Email to Action: Cross-App Workflows
Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ Intermediate · Estimated time: ~30 minutes
Your manager emails you about an invoice that needs follow-up by Friday. Normally you'd read the email, open Google Calendar to create a reminder, then open Google Docs to write up your notes. Three apps, three context switches, five minutes gone.
Instead, you tell AI to do all three at once — read the email, create the calendar event, and write the summary doc. One instruction, three actions, ten seconds.
That's what we're building. A workflow where AI reads your Gmail, extracts what matters, and takes action across your Google apps — Calendar, Docs, and Drive.
Tutorial led by Chan Meng — Senior AI/ML Engineer, open-source contributor, and former ByteDance developer. Chan has built 30+ live applications and specialises in AI-powered solutions. She is also a panel speaker at this event and the developer behind this website.
What you will build
AI reads your emails and pulls out key information — who sent it, what it's about, and what action is needed
Create Google Calendar events directly from email content — follow-ups, deadlines, and reminders
Write summaries and notes to Google Docs — capture important details without opening your browser
How it works
You give one natural language instruction. Gemini CLI understands what you need, reads your Gmail using the Google Workspace CLI (gws), and then takes action — creating calendar events, writing documents, or uploading files. All from your terminal, all in seconds.
What you will learn
- Build cross-app workflows that connect Gmail, Calendar, and Google Docs
- Extract action items, deadlines, and key details from emails using AI
- Create Google Calendar events from email content using natural language
- Write email summaries to Google Docs without opening a browser
- Upload files to Google Drive from the command line
- Chain multiple actions into a single AI instruction
No coding required. The AI handles everything — your job is to describe what you want done. If you can explain it to a colleague, you can do this.
Tools
Google's free AI assistant that runs in your terminal. Supports extensions for Google Workspace — Gmail, Calendar, Docs, and Drive.
A command-line tool that controls your Google apps — Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets — from the terminal.
Optional voice input tool — speak instead of type. Works in any application, including your terminal.
Required to install Gemini CLI and gws. A one-time setup.
Cost
| Tool | Cost |
|---|---|
| Gemini CLI | Free (1,000 requests/day) |
| gws | Free and open-source |
| Wispr Flow | Free trial (invite link for a free month of Pro) |
| Node.js | Free |
| Gmail + Calendar + Docs | Free |
| Total | $0 |
Prerequisites
Windows or macOS. No special hardware needed.
Take your time — there's no rush. You can always come back and continue later.
Any personal or work Google account with Gmail, Calendar, and Docs enabled.
Ready to get started? Head to Set up your tools to get everything connected.