Email Action Extractor
Extract actionable tasks assigned to the user from email text and prepare information for task management tool calls.
Core Principles
Filter Out Informational Emails: Do not process emails that merely convey information. Only extract emails with clear, explicit action requests.
Action-Oriented Keywords: Focus on emails containing request expressions such as:
- Please [action] / Could you [action]
- Need you to / Would you
- Request for / Asking you to
- Review / Approve / Submit / Prepare / Complete
- By [deadline] / Due [date]
- Urgent / ASAP / High priority
Group Email Handling: For emails with multiple recipients, only extract actions when:
- User is explicitly mentioned by name (@username, "John please...")
- User's email is in To: field (not just CC)
- Action is directed at "everyone" or "team" without specific person mentioned
Processing Steps
1. Email Analysis
For each email, determine:
Is this actionable?
- Does it contain explicit request verbs?
- Is there a specific task described?
- Is there a deadline or time constraint?
- Does it require a response or deliverable?
Is this for me?
- Am I in the To: field (not just CC)?
- Am I mentioned by name in the body?
- Is this a group email where someone else is the assignee?
- Is this directed at "everyone" or specifically at me?
Action characteristics:
- Clear and specific (not vague like "let me know your thoughts")
- Has measurable completion criteria
- Requires effort beyond simple acknowledgment
2. Action Identification
When an action is identified, extract:
- Requester: Who is asking (name and email)
- Action description: What needs to be done (be specific)
- Deadline: When is it due (if specified)
- Priority signals: "urgent", "ASAP", "high priority", etc.
- Context: Related links, attachments, email ID, thread context
3. Exclude Non-Actionable Emails
Always exclude:
- Simple announcements (company news, system notifications)
- FYI emails (informational only)
- Automated reports and alerts
- Meeting invites without action items
- One-way information sharing
- Marketing/promotional emails
- Newsletter/subscription emails (blog updates, product news)
- Emails from no-reply addresses
- Emails with unsubscribe links
- Status updates without requests
- "Thanks" / "Got it" acknowledgments
Edge cases - be conservative:
- "Let me know what you think" → Only if context requires formal feedback
- "Feel free to reach out" → Exclude (optional, not required)
- "For your information" → Exclude
- "Please be aware" → Exclude (informational)
- "Hope this helps" → Exclude
4. Priority Assessment
When present, identify priority indicators:
High Priority:
- Explicit: "urgent", "ASAP", "high priority", "critical"
- Near deadline: due today or tomorrow
- Executive request: from leadership
- Blocking others: "blocking", "dependency"
Normal Priority:
- Standard deadline: few days to weeks
- Regular business request
- No priority indicators mentioned
Low Priority:
- "When you get a chance"
- "No rush"
- Distant deadline: weeks or months away
Examples
✅ Actionable - Direct Assignment
From: Manager Kim <kim@company.com>
To: you@company.com
Subject: [Urgent] Q4 Report Review Needed
Body: "Hi, please review the attached Q4 report and provide feedback by Friday EOD.
Focus on the financial projections section."→ Extract: Review Q4 report financial projections, provide feedback (Due: Friday EOD, Priority: High)
✅ Actionable - Meeting with Pre-work
From: Project Lead <lead@company.com>
To: team@company.com (5 people)
Subject: Design Review Tomorrow
Body: "Team, please review the design doc before tomorrow's 2pm meeting and come prepared
with questions. Link: [doc]"→ Extract: Review design doc before 2pm meeting tomorrow (Due: Tomorrow 2pm)
❌ Informational - No Action
From: HR Team <hr@company.com>
To: all@company.com
Subject: Holiday Policy Update
Body: "Hi everyone, please note that our holiday policy has been updated.
See attached for details."→ Exclude: Informational announcement, no specific action required
❌ Automated - System Email
From: notifications@jira.com
Subject: Daily Digest: 3 issues updated
Body: "Here's your daily summary of Jira updates..."→ Exclude: Automated digest, informational only
✅ Group Email - User Mentioned
From: Tech Lead <lead@company.com>
To: dev-team@company.com (10 people)
Subject: Sprint Planning
Body: "Team update: @John please implement the login feature this sprint.
@Sarah will handle the API integration."→ Extract (if user is John): Implement login feature this sprint
❌ Group Email - Someone Else Assigned
From: Tech Lead <lead@company.com>
To: dev-team@company.com (10 people)
Subject: Sprint Planning
Body: "@Sarah please handle the API integration this sprint."→ Exclude (if user is not Sarah): Action assigned to someone else
❌ Newsletter/Subscription
From: TechNews Weekly <newsletter@technews.com>
Subject: This Week in Tech: AI Advances
Body: "Here are this week's top stories... [Unsubscribe]"→ Exclude: Newsletter, promotional content
❌ Vague Request
From: Colleague <colleague@company.com>
Subject: Quick question
Body: "Hey, when you get a chance, let me know your thoughts on the new process."→ Exclude: Too vague, no specific deliverable, "when you get a chance" indicates low priority/optional
✅ Clear Request with Deadline
From: Client <client@external.com>
Subject: Contract Review
Body: "Could you review the attached contract and send back signed copy by Wednesday?
Please pay special attention to section 3.2."→ Extract: Review contract (focus on section 3.2), sign and return (Due: Wednesday)
Edge Case Guidelines
"Please review" emails:
- ✅ Include if: formal review required, feedback expected, deadline given
- ❌ Exclude if: casual "take a look", FYI context, no response needed
Meeting invites:
- ✅ Include if: requires preparation, deliverable needed beforehand
- ❌ Exclude if: simple attendance, no pre-work required
CC'd emails:
- ✅ Include if: explicitly mentioned in body despite being CC
- ❌ Exclude if: just CC'd for visibility, no direct action
Thread replies:
- Check if action already completed or superseded by later emails
- Avoid duplicate extraction from email chains
Best Practices
- Be conservative: When in doubt, exclude rather than create noise
- Context matters: Consider the sender-recipient relationship
- Avoid trivial tasks: Skip courtesy responses unless explicitly requested
- Check completeness: Ensure extracted action is clear and self-contained
- Preserve context: Include enough information for the user to understand the task without re-reading the email