How to Build an AI Marketing Assistant (Step-by-Step)
Marketing teams spend roughly 80% of their time on execution — pulling analytics reports, scheduling social posts, setting up email sequences, updating campaign trackers, formatting content briefs. The strategy work that actually moves the needle gets squeezed into whatever’s left.
Traditional marketing tools don’t fix this. They automate individual tasks — Mailchimp sends emails, Hootsuite queues posts, Google Analytics stores data — but you’re still the one logging into five dashboards, copying numbers into a report, writing the follow-up email, and remembering to post the LinkedIn update.
An AI agent works differently. You give it instructions, tool access, and an email address. You email it “weekly report” and it pulls your Google Analytics data, compiles the numbers, and emails your team a performance summary. You forward it a Mailchimp campaign report and it flags underperformers, drafts re-engagement emails, and logs wins. You email it “draft social posts” and it reads your content calendar and drafts platform-specific copy for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. All triggered through email — you send a message, the agent takes action.
This guide walks through exactly how to build one using Carly’s AI agent platform.
What an AI Marketing Assistant Does vs. Marketing Software
Marketing software automates steps. An AI marketing assistant automates decisions.
Marketing software requires you to define every trigger, every template, every workflow branch. You set up the Mailchimp automation. You write the Hootsuite queue. You build the Google Data Studio report. The tool executes what you configured — nothing more.
An AI marketing assistant interprets goals. Email it “pull this week’s top-performing content and underperforming campaigns from Google Analytics and Google Ads” and it figures out the data sources, formats the report, and emails it back. Tell it “when I forward you a Mailchimp campaign report showing below 15% open rate, draft a re-engagement email for that segment” and it reads, decides, and acts.
The difference: you write instructions in plain English instead of building workflows in a dashboard. And the agent improves over time — it remembers your brand voice, your reporting preferences, and the campaign patterns that worked last quarter.
Building Your AI Marketing Assistant in Carly (Step-by-Step)
The entire setup takes under ten minutes.
Step 1: Create Your Agent
Fastest method: Email your main Carly agent at agent@usecarly.com and tell it what to build:
Create a marketing assistant agent connected to Google Analytics,
Google Ads, Mailchimp, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Google Docs,
Google Drive, and Google Sheets. It should handle analytics
reporting, email campaign reviews, social media drafting, and
content brief management.Your agent builds the marketing assistant for you — name, email, tools, instructions, deployed and ready.
Dashboard method: Go to dashboard.carlyassistant.com/agents and click “Add Email Agent.” The getting started guide covers account setup if you’re new.
Step 2: Name It and Assign an Email
Give it a name that matches the role: “Marketing Assistant,” “Campaign Manager,” “Content Operations.” Each agent gets a dedicated email address — pick something professional like marketing, campaigns, or content-ops.
For naming best practices, see our guide on giving your AI agent a name, email, and personality.
Step 3: Write Instructions with Concrete Examples
This is where most people underinvest. Vague instructions like “help with marketing” produce useless output. Specific instructions produce an agent that operates like a trained marketing coordinator.
Here’s a strong starting template:
You are the Marketing Assistant for [Company Name].
Weekly analytics reporting:
When I email you "weekly report" or "marketing update":
1. Pull the past 7 days of data from Google Analytics (traffic, top
pages, conversion rate, bounce rate) and Google Ads (spend,
impressions, clicks, CPC, conversions, ROAS)
2. Compare to the previous week and flag any metric that changed
more than 15%
3. Format a summary email with the key numbers, trends, and
anything that needs attention
4. Send to [team email] with subject "Weekly Marketing Report - [Date]"
Email campaigns:
5. When I forward you a Mailchimp campaign report or email you
"check campaigns," pull recent campaign results
6. If open rate drops below 18%, draft a re-engagement variant and
save it as a draft in Mailchimp for my review
7. If click rate exceeds 5%, log it in Google Sheets "Campaign Wins"
tab with the subject line, segment, and send time
Social media:
When I email you "draft social posts" or "prep social content":
8. Check Google Sheets "Content Calendar" for the next week's posts
9. Draft post copy for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook — adjust
tone for each platform
10. Save drafts in a Google Doc called "Social Drafts - [Week]" for
my review before scheduling
Content:
11. When I forward you a topic, create a content brief in Google Docs
with target keywords, outline, word count, and competing articles
found via web search
12. Save it to Google Drive in the "Content Briefs" folder
Tone: data-driven, concise, no fluff. Use bullet points in reports.
When uncertain about anything, email me instead of guessing.Step 4: Connect the Right Tools
Toggle on integrations your agent needs. For a marketing assistant, the core stack typically includes:
| Category | Integrations |
|---|---|
| Analytics | Google Analytics |
| Advertising | Google Ads |
| Email Marketing | Mailchimp |
| Social Media | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit, YouTube |
| Gmail or Outlook | |
| Documents | Google Docs, Google Slides |
| File Management | Google Drive, Dropbox, Google Photos |
| Design | Canva, Figma |
| Productivity | Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion |
| CRM | HubSpot, Salesforce |
| E-commerce | Shopify, Gumroad |
| Events | Eventbrite |
| Website | Webflow |
| Messaging | Slack, Discord |
| Forms | Typeform |
| Native | Google Calendar, Web Search |
Start with the tools your first 2-3 workflows need. Add more as you expand.
Step 5: Test with Real Scenarios
Send your agent 5-10 test emails covering the workflows you’ve defined. Ask for a weekly report. Forward a content topic. Ask it to draft social posts. Review every response and adjust instructions where the output doesn’t match expectations.
Most agents need 2-3 rounds of instruction refinement before they run reliably. That’s normal — the same is true when onboarding a human hire.
5 Marketing Workflows You Can Automate Today
Each workflow below includes the tools needed, what the agent does, and concrete instructions you can copy and customize.
1. Weekly Analytics Reporting
Tools: Google Analytics, Google Ads, Gmail, Google Sheets
What it does: When you email the agent asking for a weekly report, it pulls performance data, compares week-over-week, and emails your team a summary with flagged anomalies.
Instructions:
When I email you "weekly report" or "marketing metrics":
1. Pull the past 7 days from Google Analytics: sessions, users,
pageviews, top 10 landing pages, conversion rate, bounce rate
2. Pull the past 7 days from Google Ads: total spend, impressions,
clicks, CPC, conversions, ROAS by campaign
3. Compare each metric to the prior 7-day period
4. Flag anything that changed more than 15% — positive or negative
5. Log the raw numbers in Google Sheets "Weekly Metrics" tab
6. Email the team a formatted summary with the subject
"Marketing Weekly: [Date Range]"
7. Lead with the 3 most important takeaways, then show the full
data belowThis replaces the 45-60 minutes someone spends copying numbers from two dashboards into a slide deck.
2. Email Campaign Management
Tools: Mailchimp, Gmail, Google Sheets
What it does: When you forward campaign results or email the agent to check, it reviews performance, flags underperformers, and drafts follow-up sequences.
Instructions:
When I forward you a Mailchimp campaign report or email you "check campaigns":
1. Pull the campaign's performance metrics
2. Log results in Google Sheets "Email Campaigns" tab: campaign name,
subject line, send date, segment, open rate, click rate, unsubs
3. If open rate is below 18%, draft a re-engagement email for that
segment with a different subject line and save as Mailchimp draft
4. If click rate exceeds 5%, email me with the subject
"[WIN] High-Performing Campaign" and include what worked
5. When I email you "campaign summary" or "email performance review,"
compile all campaigns from the past month ranked by click rate
with recommendations for next month's strategy3. Social Media Content Calendar
Tools: Google Sheets, Google Docs, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Canva, Google Drive
What it does: Reads your content calendar, drafts platform-specific posts, organizes creative assets, and schedules content across channels.
Instructions:
When I email you "draft social posts" or "prep next week's content":
1. Check Google Sheets "Content Calendar" for posts scheduled for
the following week
2. For each post, draft platform-specific copy:
- LinkedIn: professional tone, 150-200 words, include a hook
and CTA
- Instagram: conversational, include hashtag suggestions, note
where an image or carousel is needed
- Facebook: casual but informative, 2-3 sentences max
3. Save all drafts in Google Docs "Social Drafts - [Week of Date]"
4. If the calendar references a blog post, pull the URL and key
quotes for use in the posts
5. Check Google Drive "Social Assets" folder for any new images or
graphics to pair with posts
6. Email me the draft doc for review. Once I reply "approved,"
schedule the posts to their respective platforms4. Content Brief Creation and Management
Tools: Google Docs, Google Drive, Web Search, Google Sheets
What it does: Takes a topic, researches it, creates a structured brief, and files it for your content team.
Instructions:
When I forward you a content topic:
1. Search the web for the top 10 ranking articles on that topic
2. Identify target keywords, common subtopics, and content gaps
3. Create a content brief in Google Docs with:
- Target primary keyword and 5-7 secondary keywords
- Recommended word count based on competing content
- Suggested headline options (3 variants)
- Detailed outline with H2 and H3 headings
- Key points to cover that competitors miss
- Internal linking opportunities from our existing content
4. Save the brief in Google Drive "Content Briefs/[Month]" folder
5. Add a row to Google Sheets "Content Pipeline" with the topic,
status "Brief Created," date, and link to the brief
6. Email me the brief link with a one-paragraph summary of the
content angle you'd recommend5. Event Promotion Workflow
Tools: Eventbrite, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Mailchimp, Google Sheets, Google Calendar
What it does: Takes an event from creation through promotion, tracking RSVPs and coordinating multi-channel pushes.
Instructions:
When I email you event details (name, date, description, audience):
1. Create the event page in Eventbrite with the provided details
2. Draft promotional posts for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook
— first announcement, one-week reminder, and day-before push
3. Draft a Mailchimp email campaign targeting the relevant segment
with event details and registration link
4. Create a Google Sheets tracker for this event with columns:
channel, post date, engagement, registrations attributed
5. Add key dates to Google Calendar: announcement date, reminder
dates, event date, post-event follow-up date
6. After the event, pull RSVP and attendance data from Eventbrite
and email me a summary with turnout rate and channel attributionAdvanced: Separate Agents by Channel or by Client
Once your first marketing agent runs smoothly, the next step is specialization.
Channel-Specific Agents
Instead of one agent handling everything, build dedicated agents for each marketing function:
- Analytics Agent — connected to Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Google Sheets. Handles all reporting and data tracking.
- Social Media Agent — connected to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube, and Canva. Owns the content calendar and scheduling.
- Email Marketing Agent — connected to Mailchimp, Gmail, and Google Sheets. Manages campaigns, sequences, and list hygiene.
- Content Agent — connected to Google Docs, Google Drive, and Web Search. Creates briefs, manages editorial calendars, and organizes assets.
Each agent gets its own email address. CC the right agent on the right thread and it handles its domain.
Client-Specific Agents (for Agencies)
If you run a marketing agency, build one agent per client. Each gets:
- Its own email address (e.g.,
client-acme,client-globalco) - Access to that client’s Google Analytics, social accounts, and Mailchimp
- Custom instructions with that client’s brand voice, KPIs, and reporting cadence
- Separate memory — so one client’s context never bleeds into another’s
Your client can email the agent directly for reports and updates. You monitor and adjust from the Carly dashboard. This lets a three-person agency operate like a team of fifteen.
For more on building AI employees with dedicated roles, see our full guide.
Mistakes to Avoid
Not specifying brand voice guidelines in the instructions. Without explicit voice direction — sentence length, vocabulary, humor level, buzzwords to avoid — the agent defaults to generic marketing-speak. Paste a paragraph of your actual brand copy into the instructions as a reference sample so the agent has a concrete standard, not a vague “be on brand.”
Letting the agent post to social without approval. One bad post goes public and stays public. Always route social drafts through a review step — “save to Google Docs for my approval, then schedule after I reply ‘approved.’” This adds one human touchpoint to a workflow that’s otherwise fully automated, and it’s worth it.
Requesting reports too frequently. If you email the agent for analytics every day, those reports become noise fast — metrics barely move day-over-day. Weekly is the right cadence for most teams. Save one-off requests for threshold breaches — a campaign overspending, a landing page conversion rate crashing — not routine summaries.
Not defining what metrics actually matter. If you tell the agent to “report on performance,” you’ll get pageviews and impressions — vanity metrics. Specify the numbers you actually make decisions with: conversion rate, CAC, ROAS, MQL-to-SQL rate. The report should answer “what should we do differently?” not “how big are the numbers?”
Mixing up platform tone. LinkedIn copy on Instagram kills engagement, and Instagram captions on LinkedIn look unprofessional. Include per-platform instructions: LinkedIn gets longer thought-leadership posts with a hook and CTA; Instagram gets short, conversational copy with hashtags; Facebook gets 2-3 casual sentences. Don’t let the agent reuse the same copy across channels.
No rules for when to pause or escalate ad spend. When you ask the agent to review Google Ads and a campaign is burning budget with no conversions, it needs clear instructions: “If any campaign has spent more than $200 with zero conversions, pause it and email me immediately.” Without spend guardrails, the agent just reports the numbers without flagging the problem.
Email agent@usecarly.com to build your first marketing agent — describe the workflows you want automated and it creates the agent for you. Or set one up directly at dashboard.carlyassistant.com/agents.
Related: What Are AI Agents · How to Build AI Employees · Best AI Agents for Marketing · Best AI Agent Platforms · What Carly Can Do
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