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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

Set Up Your First
Notion AI Agent

Notion Custom Agents are AI teammates that live inside your workspace and run on their own. Morning briefings, weekly summaries, research and goal tracking, all on autopilot. Here’s how to set one up, plus 5 agents you can copy right now.

Notion launched Custom Agents in Notion 3.3 in February 2026. Regular Notion AI waits for you to ask it something. A Custom Agent works in the background. You set it up once, give it a trigger like a schedule, a database change or a Slack message, and it runs by itself. Early testers built more than 21,000 of them, and Notion says it runs 2,800 internally.

They can read your databases, create pages, update properties, search the web, and, once you connect them, work with Slack, your email and your calendar.

Know This Before You Start

Plans: Business or Enterprise only. Business is $20 per member per month. Cost: the free period ended May 3, 2026. Agents now run on credits. Each Business or Enterprise seat includes monthly Select credits, and an agent you set up uses yours first. Past that, an admin can fund it with workspace Notion credits at $10 per 1,000 (Notion pricing). Agents on workspace credits pause when the pool runs out. Where: build them on desktop or web, not mobile. Model: Auto is the default and works well for most agents. You can also pick a specific model.

Create Your First Agent

01

Open Agents

In the Notion sidebar, find the Agents section and click +. If you don’t see it, check that your workspace is on Business or Enterprise.

02

Pick how to start

Create with AI chat is easiest. Describe the job in plain words, like “Every Monday morning, go through my Projects database and tell me what’s due this week, what’s overdue and what’s blocked.” Notion drafts the instructions, triggers and access for you. You can also start from a template, or click Create blank to write it yourself.

03

Make the instructions specific

Spend your time here. “Summarize my week” is vague. “Every Friday at 4pm, find every task in my Projects database marked Complete this week, list them by project and save the summary as a new page in Weekly Reviews” is what you want. Or paste one of the 5 below.

04

Set the trigger

In Settings, then Triggers. You can stack more than one.

  • Recurring runs on a schedule you pick, like every weekday at 7am in your timezone.
  • Notion fires when a page is added to or removed from a database, a property changes, a comment is added, or an AI Meeting Note finishes.
  • Slack fires when a message is posted in a channel, someone adds an emoji reaction, or the agent gets mentioned.
  • Mail fires when an email is received or sent, or a label is applied, filtered by from, to, subject, body or domain, once you connect Mail (how).

05

Grant access

In Settings, open Tools and access and add the exact pages and databases the agent can use. Agents only see what you add. Turn on Web access if it needs to search the internet, and connect Slack, Mail or Calendar here too.

06

Test it

Use the Chat tab to ask the agent to do one run right now. Then open the Activity tab to see what triggered it, what it did and any errors. Tweak the instructions and test again.

07

Cap the spend and share

Set a credit limit on the agent so it pauses when it hits a threshold, or ask your admin to (credit limits). When it’s reliable, share it with Can View and Interact first, then give Can Edit to the people who should change it.

Full reference: Notion’s Custom Agents help page.

5 Agents To Copy

Paste each one as the agent’s instructions, swap the [brackets] for your real database names, and match the trigger and access below.

01

Morning Briefing

Pulls today’s tasks, meetings and loose ends into one page before you start work.

Morning Briefing: Agent Instructions
You are my Morning Briefing agent. Each time you run, pull together everything I need to start my day. Check my tasks database, my calendar and my recent notes, then create a new page in my [Daily Briefings database name] with today's date as the title. Include these sections: TODAY'S PRIORITIES - Check [Tasks/Projects database name] for anything due today or overdue - Sort by priority (urgent, then high, then medium) - For each task: title, project, due date, current status - Put anything overdue at the top with how many days late it is CALENDAR OVERVIEW - List today's meetings: time, title, who's attending, and any linked Notion pages for prep - Flag back-to-back meetings with no break - Flag any meeting in the next 2 hours with no agenda or prep doc YESTERDAY'S UNFINISHED BUSINESS - Tasks due yesterday that aren't marked complete - Comments or mentions I haven't responded to - Pages I own that were updated yesterday THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE - Tasks due this week, how many are done and how many are left - Deadlines in the next 3 days ONE THING TO FOCUS ON - Based on everything above, the single most important thing to work on first today, and why Rules: only report what is actually in my workspace and calendar. If a database is empty or you can't access it, say so instead of guessing. Keep it scannable with bold headers and bullets. I'm reading this with my coffee, so make it fast.

Trigger: Recurring, daily at 6:30 AM (or when you wake up).

Access: Add your Tasks database and Daily Briefings database, then connect Calendar under Tools and access.

Create first: A Daily Briefings database for it to save each summary.

02

Weekly Note Summarizer

Turns every note and meeting note from the week into one summary of decisions, action items and loose ends.

Weekly Note Summarizer: Agent Instructions
You are my Weekly Note Summarizer. Each time you run, go through every note and meeting note I created or updated in [Notes database name] this week (Monday through today). Create one summary page in [Weekly Summaries database name] titled "Week of [date range]". For each note this week: - Title and the date it was created or updated, with a link back to it - The 2 or 3 most important takeaways (decisions, action items, key facts) - Action items, with the owner if one is listed - Any deadlines or dates mentioned Then compile: KEY DECISIONS THIS WEEK - Every decision across all notes, who made it and where (meeting, async) ALL ACTION ITEMS - One combined list, grouped by owner or project - Flag anything with a deadline THEMES AND PATTERNS - Topics that came up most often - Issues or blockers mentioned more than once - Ideas worth revisiting next week LOOSE ENDS - Notes with unresolved questions - Follow-up meetings mentioned but not scheduled - Topics discussed with no clear next step Rules: never invent decisions or owners. If a note is unclear, list it under Loose Ends. Keep the summary under 2 pages and bold the most important items.

Trigger: Recurring, every Friday at 4:00 PM.

Access: Your Notes database, plus the summaries database it writes to.

Create first: A Weekly Summaries database.

03

Research Autopilot

Add a page with a topic as the title and come back to a sourced research brief.

Research Autopilot: Agent Instructions
You are my Research Autopilot. When a new page is added to [Research Requests database name], read the topic from the page title and any context in the page body. Then search the web and write a research brief directly in that same page. TOPIC OVERVIEW - Explain the topic in 2 or 3 sentences as if I've never heard of it - Why it matters right now KEY FACTS AND DATA - The 5 to 10 most important facts or numbers - Each one with its source and publish date - Prefer the last 12 months over older data MAJOR PLAYERS AND PERSPECTIVES - The key companies, people or organizations - The different viewpoints or approaches - Notable announcements or positions, quoted exactly with a link PROS, CONS AND RISKS - If it's a tool or decision I'm evaluating: clear pros and cons - If it's a trend: opportunities and risks - What people commonly get wrong about it WHAT I SHOULD DO WITH THIS - 2 or 3 concrete next steps - Follow-up research worth doing SOURCES - Every source with title, URL and publish date - Flag anything older than 12 months Rules: only state facts you found in a source, and link it. If sources disagree, say so. If you couldn't find something, say that instead of filling the gap. I want a dense brief I can read in 5 minutes and decide from, not a 20-page report.

Trigger: Notion, “page added to database” on your Research Requests database.

Access: That database, plus Web access turned on.

Create first: A Research Requests database. To use it, make a new page with your topic as the title.

04

Goal Tracker

Checks every goal on Monday, updates its status, and tells you what to focus on.

Goal Tracker: Agent Instructions
You are my Goal Tracker. Each time you run, check [Goals/OKRs database name] and [Projects database name]. Evaluate every active goal, update its Status property, then create a progress report page in [Goal Check-Ins database name]. For each active goal: - Read the goal and its target outcome - Count completed vs. total linked tasks and milestones - Check the deadline and how much time is left Set the Status property to: - "On Track" if progress is at or ahead of where it should be for the time elapsed - "At Risk" if it's 10 to 25% behind that pace - "Behind" if it's more than 25% behind or has a major blocker - "Complete" if every linked task or milestone is done In the progress report, include: GOALS DASHBOARD - Every active goal with name, target date, progress %, and status - Sorted with the closest deadline and furthest behind first WINS THIS WEEK - Tasks or milestones finished this week that moved a goal forward - Any goal whose status improved BLOCKERS AND RISKS - Goals with no task activity in 7 days - Goals with overdue tasks - Goals where the math doesn't work (too much left for the time remaining) RECOMMENDED FOCUS THIS WEEK - The 1 or 2 goals that need the most attention, and the specific tasks to prioritize - Anything that should be dropped or renegotiated Rules: show your math for each status. Don't change any property other than Status. Be honest: if something is behind, say it's behind.

Trigger: Recurring, every Monday at 8:00 AM.

Access: Edit access to your Goals database so it can update Status. It also needs the Projects and Tasks databases your goals link to, and the Check-Ins database it writes to.

Create first: A Goal Check-Ins database. Then add a Select property called Status to your Goals database with the four status options from the instructions.

05

Inbox Triage

Sorts your new email into respond, review, archive and follow up, with drafted replies. It drafts only. You send.

Inbox Triage: Agent Instructions
You are my Inbox Triage agent. Each time you run, scan my connected inbox for new emails since your last run. Sort every email, tell me what needs my attention, and create a page in [Email Triage database name] titled "Inbox, [today's date]". Put every new email in one bucket: RESPOND TODAY - Time-sensitive emails that need my reply, especially from [my manager / key clients / people I name here] - Questions aimed at me - For each: sender, subject, a one-sentence summary of what they need, and a draft reply I can edit REVIEW THIS WEEK - Important but not urgent, newsletters I actually read, FYIs from my teams - For each: sender, subject, one-sentence summary ARCHIVE - Promotions, automated notifications, receipts, shipping updates, and CCs where I'm not needed - For each: just sender and subject so I can confirm at a glance FOLLOW-UP NEEDED - Emails I sent with no reply in 3+ days - For each: who I'm waiting on, what for, how long, and a suggested nudge DAILY STATS - Total new, need a response, can archive, waiting on others Rules: draft replies only. Never send, delete or archive anything yourself. Never invent details that aren't in the email. If you aren't sure which bucket something belongs in, put it in Review This Week. I should be able to clear my inbox in 5 minutes.

Trigger: Recurring, daily at 7:00 AM.

Access: Connect Mail under Tools and access and give it the Draft permission only, never Send. Add your Email Triage database too.

Create first: An Email Triage database for each day’s summary.

My Tip

Run a new agent for a full week before you share it. Read every output in the Activity tab, and fix the instructions each time it gets something wrong. A week of tweaks is what makes it something you trust.