AI instructions for a sender

When WorkOS captures an email, the AI writes a tidy summary and translates it if needed. You can ask it to do this in a specific way only for one person's emails: for example, a shorter summary, a different tone, or highlighting amounts and dates.

Where you write them

The instructions are stored on the contact's CRM record, in the "AI instructions" field. There are two ways to edit them:

• From a received email: click the "AI instructions for this sender" button in the action bar. A box opens with the text; "Save and reprocess this email" applies them to that same email straight away.
• From the contact's record, in Contacts.

They accept up to 800 characters and cannot contain links or email addresses. Do not write confidential data: the summary could reflect it. Only the Owner and people with Technical administration permissions can see and change them. The rest of the team never receives the text.

What they do

They are added to the company's general instructions when an email from that contact arrives. If both conflict on style, the contact's instructions win.

They are format and style only: language, tone, length, which parts to highlight or shorten. They do not change the email type, the proposed task or the links, and any other order they contain is ignored.

When they apply

• To new emails from that sender, when they are captured, and when you reprocess an email with AI.
• They do not apply to emails that were already captured unless you reprocess them.
• Nor to contacts marked "No AI" or to the replies you write.

How the sender is recognised

By the sender's email address. If the same address is on more than one contact, no instructions are applied until only one contact has that email.

In addition, they are only applied if your mail provider (Gmail or Outlook) has verified that the email really comes from that sender. Someone spoofing an address does not inherit that contact's instructions. If a legitimate email could not be verified (for example, because the sender's domain does not have its email security set up properly, or it arrived forwarded), it is still captured, but without the instructions. When you use "Save and reprocess", WorkOS tells you when this happens.

Outlook emails

For now, sender verification is only enabled for Gmail accounts. On Outlook accounts a contact's instructions are not applied until that verification has been validated with real emails.

Every change is recorded

Who changed it is logged and the other Owners are notified by email, because this text shapes how that contact's emails are summarised.

Before using it

You need to create a dedicated text property in the Contacts database in Notion, for example "AI instructions", and map it in Settings › Databases › CRM. Do not use a property that already serves another purpose (such as "Notes"): anyone who can write to it from Notion or a form would be steering the AI. Do not paste text copied from emails either.

Examples

• "Summarise in three lines and highlight amounts and dates."
• "Formal tone. Keep proper names untranslated."
• "Write the summary in English."