# How to brief an email agent *Published: 2026-08-24* Most bad agent emails aren't model failures. They're brief failures. You asked for "a launch email" and got a launch email for a different company. I write briefs the same way I write a ticket for a designer who has never sat in the customer call. Five things, in this order. Constraints last, so they can't be skipped. ## Key takeaways - Name a real segment and one job. "Launch email" is a backlog, not a brief. - Paste proof the model may use. Ban every stat, logo, and quote that is not in that list. - Mark promotional mail as promotional. [CAN-SPAM](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) looks at the message, not at who typed it. - Send the first draft to one real address before the list. Speed is not a review. ![Brew email editor with a structured draft, headline, sections, and a preview pane.](/blog/email-design-md-editor.png) *A usable brief looks like this. Named sections, not a paragraph of adjectives.* ## 1. Who this is for Name a real segment, not a vibe. **Weak.** "our users." **Usable.** "trial accounts that connected a store and have not sent a campaign in 14 days." If the list is mixed, say so, and say which row you're writing for first. An agent will average the room if you let it. Also write who this is **not** for. "Do not write as if they have already bought" saves more drafts than any tone slider. ## 2. What this email is supposed to do One job. Not "announce and educate and book time." Examples that hold up: - Get a trial user to send their first campaign this week. - Get a lapsed buyer to redeem a 14-day [win-back](/blog/win-back-emails) offer. - Get a new subscriber to start a [welcome sequence](/blog/welcome-email-sequence). If you can't say the job in one sentence, you don't have a brief. You have a backlog. ## 3. The offer, in the reader's words Write the sentence the reader should believe after the email, then the action that follows from it. **Belief.** "I can send the [abandoned-cart](/blog/abandoned-cart-emails) mail without rebuilding the flow in our ESP." **Action.** Open the template and connect the store. Leave the puns out of the brief. If the agent invents a joke, you can keep it. If you put the joke in the brief, it will survive every revision. ## 4. Proof the agent is not allowed to invent This is the section people skip, and it's why agent emails get you in trouble. Paste the facts. Dates, prices, names, URLs, the metric you will stand behind. Then write this line. **Do not add statistics, logos, or customer names that are not in this brief.** If you don't have proof, say that too. "No social proof yet. Do not fake a quote" is a complete instruction. ## 5. Constraints Put these in a block the agent cannot treat as optional: - **Length.** One screen on a phone, or a hard word count. - **Voice.** How you sound on a good support thread, not how a brand book sounds. - **Legal.** If it's promotional, include the physical address and a working unsubscribe. If you think it's [transactional](/blog/transactional-emails), say why. [The FTC's primary-purpose test](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) is about the message, not the trigger. See [what still applies when an agent sends](/blog/agent-email-deliverability). - **Do not.** Hype words you wouldn't say on a call. Subject lines that look like invoices if the mail is a sale. ## A brief you can paste ```text Audience: trial users who connected a store, no campaign in 14 days. Not for: paying customers, or trials that never connected a store. Job: get them to send one campaign this week. Belief: the first send does not require an ESP rebuild. Action: open the starter template, pick a segment, send. Proof: - Trial is 14 days from signup. - Starter template is "abandoned cart." - Help article: paste the real URL. - Do not invent open rates, customer logos, or quotes. Constraints: - Under 180 words. - Sound like our support team, not a press release. - Promotional: address + unsubscribe. - Subject line must not look like a receipt. ``` Swap the proof. Keep the shape. ## After the first draft Read it as the person in the audience line. If a claim isn't in the brief, delete it or add the source. Then send it to one real address on the list before you send it to the list. The agent is fast. The brief is the part that's still on you. If a figure is not in the brief, it does not belong in the mail. That is the same rule Cory Nelson used on Harmonya's first campaign, which [Noah Adelstein wrote up](https://thegtmengineer.substack.com/p/how-to-turn-email-marketing-into). To contact us about this article, write [Brew support](/support). ## How to use this page **An email agent brief** is audience, one job, the offer, proof, and constraints. **Proof** is the facts the model may use. Everything else is banned. **A constraint** is a rule the draft may not skip, such as length or unsubscribe. For example, 'trial users who connected a store and have not sent in 14 days' is an audience. 'Our users' is not. | Move | Why it matters | | --- | --- | | Paste the facts | Fluent numbers appear when the brief is empty | | Send to one address first | Speed is not a review | US commercial mail still follows the [FTC CAN-SPAM guide](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business) and [16 CFR 316.3](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-316/section-316.3). Bulk sending still has to meet [Gmail's sender requirements](https://support.google.com/a/answer/81126). To contact us about this article, use the support link above. ## Frequently asked questions ### What should an email agent brief include? Audience, one job, the belief and action, proof the model may use, and constraints it may not skip. If you cannot name the job in one sentence, you do not have a brief yet. ### Why do agent emails invent statistics? The model will fill gaps with fluent numbers unless you paste the facts and ban everything else. Write "no social proof yet" when you do not have any. ### Is a brief different for transactional mail? Yes. Say why the message is transactional under the [FTC primary-purpose test](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-316/section-316.3). A receipt that sells is still commercial. ### Should I review the first send? Yes. Read it as the person in the audience line, then send it to one real address before the list. An agent does not get a courtesy lane at Gmail. See [email deliverability](/blog/email-deliverability).