This is the exact scheduled task we run inside Claude every morning. It reads the unread email from the last 48 hours and delivers a skimmable digest — most important first, action items called out on top. Then it does the janitorial work: obvious spam moved out (conservatively — receipts and invoices are never touched), the newsletters you choose auto-archived, and any new work contact flagged so they land in your CRM instead of your memory.

Ten minutes of setup. Every morning after that, you review a two-minute digest instead of digging through the pile.

SetupThree steps, one time

Connect Gmail. In Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app), connect the Gmail connector for the inbox you want triaged.
Paste the template. Copy the prompt below and customize the two bracketed lines — your auto-archive senders and anything special about your inbox.
Schedule it. After Claude runs it once and you like the result, say: "Schedule this to run every weekday at 7am." Claude runs it even when your computer is off.

The TemplateCopy, customize, schedule

Produce a daily inbox digest using my connected Gmail account. Steps: 1. Search Gmail for unread messages received in the last 48 hours (is:unread newer_than:2d). 2. Write a concise digest grouped by sender or theme. For each item give: sender, subject, and a one-line summary. Keep it skimmable — short bullet-style lines, most important / time-sensitive first. If anything clearly needs a reply or action, call it out at the top. 3. Spam cleanup: review the inbox for obvious spam / junk (promotional blasts, phishing, unsolicited cold outreach, clearly unwanted marketing). Move those messages out of the inbox to Gmail's Spam folder (apply the SPAM label and remove the INBOX label). Be conservative — only move messages that are clearly spam. NEVER move: receipts, invoices, payment confirmations, or any transactional/financial email — these ALWAYS stay in the inbox. Also never move anything personal, business-relevant, a meeting invite, a shipping/delivery notice, a booking/reservation confirmation, or anything I appear to subscribe to (has one of my labels). When in doubt, leave it in the inbox. List which messages you moved at the end of the digest so I can review. 4. Auto-archive (remove the INBOX label only — keep the message, do NOT apply SPAM) any newsletter/notification email from these senders: [LIST YOUR SENDERS — e.g., Google Alerts, Nextdoor, airline promo lists, streaming services]. EXCEPTION: if the message is an actual reservation, ticket, booking confirmation, or receipt/payment from one of these senders, leave it in the inbox. Still include archived items in the digest summary, under a separate "Archived" section at the end so I can review. 5. New contacts: if I sent to or received email from a new address about a work topic — someone not already in my contacts — list their name, email, and one line of context at the end under "New contacts," so I can add them to my CRM or mailing list. 6. If there are no unread messages, say so briefly. Deliver the digest as the chat response. Do not send any emails or reply on my behalf. [ANYTHING ELSE CLAUDE SHOULD KNOW — e.g., "emails from my accountant are always urgent," "never archive anything from my kids' school"]

Why the guardrails matter. The template is deliberately conservative: spam moves are reversible (Gmail keeps them 30 days), archiving never deletes anything, and financial email — receipts, invoices, payment confirmations — is explicitly untouchable. Every action is listed at the end of the digest so you can audit it in ten seconds. That's the pattern for giving AI real work: reversible actions, explicit no-go zones, and a paper trail.

Make it yoursIdeas from readers and clients

Change the cadence. "Every weekday at 7am" is our default; owners with lighter inboxes run it Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
Add a VIP list. "Any email from these people goes at the very top, always" — your biggest client, your bank, your spouse.
Draft replies. Add: "For anything needing a reply, draft one for my review — do not send." You approve; it never freelances.

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