If you’re like me, you love staying in the loop — but finding time to sort through endless content can be exhausting. That’s why I decided to build my own newsletter assistant using AI — one that delivers only what I care about, straight to my inbox.
It changed the way I learn, create, and stay ahead in business. And in this post, I’m walking you through exactly why and how.
A Newsletter Created by Me for Me:
Each week, my inbox now gets one concise update with:
→ AI + automation trends that matter
→ Tool updates I care about
→ Actionable ideas I can turn into content or workflows
It’s curated, summarized, and delivered — all with a workflow I designed using tools I already love.
Why I Created It
Sure, I enjoy newsletters from other creators. They offer fresh perspective and community insight. But they weren’t built around my priorities. I needed:
→ Content ideas I could instantly repurpose
→ Workflow inspiration to support my DFY clients
→ Mindset shifts aligned with how I teach time freedom
Other newsletters gave me nice-to-know tips. I wanted need-to-know.
What It Actually Does
Here’s what my AI-powered agent does every week:
→ Searches trusted sites in my niche (AI, productivity, systems, digital business)
→ Filters content based on keywords I pre-selected (e.g. automation, tools, solopreneurs, scaling)
→ Summarizes key takeaways so I get the point fast
→ Emails it straight to me with a clean, formatted loo
It’s my own editorial assistant, powered by AI with targeted info I can use.
The Business Shift It Created
Since building this, my weekly clarity skyrocketed. I now:
→ Spot workflow trends before they become mainstream
→ Get inspired with fresh automation ideas for clients
→ Turn weekly insights into carousels, email hooks, and blog angles
It’s a system that supports my business brain.
Build Your Own Newsletter Assistant
I’ve documented the exact steps I used so you can set this up too — even if you’re not techy.
🔹 In the next section, I’ll walk you through:
- How to set it up in Zapier.
- How to give the right context for research and email summaries.
- Automating the summary + email process.
Here’s How to Set Up Your AI-Powered Newsletter Agent:
1. Head over to Zapier — You can create a free account to get started.
Tip: Change your timezone in settings
2. Once logged in, go to Zapier Agents. If it’s your first time, Zapier will guide you through a few onboarding questions and give you a quick walkthrough of how agents work.
3. After that, you’ll land in the Agent builder area via a popup.
4. Start from scratch — this gives you the flexibility to customize exactly what you want.
5. Use the prompt box to input your instruction. Here’s the suggested structure (replace what’s relevant to your business needs):
Objective
Your goal is to search [frequency, e.g., weekly] for the most relevant, practical, and up-to-date [Your specific information needs] published within the last [time window, e.g., 7 days].
This information should directly benefit [audience, e.g., digital entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small-business owners—especially women aged 28–40] who want to [audience/ideal client solutions you want to answers to]
Summarize and send these findings via email every [day, e.g., Monday] at [time, e.g., 9:00 AM]
Search Scope
Focus your search on real-world, actionable updates that align with the needs of [audience] using or exploring:
→ ChatGPT, GPT-based tools, and custom GPTs
→ Zapier, Make.com, and Airtable automations
(Give what is relevant to your business + as many samples as you can)
Include both:
Authoritative News & Blogs
- Tech & AI Platforms: OpenAI Blog, Anthropic, Google AI Blog, Hugging Face, Meta AI
- Tech Media: TechCrunch, VentureBeat, The Verge, Wired, MIT Technology Review, Fast Company, Business Insider Tech
Community & Discussion-Based Sources (AI-Agent Accessible)
Instead of Reddit, use:
- Product Hunt — trending AI/automation launches and user discussions
- Indie Hackers — entrepreneur-led discussions on AI tools and workflow hacks
(Find news outlets and discussion based sources that is relevant for you, 3-4 sources each is good – use ChatGPT to help you find these websites)
Exclude:
- Clickbait, personal blogs without authority, and duplicate reposts
- Irrelevant tech news (e.g., hardware, crypto, gaming)
- Sponsored posts without useful insights
Prioritize news or articles published within the last [time window, e.g., week].
Data Extraction
For each relevant article, extract and record for the email summary:
→ Date of publication
→ Title of the article or update
→ Source or publication
→ Author, poster, or expert
→ Type: [Insert the taggings you want]
→ 2–3 sentence overview explaining [what is relevant for your business]
→ Practical Takeaway: 1-line actionable insight for [audience]
→ Link to the full article
Email Summary
Every [day, e.g., Monday] at [time, e.g., 9:00 AM], automatically send an email with:
→ Subject: [subject line, e.g., “Your Subject Line Here”]
→ A short introduction (e.g., “[intro line, e.g., Here’s your weekly roundup of the latest in [Your niche]”)
→ A neatly formatted list of article titles (hyperlinked)
→ The summary per item
→ Closing line (e.g., “[closing line, e.g., Stay ahead of the curve — see you next week!]”)(Data Extraction and Email Summary: edit as needed – or how you want your summary to be)
Quality Assurance
Before sending:
→ Verify all links are valid and accessible.
→ Ensure all sources are from verified and reputable publications.
→ Double-check for duplicate entries.
→ Confirm summaries are concise, factual, and neutral in tone.
→ Ensure all items are within [time window, e.g., the last 7 days].
6. In the Trigger option, select: “Schedule by Zapier”
7. In the Tools section, select: “Email by Zapier: Send Outbound Email” and input your email address as the recipient.
Click “Configure” and only change the email recipient – let the agent decide on the other detials.
8. Test your agent to make sure the summary and email flow works smoothly. You can adjust your keywords, tone, or summary length as needed.
NOTE when using FREE Zapier Agent: If you’re using Zapier’s free plan, your agent is limited to 10 actions per run. Each step—like researching a website or sending an email—counts as one action. To stay within that limit, I recommend starting with 7–8 news sources, leaving the final 2 actions for sending your summary to your inbox.
Want your agent to scan more sources or perform extra steps automatically? Consider upgrading to a paid Zapier plan for more flexibility.
Bonus: Want to Go Deeper?
If you want to get even more out of this workflow, pair it with one of my custom GPTs:
You can use either (or both) to supercharge the clarity and quality of your newsletter agent and other automations.
Final Thoughts
You need your own signal. This workflow gave me back focus, saved me hours, and helped me serve better.
Coach, creator, or founder — you can build this, too.
Because AI shouldn’t just think for you. It should think with you.