One Gemini prompt replaced my morning email, calendar, and Drive routine
By Google News AI ·
I bet that, like me, you still check Gmail and Google Calendar individually in the morning. Maybe you rummage around Google Drive for some important file. It’s a harmless routine, but old muscle memory makes us jump between apps just to figure out what deserves our attention. Yes, it's a bit tedious. I wanted to see if Gemini could do this for me.
By connecting it to my Google Workspace account and giving it one carefully worded prompt, could I bring information from these services into a single "brief"?
Gemini can access information from Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, and other Workspace services through its Google Workspace connection feature. Instead of going down email threads or opening documents, I can ask Gemini targeted questions about information already stored in my Google account.
To get started, I open Gemini and make sure I'm signed in with the same Google account I use for Gmail and Drive. I then open Settings > Personal Intelligence > Connected apps > Google Workspace and enable the connection. You can click on the individual apps on the Google Workspace list to see what's possible with Gemini and the prompts you can try.
For this to work, Keep Activity must be enabled in settings. Google also requires Smart features in other Google products to be turned on in Gmail. With those done, I can now explicitly mention Gmail, Google Calendar, or Drive in my prompts. I don't have to connect each service separately.
I can always ask disconnected questions about my inbox and schedule. But what I want is a bird's-eye view of stuff I need to get to today. It tells me what needs attention and also spots potential conflicts. For instance, an urgent email task from the office can clash with an already scheduled event on the calendar.
Gemini works best when you name the source. So, tag each app, then spell out the specific sections you want. As always, Google prefers the use of keywords from the content for precise searches. The prompt is simple:
@Gmail @Google Calendar @Google Drive Give me a morning brief. List today’s meetings with times. Then list unread emails received in the last 24 hours that need my reply today, sorted by urgency. Lastly, find Drive files related to today’s meetings. Keep it under 200 words.
In case you want to tweak the brief, you can explicitly ask it to organize the response under Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and Today's Priorities. Other Gemini instructions can include the use of bullet points, dates and times where relevant. When there's too much information, try asking Gemini to link to the original sources whenever possible.
Also, I sometimes add an "ignore promotional emails" to prevent the brief from becoming a cluttered mess.
I usually end up refining this basic prompt as I learn what Gemini misses or gets wrong. For example, I might ask it to prioritize messages from specific people or ignore certain types of recurring tasks. Gemini has made organizing Google Drive files easier, but here it's a weak link.
Gemini can find the relevant and/or related files if you follow strict file-naming conventions or attach it to the tasks on the calendar. You do need to double-check. For instance, in my scenario, it found a taxation PDF which wasn't important for organizing my financial sheet task.
Scheduled actions turn that prompt into a recurring one. Type "every weekday at 7 a.m." into the chat, and Gemini sets the schedule. Daily, weekly, and monthly schedules all work, and each sends…
Originally published by Google News AI
