Getting Started

How to Run Your Business with AI Agents and Workflows

6:18 · September 25, 2026

This is the setup behind a real business, split into two halves. The first half is AI employees: agents with their own email address (and, on a business account, their own phone number) that get cc'd on almost every email. Most of the time they handle scheduling, but they also answer detailed customer questions about the product while the owner stays on the thread. Each agent is set to either send replies on its own or draft them and wait for approval, and each gets only the tools it needs, so a scheduling agent never touches the bank account. Agents also get a knowledge base built from your files and skills, which are task-specific instructions or code. The second half is workflows that run without anyone asking: seven of them read every email as it arrives, label it and move promotional mail out of the inbox; new customer emails get an instant acknowledgement; form submissions sync to the CRM or trigger a text or call; Fathom notes turn into to-dos; Granola notes land on the CRM timeline; bookings go into the CRM with the prospect's answers; and event invites go to their own calendar. You can build any of these from a template or by asking Carly in chat or by email.

Step by step

1. 01

   Set up an AI employee with its own email address

   Create an agent and give it an address you can cc. On a business account it can get its own phone number too. Choose whether it sends replies on its own or drafts them and waits for your approval.

2. 02

   Give it only the tools it needs

   Pick the apps the agent can use, such as Stripe, Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack, HubSpot or Salesforce. Limiting tools per agent keeps a scheduling agent away from your bank account.

3. 03

   Add a knowledge base and skills

   Upload the files the agent should answer from, then add skills: task-specific instructions or code for jobs it does repeatedly.

4. 04

   Cc the agent on your email

   Copy it on scheduling threads and customer questions. It books the time or answers from your knowledge base while you stay on the thread.

5. 05

   Turn on inbox workflows

   Add workflows that read every new email, label it, and move promotional mail out of your inbox, plus one that acknowledges new customer emails right away so nobody waits overnight for a reply.

6. 06

   Connect your meetings, forms and bookings

   Send Fathom notes to your to-do list, Granola notes to your CRM timeline, bookings to your CRM with the prospect's answers, and form submissions to your CRM or a text or call.

7. 07

   Build the rest from a template or by asking

   Start from a workflow template, or email Carly or ask in chat: "build me a workflow" and describe it. Carly sees your connected apps, builds it, and you tweak it from there.