How to get your inbox under control with AI

If you run a business by yourself, your inbox is a second job. You're checking it constantly. And every time, it's the same three questions. What's urgent? What needs a reply? What can I ignore?

When I recorded this in March, I stopped answering those questions myself. I had my AI answer them for me. Then I had it draft the replies, and I only stepped in to approve.

I was doing it through Kiyomi Max at the time, a setup I had built on top of Claude. That product is retired. The method isn't. Any good AI that can connect to your email can do this, and Claude can connect to Gmail. Here's exactly how it went.

Step one: ask what needs your attention

First you connect your email to your AI. In Claude that's one of the connectors. Once it's in, here's what I said:

"Check my email and tell me what needs attention. I'm recording a demo, so don't share anything private. But make sure you let me know if there's something urgent I need to put my attention to."

It searched the inbox and came back sorted.

• A customer asking for my help. That one needed me.
• A Slack subscription renewal. No action needed.
• My weekly revenue report. Just information.
• My daily YouTube stats. Just information.
• Newsletters and promos. Ignore.

Bottom line: out of all of that, one email needed me. One. You might not even have to open your own inbox most days, to be honest with you.

Step two: draft the reply, then approve it

The customer's email was private, so I didn't want it on camera. I had the AI play it out instead. I said: put me in the role of a customer who's having trouble installing my product, and draft the email you would send with step-by-step instructions. Let me see it first. Once I approve it, send it to my email.

It drafted it. And I read it. That matters, because one detail in there was one I knew was wrong for my product. That's how I knew it was working from a sample. You know your business. Read every draft before it goes out.

The draft looked really good, so I approved it. Then I pulled up my email, and there it was: a welcome email with an installation guide.

One honest note. When I recorded this, Claude's own email connection could read and draft, but it couldn't send. Sending took extra setup. My advice: start with drafts anyway. Let the AI write, and you hit send. That way nothing goes to a customer without your eyes on it.

Step three: batch your check-ins

Now the bigger one. Campaigns.

A lot of people use something like MailChimp for this. That's fine and dandy. But for keeping in touch with the customers you already have, you can do it right from your AI. Here's what I said:

"Find clients I haven't emailed in the last ten days and draft check-ins. I'm trying to batch my re-engagement. Let me see the drafts. Don't use their real names on screen."

It came back with four. Names changed for the camera, but real people I needed to email.

"Hi Marcus. Just wanted to check in and see how things were going on your end. It's been a couple of weeks since we last connected."

James, Sarah and David got their own versions.

Then I said: don't send these. Save them to my Gmail drafts so I can look at them and send them when I'm ready. All four showed up in my drafts.

That's the move. The AI does the finding and the writing. You do the deciding.

Why this matters more than new leads

Everybody talks about outreach to new customers. That's important. But you want to keep the people who already started with you. Keep them warm. Keep them looked after.

Here's a real story. I had customers from an older version of my product, and I needed to move them over to the new one. Every one of them needed a welcome email. This is where it helped me so much. It got everybody their welcome email, it made each one fit that person, and it sent them all after I had seen the drafts.

Every one of those went out with my eyes on it first. That's the balance you want.

Step four: give it a standing rule

Last thing. After a campaign, I told it: once they respond, a week later, send them a thank-you email. I was only demoing it, so I told it not to actually save that one. But that's the idea. You teach it your follow-up habits once, and it remembers them for you.

Your practice

Here's the assignment I gave, and it still works with any AI that can reach your email:

• Check your email through your AI and ask what needs attention.
• Draft one reply and approve it before it goes.
• Send a welcome email to a real client or a test client.
• Ask who you haven't contacted in thirty days.

What this means for you

Your inbox doesn't have to run your day. If you want to learn this step by step on your own business, starting with Claude, that's what the RMDW Platform is for: lessons built around your business from a 10-minute assessment, with new ones every month and a monthly group Q&A with the RMDW team.