Now it’s time to get the AI properly working for us. We’re going to become an newsletter Editor.

Each morning we’re going to get a daily digest delivered to us.

We’re going to say tell the AI what stories we want to include and let it get to work. Today it all comes together!

Let's get started:

Creating Your Daily Content Digest

At this point, you have a database full of AI-processed content with summaries, ratings, and explanations. But scrolling through a spreadsheet isn't the most efficient way to make decisions. It’s the fast lane to a headache.

Instead let’s create a daily digest that presents only the most promising items in an easy-to-review format. This digest is for your eyes only—it's your internal tool to help you quickly select the best content for your newsletter.

You’ll quickly give a yay/nay and the AI will take that input and write everything up.

Automated Digest with Zapier

Let's set up a Zap that creates and delivers your daily digest:

1. Trigger: Schedule
   • Set this to run after your content processing is complete (e.g., 6:00 AM)

2. Action: Google Sheets - Find Many Rows
   • Set this to find all rows with Status = "Processed" AND Rating ≥ 4 stars
   • This filters for only high-quality content

3. Action: Formatter
   • Use the "Text" transformer to format your digest
   • Create a template that includes Row ID, Title, Source, Summary, Rating, and Rating_Explanation for each item
   • Sort items by Rating (highest first)

4. Action: Email or Slack
   • Send the formatted digest to yourself - you can set it to come to email, Slack or wherever is easiest for you.
   • Use a consistent subject line like "Daily Content Digest - [DATE]"

Here's how your digest might look:

Daily Content Digest - May 5, 2025

To select items for today's newsletter, reply with the row numbers separated by commas (e.g., "Select 347, 352, 361")

Row ID: 347 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ New Zero-Day Vulnerability in Windows (TechCrunch) Summary: Microsoft has disclosed a critical zero-day vulnerability affecting all Windows versions that allows remote code execution without user interaction. The vulnerability (CVE-2025-0428) impacts the Windows Print Spooler service and is already being exploited in the wild, with a patch expected tomorrow.

Why it matters: Critical security issue with active exploitation affecting virtually all business environments using Windows. Immediate action is required.

Row ID: 352 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gartner Releases Cybersecurity Mesh Architecture Guide (Gartner) Summary: Gartner's new framework for integrating disparate security tools shows a 60% reduction in financial impact from security incidents for early adopters. The approach emphasizes API-first security tools and consolidates security monitoring into a unified dashboard.

Why it matters: Highly relevant to mid-market firms struggling with security tool sprawl, with concrete data on business impact.

Row ID: 361 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Zero Trust Adoption Reaches 65% Among Fortune 500 (Dark Reading) Summary: A new survey shows that 65% of Fortune 500 companies have now implemented zero trust security models, up from 42% last year. The report identifies improved user experience and reduced breach impact as key drivers for adoption.

Why it matters: Represents a significant shift in security strategy among industry leaders, indicating zero trust has moved from emerging concept to mainstream practice.

To build an AI Automation like this for yourself check out our AI Automation Accelerator.

Building a Reliable Selection System

Ok that’s the digest in play. But we need a way to return our thoughts - which pieces do we want to include?

We need a way to select items for today's newsletter. This could be the single best item or multiple items depending on how you want your final newsletter.

Selection via Email Reply

Notice that the example above has row IDs before each story? We’re going to use those to provide our yay/nays.

If you're receiving your digest via email, here's how to set up a selection system that works:

1. Set up an email parser in Zapier:
   • Create a Zapier Email Parser mailbox
   • Define a "Selection" pattern to extract row IDs
   • The pattern should look for text like "Select 347, 352, 361"

2. Create a Zap triggered by your Email Parser:
   • When a parsed email contains selections
   • Add a "Code" or "Formatter" step to split the comma-separated row IDs
   • For each row ID, update its Status in your spreadsheet to "Selected"

This approach lets you reply directly to your digest email with a simple "Select" command followed by the row IDs you want to include in today's newsletter.

If you prefer Slack:

1. Create a Slack bot using Zapier's Slack integration

2. Set up a Zap triggered by Slack messages:
   • Listen for messages starting with "Select" in a specific channel
   • Parse the row IDs from the message
   • Update those rows to "Selected" status

Same as the email method we simply type “Select 347, 352, 361” to tell the AI we’re going with those particular stories. Or “Select 347” if just want the one story.

We could set up AI here to allow us to respond with more “natural language” but honestly it’s overkill. We purely want to communicate the ID numbers - nothing more.

Compiling Selected Items into a Newsletter Document

Once you've selected your content items, the next step is to compile them into a cohesive newsletter document.

Our automations will receive our selections from our email/Slack message and go ahead and adjust the news item to “Selected”. Once that is done the follow will trigger.

1. Create a Zap triggered by row updates:
   • Trigger when Status = "Selected"
   • Use a "Storage" step to temporarily hold these selected items
   • Add a "Delay" of 5 minutes to collect all selections and ensure smooth operations

2. Add a Google Docs action:
   • Create a new document in a specified Google Drive folder
   • Name it "Daily Newsletter - [DATE]"

3. Add a ChatGPT action:
   • For each selected item, include its details in the prompt
   • Create a prompt template like this:

You're my newsletter formatting assistant. I'm creating an atomic newsletter for [YOUR INDUSTRY].

I've selected multiple items to feature today. Please combine them into a cohesive newsletter:

ITEM 1:
Title: {{Item1_Title}}
Source: {{Item1_Source}}
Summary: {{Item1_Summary}}

ITEM 2:
Title: {{Item2_Title}}
Source: {{Item2_Source}}
Summary: {{Item2_Summary}}

[CONTINUE FOR ALL SELECTED ITEMS]

Follow these rules:
1. Create an engaging subject line that encompasses the day's selections
2. Begin with a brief greeting and introduction
3. For each item, create a section with:
   - A bold mini-headline
   - The item's summary, slightly reworded
   - 1-2 sentences of additional context or perspective
   - Attribution to the original source
4. Create smooth transitions between items
5. Add a brief, friendly sign-off
6. Format in plain text
7. Total length should be under 500 words

1. Update the Google Doc:
   • Add the AI-generated newsletter content to the document
   • Include a timestamp and any other metadata you want

2. Notification action:
   • Send yourself a link to the newly created Google Doc (email, Slack)

This workflow creates a new Google Doc for each day's newsletter, making it easy to review, edit, and archive your content. Your newsletters will be organised by date in your Google Drive folder, providing a clean, searchable archive.

Here's an example of what a compiled newsletter with multiple items might look like:

Getting your content into a newsletter

Once your newsletter is compiled and finalised in Google Docs, the final step is getting it into your email platform.

You could do this automatically and trigger the send.

But honestly I think this is where your human touch should be added,.

1. Review and edit the Google Doc as needed

2. Copy the final text

3. Paste into Beehiiv (or whichever newsletter system you use):
   • Subject line into the subject field
   • Body content into the editor

4. Make manual edits, comments and add humanity

5. Schedule or send your newsletter

Putting It All Together: The Complete Workflow

Let's recap the entire workflow we've built across Parts 2-4. It’s a lot! But mainly because I’ve gone into granular details!

1. Content Collection (Part 2)
   • Automated feeds collect content from your chosen sources
   • All new content is stored in your database with Status = "New"

2. Content Filtering (Part 3)
   • Each morning, AI processes all "New" items
   • AI adds summaries, ratings, and explanations
   • Analyzed items are marked as "Processed"

3. Daily Digest (Part 4)
   • Top-rated content is compiled into a daily digest
   • Digest is delivered to you via email, Slack, or a filtered spreadsheet view

4. Selection (Part 4)
   • You review the digest and select multiple items (using email reply, Slack, or spreadsheet)
   • Selected items' Status is changed to "Selected"

5. Newsletter Creation (Part 4)
   • AI compiles all selected items into a cohesive newsletter
   • Newsletter is saved as a Google Doc
   • You receive a notification with a link to review
   • After final edits, you copy to Beehiiv for sending

The beauty of this system is that you're only directly involved in the selection and final review steps. Everything else happens automatically.

Your total time investment? A few hours to build upfront and then about 5 minutes per day for a high-quality, consistent newsletter that delivers genuine value to your audience.

Yeah…worth it!

What's Next?

At this point, you have a complete, end-to-end system for producing your atomic newsletter with minimal daily effort.

You've automated the most time-consuming parts of the process while maintaining control over the final product. Solid work.

In our final part tomorrow, we'll cover growth strategies for your atomic newsletter:

• Building your subscriber base

• Measuring and optimising performance

• Repurposing your newsletter content

• Monetisation options

We'll also look at how to turn your atomic newsletter into a legit content engine that drives growth for your business. Because that’s what it’s all about remember!