Guide

Find subscriptions you forgot: a read-only AI subscription audit

Updated · by Rosh Perera

A subscription audit is a one-off job where a Bot reads your email receipts and renewal notices and lists every recurring charge it finds: the vendor, how often it bills, the last date and what it seems to be for. It only reads and lists; you decide what to cancel, and you cancel it yourself. It's a safe first job because nothing goes out and nothing changes. We use Grok Bot as the example; the same steps work with any assistant that can read your inbox. Grok Bot facts here come from xAI's Grok Bot docs, its Use cases page and changelog, and Cursor's Grok Bot help, checked 20 Oct 2026. Want a pick for your exact business? Try our free What should my bot do? planner. We're an independent site, not part of xAI.

Pick your first 3 bots in 5 quick questions →

What to hand to an agent first

  • Connect your inbox, read-only in practice

    "Gmail can search and read mail, draft and send, and apply labels on the connected mailbox" (Grok Bot help: Connect apps), so tell the Bot in your first message: search and read only, never send, delete or unsubscribe. A connected app is available to every Bot on the account, so give this job its own Bot.

  • Ask for one table

    Ask it to search receipts, invoices and renewal notices and build a table: vendor, plan name if shown, billing frequency, last charge date, amount as shown on the receipt, the email it came from, and a one-line guess at what it's for, marked as a guess. Write [UNCLEAR] instead of guessing amounts.

  • Flag what to look at

    Ask it to flag: tools you seem to pay for twice, free trials that turned paid, renewals coming up soon, and anything with no login email in the last few months. These are prompts for you to check, not facts.

  • You do the cancelling

    Cancelling usually needs a login or a payment screen. xAI's docs say for "passwords, passkeys, two-factor codes, CAPTCHAs, and payment confirmations, the Bot should hand you control of the computer" (xAI's Approvals docs). Cancel from your own browser, or let the Bot draft a cancellation email for you to send.

  • Keep receipts tidy from now on

    xAI's Expense Manager use case "logs new receipts from email" (xAI's Use cases page). Our expense receipt digester template keeps a dated list so next year's audit is quicker.

  • Repeat it now and then

    xAI's advice: "Start with a one-time task. Make it reliable, save the method as a skill, and only then automate it." (xAI's Skills and routines docs). Run it again when your card statement surprises you, rather than on a tight schedule.

  • Start from a template, not a blank page

    xAI's Use cases page lists 56 jobs and its official Marketplace lists 90 public templates, as of 20 Oct 2026 (our Grok Bot template stats page). Our templates page has drafts-first versions with copy-ready prompts, and our free What should my bot do? planner picks a first job for a business.

Not sure which jobs fit your business?

Build my free AI plan →

Or get every routine pre-written in the pack →$29 one-time, plus local tax where it applies.

Get the free AI Team Starter Kit

4 copy-paste agent prompts, a business brief template and a 7-day plan, as a PDF. Plus this guide's templates.

Ready-made use cases

  1. 01Expense receipt digester for your books (you file every claim)
    Paste receipt text or forwards and get a clean dated list: vendor, amount, category, memo. You copy it into your books. Never submits claims or pays cards.
    ~2h/week · estimate
  2. 02Monthly bookkeeping prep
    The agent categorizes transactions, finds missing receipts and preps a clean summary for your accountant.
    ~3h/week · estimate
  3. 03Inbox 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

Example: Grok Bot setup

Grok Bot routine: Expense receipt digester for your books (you file every claim)
Schedule: Weekly or on paste

When I paste or forward receipts, extract date, vendor, amount, currency, tax if shown, suggested category from my list, payment method if shown, and a one-line memo. Use [FILL IN] for anything unreadable. Never guess amounts. Flag duplicates. Give me a copy-paste table and category totals for the period I ask about. Never submit expense reports, never contact banks or card issuers, never pay or refund.

Rules: draft first, never send or post anything external without my approval. Keep summaries short.

Grok Bot, ChatGPT, Claude and n8n versions: all templates

Email me this template + the Starter Kit

Setup steps

  1. Make a Bot with a short name and one primary job, and in your first message tell it the work, the sources to use and when to ask for your approval, then ask it to remember that (Grok Bot help: Onboarding): search my email for receipts, invoices and renewal notices and list every recurring charge in one table, marking guesses as guesses. Read only: never send, delete, unsubscribe or cancel.
  2. Connect only the mailbox the receipts go to.
  3. Check the table against your card statement.
  4. Cancel what you don't need yourself, or approve drafted cancellation emails.
  5. Add the receipt digester so new receipts land in a list.

Keep these human

  • Read-only: never cancel, unsubscribe, delete or change payment details.
  • Keep card numbers and billing logins out of chat.
  • Never paste a password or one-time code in chat. Sign in yourself with Take over, then choose I'm done (xAI's Approvals docs).
  • Personal Bots no longer have a description, so lasting rules go in chat: ask the Bot to remember them, like "From now on, ask before sending any email" (Grok Bot help: Edit a Bot).
  • Start in draft mode: the agent prepares, you approve, then you loosen the leash routine by routine.

Get the free AI Team Starter Kit

4 copy-paste agent prompts, a business brief template and a 7-day plan, as a PDF. Plus this guide's templates.

Want the whole system pre-written?

The One-Person AI Business Pack: CEO agent + workers, all 46 routines in 4 formats, your role pack.

Get the pack · $29See what's inside

$29 one-time, plus local tax where it applies.

Next: Whop checkout. $29 one-time, plus local tax where it applies, paid by card on Whop. Files arrive by email.

14-day money-back guarantee: reply to your receipt within 14 days for a full refund.

Built by Rosh Perera, who has set up AI automations for more than 40 businesses over about 3 years.

FAQ

Can AI find all my subscriptions?

It can find the ones that send receipts or renewal emails to the mailbox you connect. Anything billed silently won't show up, so check your card statement too.

Can it cancel subscriptions for me?

Don't let it. Cancelling needs logins and payment screens, and xAI's docs say the Bot should hand you control for those (xAI's Approvals docs). It can draft a cancellation email for you.

Is it safe to let it read my email?

Give the job its own Bot, connect only the mailbox the receipts go to, and tell it to read only. A connected app is available to every Bot on the account (Grok Bot help: Connect apps).

How often should I run it?

Once now, then whenever your statement surprises you. It's a one-off check, not a routine.

Will it unsubscribe me from emails?

Not if you tell it to read only. Unsubscribing is a change you make yourself.

What about receipts going forward?

Use our expense receipt digester template to keep a dated list of new receipts.

Get a plan for your exact business

Build your free AI team. No signup.

Build my free AI plan →

Related guides