Turn emails into an event tracker
Build an event tracker by extracting dates, locations, and logistics from email threads.
- CategoryProfessional
- ModelSonnet 4.5
- Features
- ShareCopy link
1
Describe the task
Claude connects to external tools like your email to access information at its source, then processes multiple unstructured documents simultaneously - extracting specific data in varied formats and turning them into outputs, like spreadsheets, that you can immediately use.
Tell Claude what speaker information you need pulled from your inbox and what you need created.
I'm organizing our annual conference in March and sent speaker invitations about three weeks ago to around 45 people. Used "Speaker Invitation: Summit 2025" in the subject but people replied with all different subject lines - some just said "sounds great," others replied to old email threads we had going.
Search my Gmail for speaker confirmations and extract their name and company, what session topic they confirmed, time preference if mentioned, A/V needs, travel arrangements if they brought it up, whether they've sent their bio and headshot
We're locking in the agenda next week. Build me a tracker with formulas, color-coded cells, and clear sections.Make the spreadsheet look like a boutique design studio created a data visualization piece, not like someone filled out an Excel template. The typography and color should look editorial and refined with modern professionalism. Include professional spreadsheet elements like frozen headers, sortable columns, and working formulas.
2
Give Claude context
Enable access to your tools so Claude can search for and collect the relevant information.
Required context
In Setting > Connectors, enable the Gmail integration and make sure it is toggled on in the chat bar. This allows Claude to search through your recent emails, extract details related to your upcoming event, and organize the logistics you're tracking.
Gmail
Optional context
Enable Extended Thinking to help Claude complete complex tasks and create higher quality outputs.
Extended Thinking
3
What Claude creates
Claude searches your inbox for the confirmation emails, reads through each response to find the specific details you requested, and structures all of the answers into a spreadsheet.
From Claude
I found 38 speaker confirmations in your inbox. Here's your coordination tracker:
View your speaker spreadsheet
Overview:
- 38 speakers confirmed for 32 sessions (6 panels with multiple presenters)
- Morning slots: 14 sessions | Afternoon slots: 18 sessions
- 8 sessions have complex A/V (live demos or video) - need rehearsal time
- 24 sessions are standard slide presentations
- 11 speakers still need to send bios and headshots
Speaker Directory tab: Everyone's listed with name, company, session title, time preference, and A/V requirements. Bio status is color-coded - green if submitted, yellow if pending. Travel arrangements noted where people mentioned them.
Production Overview: Session counts by time slot with automatic formulas. Technical requirements broken down by complexity (high/medium/standard) so you can assign rooms strategically. The 8 high-complexity sessions should go in your main room with full production support.
Technical Production sheet: Formatted for your A/V vendor - lists sessions needing rehearsal, equipment requirements, and complexity scores. Clean enough to send directly to your tech team.
Materials Tracking: Shows the 11 speakers who haven't submitted bios yet, with their contact info. Sorted by when they're presenting so you can prioritize Day 1 speakers for immediate follow-up.
4
Follow up prompts
Continue the conversation with Claude to refine, expand, or explore further.
Add events to your calendar
With Google Calendar connected, Claude can create calendar events from your event tracker and add them directly to your Google calendar
Create calendar events for each confirmed speaker session on [conference dates]. Extract the speaker name, session title, and duration from the tracker and create a basic schedule into my calendar so I can start visualizing logistics.
Draft follow-up messages
Claude can help with the repetitive work of drafting similar emails for multiple recipients, while you review, personalize, and send each one.
For the 11 speakers missing bios, write friendly follow-up emails that reference their specific session topic and deadline. For the 8 sessions with complex A/V needs, draft separate emails about scheduling rehearsal time with our tech team.
Ensure spreadsheets are dynamic
If Claude created a spreadsheet with hardcoded totals, ask it to rebuild those sections with dynamic formulas that update automatically.
The speaker count and session totals should use formulas like =COUNTIF() and =SUMIF(), not static numbers. When I add new speakers or update session types, I need everything to recalculate automatically.
5
Tricks, tips, and troubleshooting
Specify how to search your inbox
Claude understands context and can find related emails even without exact keyword matches, but it needs clear direction about what you're looking for. Instead of "find important emails," try "emails from speakers about their session needs" or "customer emails mentioning billing issues in the last week." The more context you provide about what matters, the better Claude can filter what's relevant.
Understanding Claude’s current limitations with spreadsheets
Since Claude can’t make edits directly in spreadsheet, so if you need to make a change, Claude rebuilds the whole file with your updates. For small edits (updating a few cells), it can be quicker to open the Excel file and make edits yourself. For larger changes (adding new columns, reorganizing structure, adding 10 new speakers), ask Claude to create an updated version. It'll read your current file and build a new one with the changes.
Download and open the actual file, not just the preview.
The preview in chat shows basic structure, but the real spreadsheet file has the formulas, color-coding, and formatting. Open the spreadsheet to see—and continue editing—the complete output.
Ready to try for yourself?
Integrate Claude with your various tools to quickly locate information within your inbox and transform it into a functional spreadsheet tracker in just minutes.
