Exercise 1: Email Classification System
Build an intelligent email classification system that automatically processes, categorises, and routes emails using AI.
45-Minute Hands-On Exercise
This exercise teaches you dynamic routing - a fundamental automation pattern where different situations get handled differently automatically. Perfect for beginners, no coding experience required.
The Problem: Professionals receive 50-150 emails daily. Manual sorting is time-consuming, important messages get buried, and urgent requests slip through. You need an intelligent system that automatically understands and routes emails based on content, not just rules.
Why Dynamic Routing Matters:
Instead of one giant AI trying to handle everything, you’ll learn to divide and conquer:
- ✅ More reliable: Simpler logic means fewer failures
- ✅ Faster: Each AI handles one specific task, not everything
- ✅ Easier to debug: Know exactly which step failed
- ✅ Easy to enhance: Add new categories without breaking existing logic
This is how professional automations work in the real world.
What You’ll Build
A complete automation workflow featuring:
- Real-time email monitoring with Gmail API
- AI-powered classification using natural language processing
- Intelligent routing system based on priority and sentiment
- Automated labelling for inbox organisation
- Analytics logging to Google Sheets
graph LR
A[Gmail Inbox] --> B[AI Classifier]
B --> C[Smart Router]
C --> D[Labels & Logging]
style A fill:#e1f5fe
style B fill:#fff3e0
style C fill:#f3e5f5
style D fill:#e8f5e9
Skills You’ll Demonstrate
By completing this exercise, you will have demonstrated:
- AI Integration: Connecting and using language models for text classification
- API Orchestration: Working with Gmail API, AI services, and Google Sheets
- Workflow Design: Building multi-step automation with conditional logic
- Data Processing: Extracting, transforming, and routing information
The Pattern You’ll Master
The Intelligent Triage & Routing pattern you’ll learn applies to:
- Customer Support: Categorise tickets, assign priority, route to specialists
- Error Monitoring: Analyse logs, determine severity, trigger alerts
- Document Processing: Classify documents, route for approval, track workflow
- Social Media: Monitor mentions, detect sentiment, escalate issues
- Lead Qualification: Score leads, categorise inquiries, assign to sales team
Exercise Structure
Quick Navigation
| Section | What You’ll Do | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Part A: Setup | Create accounts, configure API keys, connect services | 15 min |
| Part B: Build & Test | Build complete classification and routing workflow | 25 min |
| Challenges | Extend with advanced features and integrations | Optional |