Interacting with ChatGPT via email

I’ve been an avid user of ChatGPT since its inception, employing it to enhance my communication, workflow, and brainstorming skills. Although the technology is remarkable, there are areas where the user interface and overall experience could be greatly improved. Some issues include the difficulty in quickly retrieving past conversations and its streaming nature does not always align with my needs.

My usage of ChatGPT is akin to a sounding board; I pitch ideas, brainstorm, pose questions, and even tackle minor programming tasks. Unfortunately, the existing interface isn’t ideally suited for these types of interactions. For example, I often initiate multiple chats during my morning routine, only to later struggle with recalling or locating these conversations. This led me to desire a more organized user experience, enabling me to swiftly dispatch tasks and efficiently track and follow up on them later at my leisure.

This need sparked an idea: What if I could interact with ChatGPT via email? The epiphany struck me while watching “The Bear” with my wife. I was engrossed in the show but desperately needed the answer to this question: “How many restaurants fail in their first year and what types of restaurants fail the most often”. I realized that if I could email my questions and tasks to ChatGPT, I’d have all responses neatly organized in my inbox, easy to label, search, and revisit later when I was able to fully appreciate them. This simple yet innovative approach wasn’t widely adopted yet, so, I had to build it.

Fortunately, the following day was Saturday, and I had just one commitment: taking my son to his pottery class. Once we returned, I secluded myself in my office, fully focused on developing a prototype. Four hours later, I emerged with a functioning solution ready to show my wife. The experience was remarkable. Sending off emails to ChatGPT felt incredibly natural. I was able to send multiple emails rapidly and manage which ones to read immediately and which to follow up on later. Additionally, I could easily label and organize my questions directly in my email app, either from my laptop or my phone. And since everything was within my inbox, there was no need for any special apps. ChatGPT was readily available, right there in my inbox, around the clock.

Here is the quick, but pretty scalable and affordable architecture

I dedicated the weekend to resolving major issues and ironing out bugs. My enhancements included the ability to parse and store attachments, support for multiple recipients, and more accurate thread parsing. Additionally, I integrated a few convenient features, such as automatic subject generation and website summarization. By the end of the weekend, I had developed a robust solution to my initial problem and it was glorious — I had amassed over 130 conversations with my new email assistant sparking dozens of new ideas and potential enhancements.

One of the most illustrative conversations showcasing the potential of email as an interface occurred with my wife. As colder weather set in last week, my thoughts turned to warmer vacation destinations. I emailed my wife, asking about her preferred vacation spots for next year. She replied with a list of destinations, and just as I was about to start researching them, an idea struck me. I quickly replied, CC’ing my new AI assistant with the following message:

What are the average temps in Phoenix, New Orleans, and Outer Banks in February?

How far of a flight is it to these destinations from Boston?

Within just 10 seconds, I received a response in my inbox from my AI assistant. The process felt incredibly intuitive. *Ding*, new message. My wife, having received the AI’s response as well, posed a follow-up question herself:

What activities are available in Phoenix for a family with an 8-year-old?

The AI promptly replied to both of us with suggestions.

This interaction was nothing short of remarkable. We seamlessly exchanged emails, engaging in a dynamic dialogue with the AI, all within a single thread in our inbox. I was hooked and so was my wife.

The integration of AI into our everyday tools like email is not just a convenience, but a transformative leap in how we interact with technology. My weekend project, born out of necessity and curiosity, opened up a new world of possibilities. It showed that when innovative ideas are applied to familiar platforms, they can drastically enhance our productivity and creativity. This experience also serves as a reminder that not every problem demands a complex or novel interface; often, the most basic and time-tested solutions can be just as effective, if not more so, in addressing our needs.

Interested in testing out my email AI assistant, email me.