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How We Turned 3 Hours of Publishing Work Into 15 Minutes

September 5, 2025

Publishing research used to be a pain. You write articles, then spend hours formatting them, fixing templates, making sure emails look right, and dealing with broken layouts. We built a system where AI does all the tedious work while you focus on the important stuff.

The Problem We Solved

Before: Publishing meant 2-3 hours of manual work every time. You had to:

  • Format everything by hand
  • Fix broken templates
  • Test emails across different clients
  • Debug CSS issues

The real cost: Instead of publishing weekly, you end up publishing monthly because it's such a hassle.

What You Need

What we built this with:

  • Claude Code - AI workflow orchestrator
  • Gmail MCP Server - handles Gmail integration
  • Custom HTML template with our branding
  • Research articles in markdown format

Setup complexity: This was a custom build for our specific workflow. The concept could be replicated, but you'd need to create your own templates and workflow instructions.

How It Works

1. You give Claude Code instructions in plain English "Create a research summary from the last 4 articles." The AI understands natural language commands and can follow multi-step instructions.

2. Claude Code acts as an autonomous agent It breaks down your request into tasks: - Uses file tools to discover and read your markdown articles - Analyzes content to extract key insights - Generates business-focused executive summaries - Applies your HTML template with proper styling

3. The AI coordinates with external services Claude Code calls the Gmail MCP server to create a properly formatted email draft. The MCP (Model Context Protocol) handles the technical integration so the AI can work with Gmail seamlessly.

4. Human oversight at the end You review the generated summary and send when ready. The AI handles execution while you maintain control over strategy and final approval.

Why Templates Matter

Think of templates like having a professional designer on call. Instead of making design decisions every time, you use a proven format. The AI fills in your content, and everything looks consistent and professional.

The Results

We tested it: 4 research articles analyzed in 90 seconds, professional formatting applied automatically, ready to distribute with zero technical issues.

Impact: Research distribution went from 3 hours to 20 minutes. Instead of monthly reports, we can do weekly updates.

This article documents how we automated research publishing using Claude Code and Gmail MCP as a proof of concept for AI workflow orchestration.