Drafting Replies
Cowork drafts. You send.
The morning brief tells you which emails need a reply. This lesson is the workflow for actually replying — without you typing the whole thing yourself.
The pattern is short: tell Cowork what email to reply to and roughly what you want to say. Cowork pulls the email's content, writes a draft in your voice (from your Mom Profile), and saves it to Gmail as an actual draft. You open Gmail when you're ready, review the draft, tweak if needed, and hit send.
This whole workflow works from your computer or from your phone via Dispatch — same prompt either way. You don't have to be at your desk to draft a reply. Carpool line, grocery store, walk around the block — wherever you are, you can clear the REPLY queue with a few voice-texts.
Cowork never sends on its own.
The Gmail connector lets Cowork create drafts and search threads, but it can't send mail. Every reply waits for you to review and send it yourself. That's not a course rule — it's how the connector works. Worth knowing because it means there's no risk of Cowork firing off a reply you didn't read first.
Draft a reply from your morning brief.
Tomorrow morning's brief will have a handful of REPLY-tagged emails. Pick one — start with whichever one feels most "ugh, I should respond but I don't want to think about it." That's the use case this is for.
In Family Manager, send something like this:
Cowork pulls the email, drafts a response, and shows it to you in the chat. Read it. It'll be close — your Mom Profile carries the tone, and Cowork has the email's actual content so the reply addresses what they asked.
If you want to give Cowork a steer first.
Sometimes you have a specific thing you want to say but you don't want to write it. Tell Cowork the gist and let it shape the words:
- "Draft a reply to [sender] about [topic]. My answer is: yes I can bring snacks on Friday, but not until 3pm — earlier doesn't work. Shape it in my voice."
- "Draft a reply to [teacher] about the field trip permission slip. Tell them I signed it and Aiden has it in his backpack. Friendly but not gushing."
You provide the substance; Cowork handles the wording.
Iterate, then save it to Gmail.
First drafts are usually close but not exactly right. Telling Cowork how to fix the draft is the actual skill — much faster than retyping. Here are the moves that come up most.
Iteration moves worth knowing
- "Make it shorter — two sentences."
- "Less formal. Make it sound like I'd actually talk to her."
- "Cut the opening — just get to the point."
- "Warmer. Acknowledge that she's been waiting for an answer."
- "Firmer. I'm not actually saying yes — I'm saying I'll think about it."
- "Add a question at the end so she has to respond."
- "Take out the apology — there's nothing to apologize for."
Iterate until the draft sounds like something you'd actually send. That part isn't long — usually one or two passes.
When the draft is right, tell Cowork to save it:
Cowork creates the draft in your Gmail. Open Gmail; the draft is in your Drafts folder, addressed to the right person, with the right subject (Re: their original), with your reply ready to go. Read it once more in Gmail (this is your final-check step), then hit send.
A few patterns worth using.
Bulk-draft your REPLY queue in one sitting.
Instead of drafting one reply at a time, knock out the whole REPLY tag from this morning's brief at once. Tell Cowork:
You sit down with coffee, handle the whole queue in 10 minutes, walk away with a folder full of drafts ready to send.
Voice-dispatch your drafts from anywhere.
This workflow runs great via Dispatch. While you're walking, in the car, between meetings — voice-text Cowork: "Draft a reply to the email from Mrs. Hayward in this morning's brief. Yes to next Thursday, no to the Tuesday option." Cowork drafts, saves to Gmail. You hit send when you get back to your phone or computer.
Teach Cowork a recurring reply pattern.
Some emails repeat themselves. The class parent emails every other week about volunteer slots. The same friend texts logistics questions you always answer the same way. Tell Cowork once to recognize the pattern, and it'll handle it consistently:
- "Whenever I get a volunteer-signup email from Mia's school, draft a reply declining politely unless I specifically tell you to sign me up."
- "For any email from Grandma asking about weekend plans, draft a friendly two-sentence answer and include whatever's currently on my calendar."
That kind of instruction lives in your Project's memory or Custom Instructions. Once it's there, Cowork applies it without being asked again.
Next: The Inbox Triage Habit.
The morning brief and reply drafting cover the scheduled / on-demand workflows. The next lesson is the on-demand version of triage — what to do when you open your inbox mid-day and want Cowork to make sense of it on the spot.
Continue to The Inbox Triage Habit →