It’s 2026 guys and if you’re still manually sifting through "Reply All" chains and cold pitches at 9:00 PM, you’re playing the game on Hard Mode.
But what if you never had to open Gmail just to "check" again?
Today, we’re teaching you how to build a 24/7 AI Gatekeeper that reads your mail, decides what’s actually important, pings you on Slack with a summary, and leaves a perfectly written draft waiting for your "Send" click.
The Damage:
Cost: $5 (for the AI "brain" power).
Time to build: 20 minutes.
Coding skills needed: Zero.
What You Need
Make.com account (Free tier gets you 1,000 operations/month)
OpenAI API: Note: This is different from ChatGPT; you'll need an API key from https://platform.openai.com/docs/overview. ($5 gets you 10,000 emails! Great deal right?).
Gmail (duh)
Slack (optional but recommended
Total cost: Basically free unless you're Jeff Bezos-level email volume.
The 4 Steps "No-Code" Blueprint
Setting this up takes less time than clearing your junk folder.
Step 1: Connect the Pipes: Log into Make.com and link your Gmail and Slack accounts.
Step 2: The Trigger: Set Gmail to "Watch Emails." Every time a new message hits your inbox, the gears start turning.
Step 3: The Brain: Insert an OpenAI or Gemini module (Note: we recommend GPT-4o, if you’re choosing OpenAI it's smart + cheap) Tell it: "Summarize this email and categorize it as Sales, Support, or Spam."
Step 4: The Action: Map that summary to Slack. Use the "Post a Message" or "Send a Message" tool so the AI sends you a DM with the TL;DR and a drafted reply.
And boom. Your bot is now on sentry duty.
Pro Tips for a Quiet Life:
Train Your Categories: Start simple (Sales, Support, Internal, Spam). The more specific you are, the better the AI gets.
For beginners: Go slow, add email and Slack notifications first, Test for a week to see what categories you need, add drafting once you trust the AI, then go full auto for obvious stuff like spam.
Review Weekly Check your automation stats. If AI is miscategorizing, adjust your prompts.
The "Human" Signature: Add a line to your emails: "I use AI to triage my inbox so I can respond to urgent matters faster!" It’s a total power move.
Review, Don’t Automate: Don’t let the AI auto-send. Let it draft, but make sure you remain the final judge. AI is smart, but you’re way smarter (at least for now 😉).
The bottom line: You are getting 30 hours of your life back every month. That is a full work week.
Now go build it. Your inbox is waiting.
PS: Watch this video to see the steps in action.
⚡ Prompts to try:
Based on this email analysis: Category: {{OpenAI.category}} Summary: {{OpenAI.summary}}
Write a professional, friendly reply that:
- Acknowledges their message
- Addresses their main point
- Is 3-4 sentences max
- Matches the tone (formal for business, casual for partners)
Original email: {{Gmail.text}}P.S. Each Workout of the Day (WoD) is powered by original prompts written by our team — no recycled or external templates here. That means lower risk of prompt injection or manipulation, and higher trust in what you’re creating.
Also…
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