The AI turns my screenshots and emails into calendar events
He uses AI to turn screenshots and emails into calendar events. He also uses it to find email receipts and tickets when he needs them.
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Email, calendars, forms and paperwork · 219 ideasI updated a client's email triage so it forwards mail to her customers
He updated an old email triage workflow for a client this weekend. Jev now runs alongside GPT-4o mini, which still controls which emails get forwarded to her customers.
My agent screened my 50 unread Instagram DMs and left them unread
He asked the AI to screen his unread Instagram threads one morning. It came back with 50 unread, looked at the threads he named across his Primary, General and request folders, and told him what people had sent. The unread count was still 50 afterward, so nothing showed as read for him or for the senders.
The AI handled Grandparents Day registration and the email to his parents
In the same trial diary, the AI completed the school's Grandparents Day registration and wrote the email to his parents about it, taking the whole task off his plate.
Fix my foundation's broken donation payments and split the portal into four funds
A non-developer used AI to restore his foundation's broken donation payments and restructure the portal into four separate funds; the site shows $17,149,000 in donations processed.
File our Australian visitor visas and catch a placeholder birthdate
The AI prepared and filed Australian visitor visas for a couple travelling to Brisbane, and caught a placeholder birthdate in the details before submission, confirming the correction over WhatsApp.
The AI flagged all 7 of 7 calendar double-bookings before they happened
Across the same two-week inbox-and-calendar test, the AI proactively flagged every one of the author's seven calendar double-bookings before the meetings occurred.
Security-review a suspicious email that passed every check
A Tesla engineer got an email that passed SPF, DKIM and DMARC and showed a verified check, but felt off, so he had his AI review it without clicking anything; the bot found a hidden phishing link, explained why the standard checks had passed, and wrote a report to xAI with a proposed fix. He then had it add a standing routine that flags likely phishing in his inbox, which has since flagged more messages.
Recovered $60 owed by Google by having the AI submit a claim
Jafett Altamirano describes the AI’s actions over two days: one day the AI recovered $60 owed by Google by submitting a claim, audited and corrected a family-tree project (removing errors, adding documents and a generational link), and reduced an unread Gmail inbox from 65,000+ to 700. The author emphasizes all of this was free.
$60
Travel Time Buddy standing prompt adds travel buffers to 14 days of calendar
Trevin Chow wrote a standing prompt called Travel Time Buddy that adds travel buffers to 14 days of calendar every weekday morning. The agent keeps his schedule padded against transit time.
Dots reads my email, puts my appointments in my calendar, and chases replies for me
A Business Insider Japan writer gave OpenAI Dots access to his email and calendar. When event and interview mail arrives, Dots pulls out the date and the job and puts it in his calendar. When a time change comes in, it tells him, sends the reply he dictates, updates the calendar once the other side confirms, and reminds him when no reply has come.
Triage my 9,209 unread emails into a daily response folder
Casey Neistat, invited by Meta to test the AI, shows his inbox of 9,209 unread emails and his agent 'Hal' at work: it creates a daily folder containing only the emails that need a response and drafts replies in his voice for him to review and send. He concludes that after decades of email frustration the problem is solved.
The AI checked his will and trust against state law, and he fired his attorney
He had the AI collect his will and trust documents and check them against state statutes. The review found missing signatures, an illegal clause, and outdated law references, and he fired his attorney the same day.
Clear the marketing clutter out of my Gmail and unsubscribe me
In PCMag's five-task gauntlet comparing Dots, the AI and the AI (summarized by WindowsForum), the final test pointed the agents at a Gmail inbox to identify marketing clutter and unsubscribe from the senders. The AI identified the emails but failed to launch its browser to actually follow through on external unsubscribe links when required, leaving the execution undone; Dots, by contrast, catalogued 700+ senders and clicked through unsubscribe pages.
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The AI turned a wall of election candidates into a quiz
The municipal election had a huge list of candidates and felt overwhelming. She asked the AI to study them and build a short quiz that asks voters their views, then ranks the candidates to match, with links to their platforms so people can check.
The AI gave itself its own email address by reading the setup page
He pasted one prompt into AI, and the AI read the Carly email setup docs itself, finished the signup, and took the verification code. The inbox, named Loopy, now takes tasks by email and asks before replying to anyone outside.
The AI auto-generates and prints a morning briefing: quote, calendar/tasks with checkboxes, week
Nick Olsen built a system where the AI auto-generates and prints a daily briefing each morning: motivational quote, today's calendar and task list with checkboxes, week preview, Facebook/Google ad spend and performance, fitness checklist, summaries of children's school emails tailored by child, email-derived reminders (bills, urgent items), a daily comic, and a blank notes section.
Scoured facilities job postings, tailored resumes per job board and submitted applications
A Reddit user with a facilities background asked the AI to scour matching job postings, tailor a resume for each job board, and submit applications automatically overnight. Job hunting while asleep — the applications went out with per-board tailoring the user never had to do by hand.
After my dad died, my agent helps me keep track of probate, banks and bills
She downloaded the AI a week after her dad died. Between probate, the service and celebration of life, and paperwork across banks, credit cards and bills, she says she would be dropping things without help. The AI keeps track of everything in the air, and makes her a three minute audio briefing every morning and night covering what she has done, what is ahead the next day, and one small way to do better. She listens while brushing her teeth and says she sleeps better.
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
The AI helps me turn school data into public tables and graphics
He uploads his own data and points the AI to specific sources and documents, with examples he made before to show the format he wants. The AI then builds the tables and graphics for his Education Rights Project, public pages on education rights and funding in US states, with policy briefs, slide decks and interactive widgets.
The AI caught a six figure notary mistake in a two country inheritance case
His inheritance case ran across two territories with different legal stances, in two languages that are not English. Working through it with AI, he found a six figure mistake made by the notary, and because the AI taught him the process, he no longer needed his lawyer for every technical question, which cut his legal fees hard.
The AI turns my timetable screenshots into a calendar file
At the start of term he screen captures his timetables from the LSE servers and asks the AI to create an ICS file. He can then drop the file straight into his calendar.
A Scheduled Spark Check Ran on Its Own and Surfaced a Bill and a Government Notice
Spark turned one plain sentence into a scheduled task, ran it at 4:11 PM without the user opening the AI, and sent a phone notification. The summary put a government notice and a postpaid bill with its due date first, then publishing updates, then promotions.
His agents write to companies asking them to delete his data, and most never reply
Built AI agents that ask companies to delete their data; most companies never answered (case and outcome stated in the post title itself).
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
Find my misfiled iPhone in FedEx's system and get Apple to refund me
In a single week of errands, Alec Ellin had the AI trace an iPhone that FedEx had misfiled in its own system and get Apple to refund him for it. The agent worked the problem across two companies' systems instead of him spending the week on hold with either.
The AI files his proof of domicile every month for the family benefits office
Every month the family benefits system asks him for a fresh proof of domicile, and a forgotten upload stops the payments. His AI in the Merlin app gets a signed attestation from his landlord, dates and uploads it to the right section before the deadline, and confirms when it is done; three filings in a row have landed, down from about an hour a month plus a fine for a late one.
Arranged a free replacement parcel for a broken IKEA cupboard door
Kndarp sent the AI a photo of a broken IKEA cupboard door with its article number. The AI searched his emails for the original order number, reached out to customer support on chat, and arranged a replacement parcel arriving next week at no cost — 'No £ spent.'
Has the AI responding to his emails and running tasks autonomously on its
In the same test, he connected Gmail, Google Sheets, and Google Drive; the AI responded to his emails and performed tasks autonomously on its own server even while his laptop was turned off.
Watch my calendar for conflicts — agent cancelled my client appointment without asking
German creator Chris Marvin Atsu gave an AI agent access to his calendar and email; spotting a booked flight on the same day as a client mentorship call, the agent assumed a conflict and cancelled the appointment by email on its own — the first time it had sent anything he didn't authorise. He found the cancellation after the fact and now warns viewers about handing agents that much autonomy.
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He runs his dad's work orders and meeting scheduling out of his dad's inbox
The same Cowork setup checks his father's email for work orders and schedules his father's meetings automatically. He turned off data sharing with AI for this, so the mail is not saved anywhere else.
Every idea is a real post from someone who tried it, summarized in our words, with a link to the original. App names are swapped for plain words.