'I closed my inbox and waited to see how the afternoon went' — I gave ChatGPT permission to watch my inbox, then stopped checking my email

I experimented with ChatGPT's event-triggered scheduled tasks, which allow an AI-powered secretary to monitor my Gmail inbox, Slack channels, and other communication channels. The feature alerts me to messages that require action or are from family members, drafting potential replies based on my instructions. To test it, I connected my Gmail account and set the AI to notify me only when a message required my attention, excluding spam and non-essential emails.

I found the afternoons with ChatGPT in charge of my inbox to be more productive, as I no longer felt the urge to constantly check for new messages. The AI successfully handled alerts from my bank, a family member, and a recent change to my event tickets, while ignoring irrelevant emails. I recommend starting with a short test period, reviewing the first few runs, and adjusting the prompt as needed to ensure important messages aren't missed.