#AILifeHacks is a new series of posts focused on the everyday use of AI, from lifehacks to turbocharge productivity at work to all the things AI can do to spark your creativity…plus secret AI superpowers you can leverage on the move.

Everyday AI: Conquer Email Clutter And Quality

Today, we’re diving into the realm of the dreaded (or maybe beloved?) beast: email. Let’s face it, emails can be time-sucking monsters, leaving us drowning in a sea of “reply-alls” and unanswered drafts. But fear not, there are some pretty easy and practical everyday AI tips that can help you save time and get better at managing your inbox.

Note: While there are LOADS of theoretical AI hacks and plugs for new tools and services, my aim is to focus only on the AI productivity hacks I actually use on an everyday basis, using tools that are free or widely used.

Sanity Saver: Summarize Lots Of Emails

AI is amazing at summarizing large amounts of content…this super power extends to email trails and conversations too.

Quick Catch Me Ups!

A great practical example: I typically get a LOT of emails from our kids’ school and with how busy life gets, it is virtually impossible to keep track of all these emails. Many email services and tools are amping up AI integrations…from Microsoft’s Copilot in Outlook to Google’s Bard in Gmail.

Here’s an example of what that looks like – I asked Google Bard to summarize all the emails I’ve received from the school over the past week…the AI does an excellent job of accessing Google Workspace and summarizing all the emails received, including the emails it used and the dates they were received on, so you can easily click through to the ones you’re interested in.

If you’re new to this, you’ll need to enable the Google Workspace extension on Google Bard…the great this is that this allows you to also access files in Google Drive and work with Google Docs, not just Gmail.

Microsoft also offers Copilot with Outlook now, so if you have this enabled (in New Outlook for Windows or on your Mac / iOS / Android devices), you should be able to leverage similar AI superpowers and summarize long email threads – here’s an example:

Simplify Complexity

In this example, I’ve used AI to try and decipher a long and complex email (including an external link) in a few seconds, using Google Bard this time.

You can do the same thing by copy-pasting long emails to help AI summarize or simplify their meaning…and even decipher languages you don’t speak.

Your Super AI Email Assistant

While AI can be an amazing productivity assistant to better tackle your email inbox…it can help you write quicker and better emails too!

Write Quicker

Just pop in what you’re hoping to achieve and the AI can do the rest. Here’s an example on Gmail – all I had to do was give the AI a brief and it drafts the email:

The Output (which you can further shorten/lengthen or refine:

You can do exactly the same thing with Microsoft Outlook with Copilot:

Here’s the Output, which you can further tweak, add to or refine:

Write Better

Large Language Models (LLMs) are terrific at understanding and crafting just that…language. So whether you’re trying to decipher something really long and complex, or translating from another language, or even trying to better convey what you really mean, AI has you covered.

Here’s a great example – ever gotten one of these passive aggressive emails? AI can be your buddy and coach to help you craft the perfect, professional response (and avoid an Amygdala Hijack)! In this case I’ve used ChatGPT but just about any LLM/Chatbot would work well – here are about a dozen different AI Chatbots you can use, including how well they perform.

In this example, I’ve taken a long, complex email to decipher its meaning, plus also gotten a head start on a reply. To make things even more interesting, I asked for a short reply in German (a language I only have a very basic conversational knowledge of). For this example I’ve used Anthropic’s Claude to show that pretty much any AI Chatbot can help.

Here’s a final example showing how you can use AI to greatly improve your writing and impact…plus you can make it a learning opportunity, vs asking the chatbot to just do the work for you. For this example, I’ve used the public and freely available Microsoft Copilot:

If you’re using Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Outlook, you can even get helpful “Email Coaching“, with suggestions on how to adjust the tone, clarity, and reader sentiment before you hit send. 

Wrap Up

In conclusion, while there are numerous advanced AI tools and services for enhancing email productivity, the simplest and most effective AI strategies involve mastering the basics: cutting through email clutter and utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) like AI Chatbots. Integrations such as CoPilot and Bard offer a significant speed advantage in interpreting and crafting more effective emails.

Beyond these, AI can also assist with real-time translation, prioritizing critical emails, smarter scheduling, and even spotting key opportunities hidden in your inbox. Start with these fundamental AI hacks, and you’ll see a noticeable improvement in your email management.

Don’t forget to share your favorite AI tips and tricks in the comments below!