Let ChatGPT watch your Gmail and only interrupt you for emails that need action
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- by Eric Hal Schwartz (TechRadar)
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Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.
Outcome
TechRadar's Eric Hal Schwartz set an event-triggered ChatGPT task on his Gmail: alert him only when an email required him to do something or came from family, explain it in one sentence, draft a reply, and never reply without his input. Over an afternoon with Gmail closed he got just 3 alerts (his bank, a family member whose drafted reply he sent after small edits, and an event itinerary change); afterwards he found only two emails he might have wanted earlier, neither urgent.
Agent
Prompt Original prompt
Exact prompt as published in the source.
When I receive an email that requires me to do something, or comes from a family member, tell me what I need to do and draft a potential reply.
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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: Watch my inbox and only alert me when an email needs action from me or comes from family, with a draft reply ready. Fill in before running: - Email account to watch: [Gmail] - People who always count as important: [FAMILY NAMES / ADDRESSES] - How to alert me: [push / text] - Things to never alert on: [receipts, newsletters, promotions] Rules: - For each alert: one sentence on who wrote and what they need from me. - Draft a short reply for me to approve; never send anything yourself. - Ignore promotions and routine receipts unless they change something I've booked. - If you're unsure whether an email needs me, flag it as 'unsure' rather than staying silent. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. - At the end of the day, send one list of everything you chose not to alert me about, so I can check you didn't miss anything. Output: Short alerts with a draft reply, and nothing else. You'll know it worked when: I only get pinged for emails that matter, and nothing important waits until later. Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.
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Your prompt
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: Watch my inbox and only alert me when an email needs action from me or comes from family, with a draft reply ready. Fill in before running: - Email account to watch: [Gmail] - People who always count as important: [FAMILY NAMES / ADDRESSES] - How to alert me: [push / text] - Things to never alert on: [receipts, newsletters, promotions] Rules: - For each alert: one sentence on who wrote and what they need from me. - Draft a short reply for me to approve; never send anything yourself. - Ignore promotions and routine receipts unless they change something I've booked. - If you're unsure whether an email needs me, flag it as 'unsure' rather than staying silent. - Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify. - At the end of the day, send one list of everything you chose not to alert me about, so I can check you didn't miss anything. Output: Short alerts with a draft reply, and nothing else. You'll know it worked when: I only get pinged for emails that matter, and nothing important waits until later. Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.
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Source
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