Task Automation

The real value of a personal AI assistant comes from its ability to take action, not just answer questions. Learn to connect your assistant to calendars, email, web services, and smart home devices to automate daily tasks.

Common Automation Tasks

Implementing Tool Use

Tools are defined as structured schemas that tell the LLM what actions are available:

calendar_tool = {
    "name": "create_calendar_event",
    "description": "Create a new calendar event. Always confirm with the user before creating.",
    "input_schema": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "title": {"type": "string", "description": "Event title"},
            "start_time": {"type": "string", "description": "ISO 8601 start time"},
            "duration_minutes": {"type": "integer"},
            "attendees": {"type": "array", "items": {"type": "string"}}
        },
        "required": ["title", "start_time", "duration_minutes"]
    }
}

Email Automation

Email is one of the highest-value automation targets. Your assistant can:

• Morning briefing: Summarize unread emails and highlight ones that need attention
• Draft responses: Generate reply drafts in your writing style for review
• Priority sorting: Classify emails by urgency and category automatically
• Follow-up reminders: Track emails waiting for a response and remind you
• Meeting preparation: Before a meeting, pull relevant email threads and summarize the context

Smart Home Integration

Connecting your assistant to smart home systems enables natural control:

• "Turn off the lights in the living room" - direct device control
• "Set up movie mode" - trigger multi-device routines (dim lights, close blinds, turn on TV)
• "What is the temperature in the house?" - query sensor data
• Proactive suggestions: "It is getting warm outside. Should I turn on the AC?"

Safety and Confirmation