The problem with moving files
A few weeks ago one of our members Nikola (not me lol), asked the AI Finance Club community: “How do you automate pulling and storing PDF attachments from your emails?”
Albert Lee, one of our coaches, gave a good answer.
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You start with an automation platform like Power Automate, Zapier, Make or n8n.
And set it up to do something like:
- When new email is received with an attachment.
- Save it to SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox.
But this will only move a file.
As you can see from Albert’s reply, if you also want to classify the documents or extract the data, you have to layer AI on top.
Otherwise, someone still has to open every file, understand it, and type the numbers into a report.
But the good news is, you no don't need a complicated automation.
You can just setup 1 tool with a specific prompt and have it do it all for you.
30 days of email in, a report out (in 30-mins)
Here’s how you can use Claude Cowork to search your emails, get files, and output a report – it should take you about 30 mins.
If you’ve not used Claude Cowork before – For the full guide on how to build your first workflow, read my previous newsletter here.
1. Give Claude read-only access first
In Cowork, open the customize tab, go to connectors, and connect Gmail or Outlook with read permission only.
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Do this before you ever let it edit or move anything.
2. Brief it like a task
Start a task and tell it exactly what to find:
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As you can see, it scoured both my Gmail and Outlook just by mentioning emails. If you want it to be more specific you can either add Gmail or Outlook in the prompt.
3. Make it extract and file
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Ask it to pull the key numbers from each email and download every attachment into one folder, e.g "Company Consolidation."
4. Generate the report
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Tell it to write an executive summary at the top, then a country-by-country, department-by-department (or whatever the reporting is), overview with the events that made a difference.
5. Make it audit its own work.
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Ask it to build a separate Excel that reconciles the figures in the report against the source emails. You're not re-checking every number yourself. You're checking its check.
Because AI still makes mistakes, like any junior does. You didn't fire your first analyst over a wrong number in week one. You built a review step around them. It’s the same thing here.
Pro Tip – If you want Claude to do this automatically you can build this workflow as a scheduled task that runs automatically at a frequency you decide:
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Your inbox is about to start answering back
You can do the above right now (assuming you have a secure Claude license).
But there are also some other things to watch out for.
Gmail Live
At Google I/O this year, Google showed Gmail Live, where you just ask your inbox out loud for the detail you need instead of hunting with search terms. It starts rolling out this summer. [Source: Google I/O 2026]
Copilot in Outlook
And on the Microsoft side, Christian Martinez shared in our community that Copilot in Outlook now runs agentic email and calendar management. It can respond to meeting invites, resolve scheduling clashes, block focus time, and even tell you where your hours are going.
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Here are some extra prompts you can try today. You can use these in Claude, Copilot, and ChatGPT (assuming you’re connected to Google Workspace / Microsoft 365)
- Follow-ups: find the people who haven't replied after 24 hours, rank the ones that matter most, and draft polite nudges for me.
- Complex drafts: pull the latest updates on a project over the last week and draft a confidential, high-importance update for my manager.
- Priority rules: create an inbox rule that flags every new email from my manager where I'm on the "To" line as High Priority.
- Vacation catch-up: summarize what I missed, highlight what's urgent, draft a short briefing, then suggest emails I can safely archive and one or two tasks to do first.
The One Thing to Remember
For years, emails and their attachments got mined manually. You dug through the inbox, broke open every file, and chipped out the numbers one at a time. That was my ‘bible’ during the last week of every month.
But now you need to hand over the pickaxe. AI can do the digging now. And it can find you the diamonds.
But it can't make the ring, the necklace, or the crown. That part is still you. The judgment, the story behind the variance, the decision the board needs your unique brain for.
So go sharpen your Claude skills, and turn your inbox from impossible to instant.
Best,
Your AI Finance Expert,
– Nicolas
P.S. – The best way to learn from me directly is to join my weekly masterclasses. 60-mins + Q&A where I’ll get all your AI in Finance questions answered. Join me here.
P.P.S. – Want to see the full Cowork email workflow in action? Here's the video → Automate Finance Tasks With Claude Cowork – Step-by-Step for Beginners (2026)