells you to.

Goal: Clean up my inbox: find subscriptions, unsubscribe from unwanted ones and clear bulk mail.

Fill in before running:
- Email account (connected): [ACCOUNT]
- Senders and newsletters to keep: [LIST]
- Folders or labels never to touch: [LIST]

Rules:
- First list all subscriptions and planned actions; wait for my approval.
- Archive rather than delete anything from people, banks, receipts or travel.
- Show counts before any bulk delete and confirm with me.
- Report what was done and anything that couldn't be unsubscribed.
- If a site asks for a login, a CAPTCHA or payment details, stop and hand control back to me.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- Check Trash for anything important before it's emptied permanently.

Output: A subscription list, an approved action plan and a final report.

You'll know it worked when: unwanted newsletters stop and important mail is untouched.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timothy-powell-84903113_i-deleted-over-23000-emails-from-my-gmail-activity-7496937545553956865-Mg73

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    ChatGPT · Personal · Source date:

  • Faced with more than 23,000 unread emails, David Alonge asked Gemini in Gmail to 'Delete all unread emails from 2009 to 2022.' Within a few minutes the unread count dropped to about 8,000, a job Alonge expected would have taken weeks by hand.

    Gemini · Personal · Source date:

  • Screen and clear an email inbox in one pass with Claude CodeRecreated promptEvidence: Described by poster

    The poster runs all email in Claude Code: in one pass it screened 27 emails, archived and unsubscribed, and sent sub-agents after the three that needed real thought.

    Claude Code · Personal · Source date: