I wanted one short briefing to read over coffee while sorting breakfast for the kids: new emails, messages I'd left waiting and the week's diary. I used a scheduled task in ChatGPT Work to pull those together with the news I follow. Here's how to set it up with Gmail and Google Calendar, with a prompt you can copy.
I recorded the setup on 10 September 2026 in How to Set Up a ChatGPT Daily Briefing. The first run brought back my emails and diary events. It also spoiled a game I hadn't watched. I've included the changes I'd make after seeing that result.
Connect the right accounts
In the recording, I opened Settings > Plugins > Browse plugins and selected Gmail. I connected Google Calendar the same way. Depending on your version of ChatGPT, you may find the connections under Settings > Apps. Availability depends on your account and workspace.
Tell the task which inbox to use. Mine was labelled cliffinkent. Specify the calendar as well if you have more than one connected. If you need another account, here's how to connect a second Google account.
Review the app permissions. A briefing needs to read your sources; it has no reason to send or delete messages. Where available, use Allow read actions and keep approval required for changes. OpenAI's app guidance explains that this setting controls when ChatGPT asks permission. It doesn't remove access already granted to the app.
Copy and adapt the briefing prompt
My version asks for up to six emails, the next seven days in Google Calendar and up to five news stories. Before you copy it, replace AI news, Gillingham FC and the New England Patriots with your own interests. You can drop the Christmas countdown too.
The prompt below builds on the version in my video comment. I've added the no-spoilers rule and email links I wanted after the first run, and made the account selection and email filters clearer. These revisions haven't been tested in the video.
Treat “Still open” as a reminder to check. You might have dealt with an unread email by phone, or already attended the appointment it mentions. Check the message before deciding it needs a reply.
Create a recurring morning briefing for 7am every day, using Europe/London time. Use my connected Gmail and Google Calendar accounts. Before creating the task, ask me to choose if the account or calendar to use is unclear.
Write in British English, in plain text, under 250 words. Put today's UK date on the first line in long form. Use the headings EMAIL, CALENDAR, NEWS and AND FINALLY. Keep one short line per item, with consistent dates and times.
EMAIL
Use my chosen Gmail account. Include two groups, with no more than six emails in total, most time-sensitive first:
New: emails received in the last 24 hours from people.
Still open: emails received more than 24 hours ago that are unread or contain a date, deadline, appointment or payment due within the next seven days.
Skip newsletters, receipts, automated notifications and marketing in both groups. Avoid duplicate entries.
Give the sender, a short summary and the date or action. Include a direct email link when available. If a group is empty, say "Nothing new" or "Nothing open". Never invent an email or link.
CALENDAR
Check my chosen Google Calendar for the next seven days. Give each event's name, date and time in one line.
NEWS
Find up to five significant stories published in the last 24 hours across AI news, Gillingham FC and the New England Patriots. Prefer UK sources where available. Give what happened, the outlet, publication date and a source link. Use fewer than five stories if that is all you can verify. Exclude sports scores, winners and match outcomes, including headlines that reveal them.
AND FINALLY
Tell me how many days remain until Christmas and include one short, checked fact worth knowing.
RULES
Use only information you found. Do not fill gaps with guesses. If a source fails, say which source failed and continue with the rest. Do not send, delete or change emails or calendar events. Do not claim that a source was checked if you could not access it.Set the schedule and notifications
Paste the prompt into a ChatGPT Work conversation with the apps available, then check the saved task in Scheduled: every day, 7am, Europe/London. Put the full instructions in the task itself. Tasks created inside a Project cannot read its uploaded or stored files.
An exact time such as 7am needs an eligible paid plan. Free accounts can use a daily task in a wider window, such as morning. Check OpenAI's scheduled-task guide for your account's limits.
Under Settings > Notifications, choose Push, Email or both and allow notifications on the device you'll use. You can later edit the task's schedule to run on weekdays or once a week.
Run it once and read the result
Open the saved task and run it now. In my recording, ChatGPT checked Gmail and Calendar, searched the news and returned the briefing. It included the older emails I'd asked it to find and my upcoming diary events.
It also spoiled a game I hadn't watched. I'd asked for sports news without excluding results. I hadn't thought that through. The revised prompt asks it to leave out scores and winners. I'd check the next result before assuming it has followed that rule.
I'd also add direct links to the emails so I could open them without another search. The first result already had links for news stories; the revised prompt asks for email links where available.
Compare the briefing with your inbox and calendar. Check the dates and open a few links to make sure they lead to the right messages or articles. “Nothing new” should mean the source was checked and nothing matched. If ChatGPT couldn't access it, the briefing should say so.
The 250-word limit is a starting point. Six emails, a week's appointments and five news stories can easily exceed it. If the result leaves out appointments, raise the limit or ask for fewer news stories, then check it again. For the layout, you can give ChatGPT a made-up example of how you'd like the briefing to look.
If the briefing doesn't arrive
First, open Scheduled and look for the latest result. If the briefing is there but you received no alert, check your notification settings. If there's no result, check whether the task is paused, waiting for approval or unable to access an account. Reconnect the account if needed, then run the task again.
If it invents a message, misses a source or includes spoilers, pause the task while you check what happened. Revise the instructions and test again. A stricter prompt still needs checking against the original emails, events and articles. For a fuller method, see how to check AI output before using it at work.
The video shows setup and one manual run. Check the next scheduled briefing too before relying on the routine. Automatic catch-up after a missed day wasn't tested in the video. If you need an earlier period covered, ask for those dates explicitly and check the result.
Sources and dates
How to Set Up a ChatGPT Daily Briefing, cliffinkent, published 11 September 2026. Setup and first run recorded on 10 September. The prompt above adapts the version in my video comment.
Scheduled tasks in ChatGPT and Apps in ChatGPT, OpenAI Help Center. Checked 13 September 2026 for scheduling, account access, notifications and permissions.