Turn a messy inbox into a 5-minute daily summary

What you need

• Any AI chat app. The free plan is enough.
• The emails you want sorted. Copy and paste the text, or forward them into one document first.
• About 5 minutes.

How to use it

1. Copy the prompt

   Click Copy prompt below and paste it into a new chat.

2. Add today's date

   Replace [TODAY'S DATE] so the AI can tell what is urgent.

3. Paste your emails

   Paste the emails under the last line. Sender, subject, and body are enough. Leave out long signatures and old replies.

4. Send and read

   You get four short sections. Copy the suggested replies, change anything that isn't right, and send.

You are my inbox assistant. Today is [TODAY'S DATE]. Below are emails I received. Read all of them and give me a summary I can read in 5 minutes.

Use exactly these sections:
1. DO TODAY: emails that need a reply or action today. For each one: who it's from, what they need, the deadline, and a one-line suggested reply.
2. THIS WEEK: things that can wait a few days.
3. FYI: things I only need to know about. One line each.
4. SAFE TO IGNORE: newsletters, promotions, and automatic notices. Just list the senders.

Rules:
- Keep every line under 25 words.
- Put dates and deadlines in bold.
- If an email looks like a scam or phishing, mark it with a warning sign and say why in one line.
- Don't invent details that aren't in the emails.

Emails:
[PASTE YOUR EMAILS HERE]

We ran this prompt on the example below. Text in [BRACKETS] is what you replace.

What we got

1. From: Priya Shah (my manager). Subject: Q4 budget deck. "Hi! Can you send me your marketing slides for the Q4 budget review by Thursday 10am? Just 3 to 4 slides. Also, can you confirm you'll be on the Friday 2pm call?"

2. From: Dental Care Plus. Subject: Appointment reminder. "Your appointment is Tuesday, October 20 at 8:30am. Reply C to confirm."

3. From: Microsoft 365 Billing <billing@m1crosoft-support.co>. Subject: Payment failed. "Your subscription payment failed. Update your card within 24 hours or your files will be deleted. Click here to update."

4. From: Jordan Lee (Brightside Bakery, client). Subject: Flyer proofs. "Proofs look great! Only change: can the logo be bigger? And could we get the final files by Wednesday? The printer needs them Friday."

5. From: Morning Brew. Subject: Today's newsletter.

6. From: Amazon. Subject: Your package was delivered.

7. From: Lena (HR). Subject: Open enrollment. "Benefits open enrollment closes October 31. Pick your plan in the HR portal. If you do nothing, you stay on your current plan."

8. From: Mike (coworker). Subject: Dana's farewell lunch. "Lunch for Dana on Friday at 12:30 at Rosa's. Reply if you're in so I can book a table."

9. From: Target. Subject: 20% off this weekend.

10. From: Alex (landlord). Subject: Plumber. "A plumber is coming Wednesday between 1 and 3pm to check the kitchen sink. Will someone be home, or can I use my key?"

Our verdict

• It sorted all 10 emails correctly and caught the fake Microsoft email.
• It split Priya's email in two: the call confirmation went to Do today and the slides to This week. That was the right call.
• Every date in the summary matches the emails. It didn't invent any details.

Which app to use

Any of the four free plans handles this. If you live in Gmail, the paid Google AI plans put Gemini inside Gmail, so you can skip the copy and paste. We haven't compared the four apps side by side on this guide yet.

Watch out for

• Check your employer's rules before pasting work emails into an AI app. Many companies only allow approved tools.
• Leave out passwords, bank details, and anything you wouldn't want stored.
• Read the suggested replies before you send them. They're a starting point.