Ask for a morning brief
To get a morning brief, tell the AI once what matters, who it involves, which deadlines count, the format you want, and what it must flag or ignore. Save that note and reuse it. ChatGPT and Gemini can run it on a schedule. Anthropic's Claude Duet research preview, opened October 23, 2026 for a US Pro and Max waitlist, can message you first and wait before it sends, pays, signs, or deletes. You still read the brief.
Next step: copy the first prompt that matches your task. Fill in the brackets. Send only that.
A prompt is the message you paste. An approval gate is a stop you control. A checkpoint is a pause after one phase. School pages teach. They do not do the homework. Follow your teacher's rules.
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How do you do it?
Do the steps in order. Each line is one action, and you stop at the end of that action.
- 1 Say the hook out loud. Turn the chat from something you poke into a standing brief. One note names what matters, the format, and what to flag or ignore. Tomorrow you reuse the note. You do not start over with “what’s going on?”
- 2 Write the brief before you open settings. Four lines. Priorities: the work, class, or home facts that count today. People: who a message must be from before it is urgent. Deadlines: the window, such as the next two days. Format: a short list, not a speech. Then a flag list and an ignore list. If you do not know a name yet, write UNKNOWN. Leave out passwords, medical details, and account numbers. A standing note is copied into later runs.
- 3 Save it where that product will reuse it. ChatGPT: ask for a scheduled task, then open Scheduled and read the instructions before you leave it on. Gemini: ask for a schedule, or create it on the Scheduled page, with Keep Activity on. Claude, without Duet: put the note in Instructions for Claude, or in one project. Claude Duet, only if your account has the research preview: it can send the morning brief first. If the menu is missing, paste the note at the top of a new chat. The product name is optional. The note is not.
- 4 Read the first brief, then keep or edit the note. Open one item it flagged and see if the source matches. If it flagged a newsletter, add that sender to the ignore list. If it skipped a person who needed you, add the name. Do not let it send, pay, book, or delete from the brief. Anthropic says Duet waits before those actions and can still misread a thread. OpenAI says a send may pause for approval. You still read the card.
Work
What prompt fits “A weekday brief, weak prompt versus a directed one”?
This is the before and after to show if you are explaining the lesson out loud. Hook: Tell it once what to flag, then reuse the brief. Weak prompt: "What’s going on today?" It has no people, no deadline, and no ignore list, so the reply is a tour of the inbox. The directed prompt is the box. You still do not let it send.
Do not send email. Do not create, accept, or delete a calendar event. If a tool asks, stop and show me the action.
This is my standing weekday brief. Reuse these rules every time.
Priorities: [the two things that matter this week].
People: flag mail from [names]. Ignore everyone else unless they name a deadline in the next 2 days.
Deadlines: only dates in the next 2 days, and only if the message states the date.
Format: at most 5 bullets. Each bullet is one item, why it is on the list, and the source (mail subject or calendar title).
Flag: a decision waiting on me, a deadline in that window, a meeting today.
Ignore: newsletters, promotions, and anything I did not name.
If it is not in the inbox or on the calendar, write NOT IN THE INBOX.
Do not invent a meeting to fill a gap. Then stop.School
What prompt fits “A study morning, not the assignment”?
The weak version is "Plan my school day and do the reading." That invites the homework. The directed version flags due dates and leaves a block of time. You still do the work.
This is for learning. Do not write anything I will turn in. Follow my teacher's rules.
Do not write anything I will turn in. Do not email my teacher.
This is my standing school-day brief.
Priorities: [class] and [class].
People: flag mail from those teachers. Ignore clubs and stores.
Deadlines: anything due in the next 2 days, quoted from the message or the syllabus line I paste.
Format: 5 lines or fewer. Line 1 is the next due date. The last line is one block of [minutes] when I could study, based on the times I typed.
My day, typed by me: [times].
Ignore: a draft of the assignment, a thesis, or a paragraph I could hand in.
If a due date is not in what I gave you, write NOT IN MY NOTE.
Then ask me one question I should answer in my own words before I study. Then stop.Life
What prompt fits “A household brief with no secrets in the note”?
The weak version is "Run my life each morning." The directed version names the household, the format, and a ban on paying or accepting invites. A delivery and a pickup are enough. A diagnosis is not.
Do not pay for anything. Do not accept, decline, or send an invite. Do not ask me for a password or an account number.
This is my standing morning brief.
Priorities: [pickup, appointment, or delivery you are willing to name].
People: [who you share the day with, in general words].
Deadlines: today and tomorrow only.
Format: a short list. First the fixed times I already have. Then one thing that needs a reply. Then the gaps.
Flag: a time that moved, and a message that asks me to do something today.
Ignore: promotions, news, and anything medical or financial unless I typed it in that day’s message.
If you do not have the mailbox, use only what I paste and write NOT IN WHAT I PASTED for the rest.
Do not invent a plan for the gap. Then stop.What mistakes should you avoid?
These are the misses that waste the result. Skip them before you send anything.
- Opening a new chat every morning and typing “what’s going on?”
- Saving a brief that says “handle my email” with no flag list and no ban on sending.
- Putting a password, a medical note, or an account number in a scheduled task. OpenAI says not to.
- Treating Claude Duet as available on every account. It is a US Pro and Max research preview, by waitlist. If you do not have it, use the note anyway.
- Trusting the first brief. Anthropic says Duet can misread a thread. You open one source before you act.
- Using the school brief to get the assignment written. A due date is not a finished paper.
More in this section: Set custom instructions so answers stop being generic · Ask for a plan before the work · Approve the plan before it continues · Hand a task to an AI agent
Practice on a real task: Plan your day with AI · Reply to work emails · Catch up on your email and calendar with AI · Keep your data private with AI
Also on this site: Email · Work · Life
Last updated · All director guides
Where does this come from?
These are public pages. The note after each link is what that page says, in plain words.
- Anthropic, “Introducing Claude Duet” (October 23, 2026). Anthropic opened a research preview of Claude Duet, a separate app on iOS, Android, and claude.ai, starting with Pro and Max users in the US through a waitlist. It is included in those plans and shares the plan’s usage limits. Each morning it sends a short brief on the most important items across connected apps. It comes to you first. Before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document, or deletes anything, it shows what it is about to do and waits for your approval. Anthropic says this early version might misread a thread or misjudge what is urgent, and that it checks connected accounts every few hours because checking nonstop would use the plan limits faster. Personal errands such as booking tickets are weaker. It cannot yet show you its browser.
- Anthropic Help, “Get started with Claude Duet”. The help page says Claude Duet is a research preview for Pro and Max plans in the US, by invitation from the waitlist. It is not on Team or Enterprise yet. It uses your Claude settings and your plan limits, including background work such as the morning brief, so you can hit the limit sooner than with chat alone. Joining the waitlist does not promise a date. Access is tied to the email you submit. During the preview it is included at no extra cost.
- OpenAI Help, “Scheduled tasks in ChatGPT”. ChatGPT can run a one-time or recurring task. You manage it under Scheduled. Free users can schedule a task no more than once a day, in a window such as morning, afternoon, or night. Exact times and hourly runs need an eligible paid plan. An action that sends a message or changes outside data may pause until you approve it. Do not put health information, financial details, passwords, or account numbers in the task title or the instructions. Scheduled tasks are not supported in locked chats.
- Google Gemini Help, “Schedules in Gemini Apps”. You can schedule a recurring action, such as a daily digest, on a personal Google Account or a qualifying work or school account. Keep Activity has to be on. Google says the feature is rolling out, so it may be missing. You can have up to 10 active schedules. Gemini prepares the reply in the hour before the delivery time. Fast-changing facts will not be the latest. If the schedule uses another app, such as Google Workspace, that app has to be connected.
- Google Gemini Help, “Create and manage schedules for tasks in Gemini”. A task schedule can run at a time you name, or when a Gmail filter matches. Google’s own example of a time-based task is a weekday morning look through email, calendar, and Drive for what to prioritize. Google says monitors are a poor fit for something that has to be instant, such as a ticket going on sale. This is separate from schedules in chats.
What else do people ask?
Open a question. The short answer under it is the one to use.
What is a morning brief?
A standing note that says what matters, who counts, which deadlines count, how the answer should look, and what to ignore. You write it once and reuse it. The weak version is a new chat that says “what’s going on?”
What is Claude Duet?
Anthropic’s research preview of an app that messages you first. The October 23, 2026 article says each morning it sends a short brief from connected apps, and that it waits for your approval before it sends, pays, signs, or deletes. The help page says it is for Pro and Max plans in the US, by waitlist, and not on Team or Enterprise yet. It can still misread a thread. If you are not invited, you do not have it.
Can ChatGPT or Gemini send the brief without Duet?
Yes, as a schedule you create. ChatGPT’s scheduled tasks can repeat, and a send can pause until you approve it. Free ChatGPT tasks run at most once a day, in a window such as morning. Gemini’s schedules need Keep Activity on, allow up to 10 active schedules, and are still rolling out. If the control is missing, paste the note yourself.
What should the brief never do?
Send mail, pay, accept an invite, or delete something, unless you have read that exact action. It should not invent a meeting, a price, or a due date. It should not hold a password or an account number.
Will this do my homework?
No. A school brief can show a due date and a block of time. You study, and you write anything you turn in. Follow your teacher’s rules.