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Beginner2 min6 steps

SUMMARIZE A CLIENT EMAIL

Extract action points in 60 seconds

THE TASK

You've received a long client email and need to quickly understand what they want and what you need to do.

1

SAVE THE EMAIL

Outlook
Download the email as a .eml file from Outlook, or copy-paste the full email text. If it has attachments, download those too.
2

OPEN YOUR AI TOOL

Your preferred AI tool
Open your preferred AI tool. Make sure you're on the paid tier for data privacy.
3

UPLOAD OR PASTE THE EMAIL

Drag the .eml file into the chat, or paste the email text directly. If there are attachments (PDFs, spreadsheets), upload those too.
4

USE THIS PROMPT

"Summarize this client email. Extract: 1. What the client is asking for 2. Specific action points I need to address 3. Any deadlines or urgency indicators 4. Questions I need to answer Format as a numbered list, prioritized by urgency."
5

REVIEW THE OUTPUT

Read through the summary. Check that nothing was missed. AI sometimes skips nuanced requests buried in long paragraphs.
6

ASK FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

If the client mentioned specific funds, amounts, or conditions, ask the AI to elaborate: 'What specific funds did the client mention?' or 'What are the exclusion criteria?'
DONE — YOU'VE GOT THIS

PRO TIP

LLMs love PDFs. If the email has attachments in unusual formats, convert them to PDF first and re-upload. You'll get much better results.

COMMON MISTAKES

  • ✕Using the free tier. Your client data may be used for training
  • ✕Not uploading attachments. The AI can't read what it can't see
  • ✕Accepting the summary without checking. Always verify key numbers and names

TOOLS NEEDED

  • Any AI tool (paid tier)
Source: Sessions 1 & 2