Guide
The AI morning brief: copy this setup
A morning brief is the job we suggest most often as an AI agent's first job: it only reads, it runs on a schedule, and you see in a week whether it's useful. This is the setup to copy: what goes in, the exact instruction, when it runs, and what it must never do. It works with Grok Bot, ChatGPT scheduled tasks, Claude or an n8n flow. If you're starting from zero, pair it with Your AI agent's first week. Time figures here are estimates, not measurements.
What to hand to an agent first
What goes in
Four blocks, in this order: today's calendar with prep notes, emails that need a reply from you (not newsletters), anything overdue or due today, and one number you care about (sales, leads or bookings from yesterday). Leave news and weather out unless you'd really read them.
The instruction to paste
'Every weekday at 7:30, send me a brief under 200 words: 1) today's meetings with one line of context each, 2) up to 5 emails that need my reply, with who and why, 3) anything overdue or due today, 4) yesterday's [number]. If a block is empty, write "nothing". Read only: never reply, accept, delete or move anything.'
Schedule it
Pick a time before you open your inbox. In ChatGPT, scheduled tasks can run once or on a repeat; Free accounts are limited to at most once a day in a flexible window, and the number of active tasks depends on your plan (OpenAI Help, Scheduled tasks). In n8n, a Schedule Trigger does the same job.
Where it lands
Send it where you already look first: email, Slack, Telegram or WhatsApp to yourself. One place only.
Tune it for a week
Each day, note one thing you skipped and one thing that was missing. Change the instruction, not the tools. Estimate: about 5 minutes a day of tuning in week one, then close to none.
Then add one action
Once you read it every day, let it add draft replies for the emails it lists. Drafts only; you send.
Not sure which jobs fit your business?
Build my free AI plan →Ready-made use cases
- 01CEO morning brief in 5 minutes
One message each morning: calendar, urgent emails, money in/out, and the 3 things that move the business today.
~3h/week · estimate - 02Inbox triage with drafted replies
The agent sorts your inbox into reply / FYI / ignore and drafts replies in your voice for you to approve.
~5h/week · estimate - 03Meeting prep dossier before every call
30 minutes before a call you get who they are, what they want, past emails and suggested questions.
~2h/week · estimate - 04Metrics digest without opening dashboards
The agent pulls your key numbers from Stripe, analytics and your store into one daily message.
~2h/week · estimate - 05Weekly CEO review & plan
Every Friday the agent compiles wins, numbers, stuck items and proposes next week's priorities.
~2h/week · estimate
Example: Grok Bot setup
Grok Bot routine: CEO morning brief in 5 minutes Schedule: Daily 7:30 Every morning, read my calendar for today, my unread emails from the last 24h and yesterday's revenue. Send me a brief: (1) meetings with one prep note each, (2) emails that need my reply with a suggested one-line answer, (3) money in/out, (4) the 3 highest-leverage tasks for today. Keep it under 200 words. Rules: draft first, never send or post anything external without my approval. Keep summaries short.
Grok Bot, ChatGPT, Claude and n8n versions: all templates
Setup steps
- Pick the four blocks: calendar, emails needing a reply, overdue tasks, one number.
- Connect calendar, email and your task list read-only.
- Paste the brief instruction and set a weekday time.
- Send it to the one place you check first.
- Tune the wording daily for a week.
- Only then add draft replies for the emails it lists.
Keep these human
- Read-only access first. A brief never needs to send, delete or accept anything.
- Keep passwords, card numbers and health or financial details out of the instruction and task title.
- If the brief is longer than you'd read on your phone, cut blocks rather than adding more.
- Start in draft mode: the agent prepares, you approve, then you loosen the leash routine by routine.
FAQ
What should an AI agent do first for The AI morning brief?
What goes in: Four blocks, in this order: today's calendar with prep notes, emails that need a reply from you (not newsletters), anything overdue or due today, and one number you care about (sales, leads or bookings from yesterday). Leave news and weather out unless you'd really read them. The instruction to paste: 'Every weekday at 7:30, send me a brief under 200 words: 1) today's meetings with one line of context each, 2) up to 5 emails that need my reply, with who and why, 3) anything overdue or due today, 4) yesterday's [number]. If a block is empty, write "nothing". Read only: never reply, accept, delete or move anything.' Schedule it: Pick a time before you open your inbox. In ChatGPT, scheduled tasks can run once or on a repeat; Free accounts are limited to at most once a day in a flexible window, and the number of active tasks depends on your plan (OpenAI Help, Scheduled tasks). In n8n, a Schedule Trigger does the same job.
What should stay human?
Read-only access first. A brief never needs to send, delete or accept anything. Keep passwords, card numbers and health or financial details out of the instruction and task title. If the brief is longer than you'd read on your phone, cut blocks rather than adding more. Start in draft mode: the agent prepares, you approve, then you loosen the leash routine by routine.
Is there a ready-made template?
Yes. Start with "CEO morning brief in 5 minutes": copy-ready Grok Bot, ChatGPT, Claude and n8n templates are at https://whatshouldmybotdo.com/use-cases/ceo-morning-brief#templates.