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Build your first AI employee: a Personal Assistant for your 9am attention brief. It reads Gmail and Google Calendar, spots what needs attention, and gives you a plan. You set the priorities, review sensitive replies, and make final decisions. You’ll connect two apps, check their permissions, create the Runner, then run it once.
The screenshots show mine, named Shiela: Kent’s Chief of Staff. That’s the display name. In this guide, her only job is the 9am attention brief. Give yours any name you want.
1

Open Runner

Go to Runner in any browser and sign in. There’s nothing to install.
2

Connect Gmail and Google Calendar

Open Connected Apps and connect Gmail and Google Calendar.Open Tools on each account. Set read tools to On and write tools to Ask. On lets Runner read. Ask stages an Action Card for review. Allow acts without asking. Off blocks the tool unless a user-created Runner has its own override.Connect your apps →
3

Create the Runner

Open Runners in the sidebar. You’ll see Heartbeat and Daily Brief there too. Both ship paused, so leave them that way for now.Click New runner.
The New runner button on the Runners page
4

Ask Runner to set up the job

Choose Ask Runner to create it. This opens a new session with the first line already filled in.
An arrow points to Ask Runner to create it in the Create a runner window
Set the session intelligence to Normal before you continue.
5

Describe your Personal Assistant

Add this below the prefilled line:
Click Send, then answer Runner’s questions. Give it real details. One current priority and one thing it shouldn’t touch will do more than another paragraph about being proactive.
6

Confirm the setup

Read the final name and prompt. Check the 9am schedule and timezone. Because you started from the main Runners page, it begins under No project with no Runner-specific tool permission overrides.A user-created Runner becomes active as soon as it’s created. Confirm only when you’re ready for the schedule to start.
7

Review the job description

Open Runners and select your new Personal Assistant.
Shiela: Kent's Chief of Staff showing the Status and Action Cards controls
Treat the saved prompt as the job description. Check the prompt, schedule, timezone, Project, and Runner model. Choose a Project if you want its context. Keep the model on Normal for now. Scheduled Runners don’t use Auto. Ultra is for harder jobs and uses more of your plan.Under Tool permissions, leave No overrides while you test. The Runner uses your current Connected Apps settings. If you add an override later, it takes priority, including over Off.The Action Cards switch carries unresolved cards into later runs. It doesn’t carry old run output, and a pending card still expires after 24 hours.
8

Give it a face

Pick an avatar. It saves immediately. If you changed anything else, click Save changes.
The avatar picker and Save changes button on a Runner
9

Run it now

Don’t wait until tomorrow morning. Click Run now.
An arrow points to Run now on Shiela: Kent's Chief of Staff
The test creates a separate session and keeps you on the Runner detail page. You can run a paused Runner this way too.Open Recent runs and click the run’s timestamp. You can also click your Personal Assistant’s existing row under Recent in the sidebar.
An arrow points to Shiela: Kent's Chief of Staff under Recent
10

Give it useful feedback

Talk to it the way you would a colleague. Be direct:
  • “I didn’t like that example. Be more specific.”
  • “I don’t have a car. Use transit options next time.”
  • “Tell me about key events at least two days before they happen, not the morning of.”
If the feedback should apply every morning, add it to the saved Prompt. Put durable facts and preferences in Personal Memory.

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What carries into the next run

Each run starts in a separate session. Your saved prompt, schedule, timezone, Project, and intelligence setting stay with the Runner. So do any Runner-specific tool permission overrides. Tools without an override use your current Connected Apps settings. The previous run’s output doesn’t come along automatically. Put standing instructions in the saved prompt, background in Project context, and durable personal details in Personal Memory.

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What’s next?

Choose the next job

Find recurring work with a result you can measure.

Tool permissions

Decide what waits for review and what can run without asking.

Personal Memory

Save the facts and preferences Runner should know across sessions.