Inbox
AI automation for inbox zero
Moves newsletters and alerts out of the way with filters you read before you turn them on, and leaves a short daily pass for the mail that still needs you.
Level: Augment.
Trigger
When new mail arrives, then a short pass each day
Setup
about 30 min (estimate)
Before you start
- Gmail search — https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190
- Gmail filters — https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6579
- Gmail labels — https://support.google.com/mail/answer/118708
- An AI chat — https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-custom-instructions
Steps
List the senders that are noise
In Gmail, search the last month and copy the sender addresses that you never need in the inbox. Leave out people. Search help: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/7190
category:promotions newer_than:30d
Ask for one search line per filter
Paste the addresses only. Save the instructions if you will add senders later. Custom instructions: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-custom-instructions
Write Gmail search lines that skip the inbox. Use only the addresses I paste. Group shops together, and app alerts together. Add one line: has:list-unsubscribe. Name a label for each line: Read later, Alerts, or Lists. Do not write a filter that matches a person's name. Do not tell me to delete mail.
Create the labels first
Create Read later, Alerts, and Lists before any filter. Labels: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/118708
Turn on one filter and read the results
Paste one search line, look at the messages, then create the filter. Choose Skip the Inbox and apply the label. Do not choose Delete. Filters: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6579
from:(shop.example OR other-shop.example)
Add the newsletter line last
Run has:list-unsubscribe on its own. If a person or a bill appears, add -from:that-address to the search, then create the filter.
has:list-unsubscribe -from:(school.example OR bank.example)
Keep a ten-minute daily pass
Once a day, read the inbox, then open Read later only if you have time. Once a month, unsubscribe from a list you did not open.
Sweep for mail that still needs a reply
Once a week, look back over the last 14 days. Gmail can suggest some of these if you turn on Nudges, "Suggest emails to reply to" (https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6585). For the full sweep, search `in:inbox newer_than:14d -category:promotions -category:social -has:list-unsubscribe` and open each thread. Gmail search can't tell who sent the last message, so skip any thread that ends with your reply. Copy the sender, subject, date, and the line that asks you something. Do not copy the whole body.
Here are emails from the last 14 days that I have not answered: sender, subject, date, and the line that asks me something. Sort them into three lists: Needs a reply from me, Just to read, and Done or out of date. For each item in Needs a reply, write in one line what I owe and how many days it has waited. Use only what I paste. Do not draft full replies. Do not tell me to delete anything.
Example output
Read later - Five shop newsletters. Search: from those addresses. Skip the inbox. Label: Read later. - App alerts. Search: from those app addresses. Skip the inbox. Label: Alerts. - Lists. Search: has:list-unsubscribe. Skip the inbox. Label: Lists. The school and the bank stay in the inbox. Still in the inbox today: a question from a colleague, and a delivery change.
Power move
Paste only the sender addresses. The chat writes one search line per filter, plus a single has:list-unsubscribe line for newsletters. You still run each search and create the filter yourself, after you see which messages it would hide.
What to check
- Each filter's search shows only the mail you meant to move.
- Mail from people is still in the inbox.
- Nothing was deleted.
- The sweep covered the last 14 days and skipped threads where you replied last.
What it can't do
It does not delete mail, unsubscribe for you, or send a reply. A filter can hide a message you needed, so you search the label before you trust it. Paste sender addresses, not message bodies.
Privacy
Paste only the text a chat tool needs. Leave out passwords, account numbers, and identity numbers. The steps link to each tool's own help page when a setting matters.