3 ways to use GenAI for emails

Hey! 

Email is central to our modern, digital lives: one moment, we’re reviewing notes from a client, then next, we’re responding to a wedding invite, perusing a sale, or scheduling a meeting. And, then – ping! – we’re back at it. In fact, email is so widespread that not only did the number of global users reportedly reach 4.37 billion in 2023, but 347 billion emails were exchanged every day that year. That’s a lot of sifting, reading, writing, and organizing to do on (and off) the clock.

Fortunately, generative AI can actually help you tame your inbox so that you’re able to spend less time churning out replies and more time producing results. Whether you have AI assistants like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini integrated into your workspace or you keep ChatGPT open in a tab on your web browser, there are numerous ways you can leverage GenAI to make your emails more manageable. 

Want to learn how? Here are three ways GenAI can help with your emails: 

📨 1. Summarize emails

Generative AI is powered by large language models (LLMs), which are models trained on massive datasets that allow them to generate content, predict text, and translate written material. As a result, GenAI is particularly skilled at analyzing long- and short-form texts and summarizing them for users. This means that GenAI is a natural fit for summarizing both lengthy, information-heavy messages and complex email threads between multiple participants. 

To do it, copy your email or email chain, prompt the GenAI platform to summarize it, and then paste it into the chat. Sample prompt: “Please summarize the main points from the following email: [insert email text here].”

📝2. Draft emails

Generative AI’s ability to quickly compose content is one of the reasons it’s made such waves in the tech world. While this capability is often used to power conversational chatbots, it can also be used to draft everything from poems to business reports and, yes, even emails. This can be especially useful when you want to send an email with specific details to a recipient but lack the time to compose it thoroughly.    

To draft a message using GenAI, prompt it to compose an email with the particular points or context that you want to include. Some context that you might consider providing in your prompt include your key points, any relevant information about your intended recipient, and the tone of your message. 

Sample prompt: “Please draft a reply to the following email, noting these points [insert key information]. For context, the recipient is [insert name and job title], and the tone should be professional: [insert email text here].”

📤3. Automate your email replies 

After leveraging GenAI to summarize and compose your emails, the natural next step is to automate your email replies. While this is a bit more advanced than the previous two use cases, after setting up some basic integration and establishing certain parameters, GenAI can draft personalized responses to different emails with only minimal oversight from you. 

For a quick 2-hour tutorial on how to do it, check out Vanderbilt University’s ChatGPT + Zapier: Automate Email Replies with AI course. Learn how to automate personalized follow-ups, responses, and attachments to handle your inbox effortlessly. 

💌 Boost your AI productivity 

GenAI can boost your productivity and efficiency in the workplace–if you know how to use it. Learn how to leverage AI to manage your inbox and improve your workflow with these courses and specializations on Coursera: 

For prompting techniques, explore Google’s Prompting Essentials course. 

To learn ChatGPT-powered email automation, check out Vanderbilt University’s ChatGPT+Zapier: AI-Powered Email Mastery Specialization. 

To boost your productivity in Microsoft 365 with AI, explore Microsoft’s Introduction to Microsoft 365 Copilot course. Plus, if you enjoy the course, you’ll be on your way to completing the Master Microsoft Office 365 and Power Platform Specialization. 

Okay, that’s all for this week. Before diving back into your inbox, consider sharing some tips on how you're using GenAI to improve your productivity in the comment section below. See you next week!

Have a career question you’d like us to answer next? Share it below. And, as always, we welcome YOUR advice and experience in the comments.