Workshop in a Box: Brief an Agent / the three emails
Free from Neosaipien under the free licence (LICENCE.txt), October 2026 edition: change these emails to fit your team and send them to your own people.
Change the parts in [square brackets] before you send.


THE INVITE (A week before)

Subject: 60 minutes on handing work to AI agents

Hi all,

On [day] at [time] we're spending an hour on one practical skill: handing work to an AI agent so it does the job we meant, and nothing we didn't.

AI assistants can now do the work, not just answer: they research, draft, file, book and send. So the skill that matters is the brief. What should it achieve, what may it touch, and when must it stop and ask?

Please think of one task you'd like to hand over: something that eats time every week. We'll practise on made-up tasks, so please don't bring anything confidential.

Bring a pen. If you have [our approved AI tool: Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini], bring a laptop or phone with it, but you won't need it to take part. Nobody will be tested.

[Your name]


THE FOLLOW-UP (The next working day)

Subject: Briefing agents: our first task, and the one-pager

Hi all,

Thanks for yesterday's session. The handout (its back shows each step in your tool) and the one-sheet on prompt injection are attached.

Our first level 1 task: [the task]. Owner: [name]. Check: [which of the five checks, and how].

The six-part brief: Goal / Done looks like / Context / May touch, must not / Limits / Stop and ask.

The four levels: 1 Read, 2 Draft, 3 Ask first, 4 Alone. Up one level after five clean runs. Down at once after a surprise.

The three questions: Can it be undone easily? Does it leave the team? Does it read outside content?

Two rules: "Ask first" is set in the tool, not typed in the brief. And outside words, no power: an agent that reads the web, outside email or files others sent may not also send, pay or delete without asking.

The five checks: The job, The facts, The steps, The changes, The sign-off.

One question, a line is plenty: what will you do differently the next time you hand work to an AI agent?

[Your name]


THE HABIT CHECK (Two weeks later)

Subject: Two weeks on: our first agent task

Hi all,

Two weeks ago we agreed our first level 1 task: [the task], owned by [name], checked with [the check].

[Name], three quick answers, a line each:
1. How many runs so far, and how many were clean (all five checks passed, nothing to fix)?
2. What did the checks catch?
3. Should it stay at level 1, move up one level, or go back to a person?

Everyone else: reply with one more task we could brief at level 1 or 2. I'll pick one for next month.

A reminder of the rule: up one level after five clean runs, down at once after a surprise.

[Your name]