How do I Automate Email Drafting?

You can automate email drafting by combining three things: reusable templates in your email client, AI tools to generate first drafts, and automations (like Zapier or CRM workflows) that trigger those drafts from events, optionally powered by a CustomGPT.ai agent trained on your own content.

Scope:
Last updated: December 2025. Applies globally; align automated email and data use with local privacy laws (for example, GDPR in the EU and CCPA/CPRA in California).

Use templates and canned responses in your email client

Before you touch AI or automations, lock in the basics: templates.

Templates (sometimes called “canned responses”) let you save an email once and reuse it, then tweak a few details. Gmail has built-in “Templates,” and Outlook supports reusable email message templates.

Steps to set up templates

1. Identify your repeat emails
   List the messages you send again and again: thank-you notes, onboarding instructions, meeting follow-ups, support replies, etc.
2. Create Gmail templates
   In Gmail, go to Settings → Advanced and enable Templates. Compose a message, click More options → Templates → Save draft as template. You can then insert it into new emails with a couple of clicks.
3. Create Outlook templates
   In Outlook, compose your standard email, then use File → Save As and choose an Outlook template format (or use built-in template features in New Outlook). Later, create new messages from that template and customize details.
4. Keep templates short and modular
   Use short paragraphs, bullets, and optional sections you can delete quickly. Avoid writing a “wall of text” that you must heavily edit every time.
5. Name and organize templates clearly
   Use names like Support – Password reset or Sales – Demo follow-up (warm) so you can find them quickly.
6. Review and refresh regularly
   Schedule a quick review (e.g., monthly) to update outdated links, policies, or pricing so automation never sends stale information.

Use AI tools to generate draft emails

Templates cover predictable messages. AI tools help when every email is a little different but follows similar patterns, like sales outreach, support explanations, or product updates.

Many email platforms and connected tools can generate draft text based on your instructions. You still stay in control by editing before sending.

How to get good AI drafts

1. Choose where AI will run
   Decide whether to use AI built into your email client, a standalone AI writing tool, or an AI agent (like a CustomGPT.ai agent) connected via integrations.
2. Define your prompt pattern
   Give AI a consistent prompt format, for example:
   • Who you’re writing to
   • The goal of the email
   • The tone (e.g., friendly, formal, apologetic)
   • Key points or bullet notes
3. Generate the first draft
   Paste your notes or the original incoming email text into the AI tool with your prompt. Let it generate a draft.
4. Edit for accuracy and compliance
   Always review: fix mistakes, remove anything that over-promises, and ensure the text matches your policies and brand.
5. Save good drafts as templates
   When a generated draft works well and you reuse it often, turn it into an email template so you don’t need AI every time.
6. Set clear “no-go” zones
   Decide which emails should never be drafted by AI (e.g., terminations, legal issues, very sensitive topics). Keep those fully manual.

Trigger email drafts from other apps and CRMs

Once templates and AI drafts are working, you can go a step further: have drafts created automatically when something happens in another system.

Automation platforms like Zapier or CRM workflows can watch for events (a new lead, a form submission, a support ticket) and then create email drafts in your inbox. For example, Zapier offers prebuilt workflows that create Gmail draft replies from incoming emails or parsed messages.

CRMs such as HubSpot also let you create automated emails that are sent by workflows, using preconfigured templates and personalization.

Steps to set up event-based drafts

1. Pick your trigger event
   Examples: a new form submission, deal stage change, new ticket, or inbound email meeting certain conditions.
2. Choose the tool to orchestrate automation
   • No-code platforms: Zapier, Make, etc.
   • CRM workflows: HubSpot sequences or workflows for marketing/sales emails.
3. Create a “create draft” action
   In Zapier, use actions like Create Draft in Gmail rather than Send Email, so the system prepares drafts instead of sending automatically.
4. Insert template or AI-generated text
   Use your email templates or AI-generated copy as the message body, plus personalization tokens like name, company, or product.
5. Test with yourself or a small group
   Trigger the workflow with test data and confirm the drafts look correct and land in the right mailbox.
6. Roll out gradually
   Start with a narrow use case (e.g., demo requests only), then expand to more triggers once you’re confident.

How to do it with CustomGPT.ai

CustomGPT.ai lets you build an AI agent based on your own content (help center, docs, emails, internal SOPs) and then call that agent from tools like Zapier. That means you can generate personalized, on-brand email drafts automatically and drop them into Gmail or Outlook as drafts.

The steps below focus on Zapier, based on the official CustomGPT.ai Zapier documentation.

Connect CustomGPT.ai to your email workflow with Zapier

1. Create and train your CustomGPT.ai agent
   In CustomGPT.ai, create an agent and connect the content you want it to use: support articles, sales decks, pricing pages, internal docs, etc. Use the Create Agent and knowledge-management guides in the CustomGPT documentation.
2. Set up CustomGPT.ai in Zapier
   In Zapier, add the CustomGPT.ai app to your Zap and connect it with your CustomGPT.ai API key. The official “Connect to Zapier” guide lists supported actions like Create Agent, Create Conversation, and Send Message.
3. Configure a trigger (email or CRM event)
   Choose a trigger app such as Gmail, your CRM, a form tool, or an email parser. For example, an inbound email that meets certain criteria or a new lead in your CRM.
4. Use the “Send Message” action to query your agent
   Add a Send Message action from the CustomGPT.ai app. Map the incoming email text or CRM notes into the Message Text field, and optionally set a Conversation Name or External ID so responses stay linked to the right contact or ticket.
5. Add an email “Create Draft” step
   After the CustomGPT.ai step, add Gmail or Outlook as the next action. Use the AI response from CustomGPT.ai as the email body, plus personalization fields (to, subject, name) from your trigger.
6. Test the end-to-end flow
   Run test data through the Zap and confirm that:
   • The agent understands your content correctly
   • The generated email is appropriate in tone and details
   • A draft appears in the correct mailbox for a human to review
7. Optionally, use the API for custom systems
   If you have your own internal tools or email platform, you can call the CustomGPT.ai API directly using the API quickstart guide, then write the returned text into your emails or drafts programmatically.
8. Keep humans in the loop
   Even when using CustomGPT.ai, keep a person reviewing drafts before sending, especially for new workflows or sensitive communication.

Example: Sales follow-up sequence

Let’s put it all together in a realistic workflow.

1. Trigger: Prospect requests a demo
   A visitor submits a “Request a demo” form. Your CRM creates a new lead and logs the form details (name, company, use case).
2. Automation starts
   A workflow in Zapier or your CRM triggers whenever a new qualified demo request appears.
3. CustomGPT.ai generates the draft
   The workflow sends the lead’s details, form answers, and key context to your CustomGPT.ai agent using the Send Message action. The prompt might say: “Draft a friendly demo follow-up email referencing the customer’s use case, staying under 200 words.”
4. Email draft is created in your inbox
   The AI response is passed to Gmail or Outlook as the body of a new draft, with the right recipient and subject line filled in.
5. Sales rep reviews and personalizes
   The rep skims the draft, adjusts a few lines, adds a specific calendar invite link, and sends.
6. Measure and iterate
   Over time, you measure reply rates and time-to-first-response. You refine your agent’s training data, prompts, and templates to improve results.

This pattern works similarly for support replies, onboarding emails, and renewal reminders, anywhere you need fast, consistent, but still human-approved communication.

Conclusion

Scaling email automation always feels like a tradeoff between speed and staying in control of what goes out under your name.

Customgpt.ai lets you train agents on your own content and plug them into tools like Zapier so they draft on-brand replies while your team makes the final call.

If you’re ready to ship faster without sacrificing quality, get started with CustomGPT.ai and automate your email drafting workflow today.

FAQ’s

How do I automate email drafting without losing human control?

Start by turning your most common replies into templates in Gmail or Outlook, then layer in AI tools to generate first drafts that you always review before sending. You can also use automation platforms like Zapier or CRM workflows to create drafts from triggers, such as new leads or form submissions, while keeping humans in the loop for the final approval.

How can I automate email drafting with CustomGPT.ai and Zapier?

Create and train a CustomGPT.ai agent on your own docs and policies, then connect it to Zapier using the official CustomGPT.ai app. In a Zap, send incoming email or CRM data to the agent via the Send Message action and pass the response into a Gmail or Outlook “Create Draft” step. This gives you on-brand drafts automatically, with your team still reviewing before sending.