Summarize email thread

Summarize Email Thread - Link Exchange Partner Briefer

Purpose

Search Gmail for all threads related to a link exchange partner and return a structured briefing so the user can reply without re-reading full thread history.

Required MCP

• Gmail MCP (https://gmailmcp.googleapis.com/mcp/v1)

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Workflow

Step 1 - Identify the search query

Extract the search identifier from the user's message. It may be:

• A domain name (e.g. ahrefs.com, neilpatel.com)
• An email address (e.g. [email protected])
• A subject keyword (e.g. link exchange, collaboration)
• A person's name

If unclear, ask: "What's the partner's domain, email, or a keyword from the subject line?"

Step 2 - Search Gmail

Use Gmail MCP to search for threads. Use multiple search queries to maximise recall:

"{domain or keyword}" link exchange
"{email}"
subject:"link" "{domain}"

For each relevant thread found, call get_thread with messageFormat: FULL_CONTENT to retrieve the full message bodies. Always read plaintextBody - never rely on snippet alone, as snippets are truncated and will miss critical details like anchor text, target URLs, and placement instructions.

Focus on:

• The first message (to understand the original proposal)
• The most recent 3-4 messages (to understand current status and final agreed terms)
• Any message where URLs, anchors, or placement instructions are mentioned

Step 3 - Extract structured context

From the threads, extract:

Field	What to look for
Partner name	Sender name or company name
Domain	Their website
Email	Their email address
Last contact	Date of the most recent email
Thread count	How many threads found
Status	See status definitions below
Next action	What we should do next
Key notes	Up to 4 short notable facts

For every agreed link placement (both ours and theirs), extract:

Field	What to look for
URL	The page where the link is placed
Anchor text	The exact clickable text agreed
Status	Whether the link is published or not yet published
Link type	dofollow, nofollow, or unknown
Placement & added content	Exact before/after sentence, table row, or heading context specified in the email

Multiple agreed pages: If both sides agreed on more than 2 link placements in total, list every single one - do not summarise or truncate.

Status definitions:

• completed - Both links are confirmed live
• exchange agreed - Both sides have agreed on anchor text and URLs but no links placed yet
• active - Exchange is in progress, both sides engaged
• pending_them - We placed our link, waiting for them to place theirs
• pending_us - They placed their link, we haven't placed ours yet
• stalled - No reply in 2+ weeks or conversation went cold
• unknown - Not enough information to determine

Step 4 - Output the briefing

Present the briefing in this format:

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Partner: [Name] | [Domain] | [Email] Status: [Status] Last contact: [Date] | [N] thread(s) found

Summary [2-3 sentences: how the relationship started, what was agreed, where things stand now]

Link placements

Side	URL	Anchor text	Target Page	Status	Link type	Placement & added content
Ours (on their site)	[URL]	[anchor]	Target URL (my website's URL that receives the backlink)	Published / Not yet published	dofollow / nofollow / unknown	[exact placement instruction]
Theirs (on our site)	[URL]	[anchor]	Target URL (their website's URL that receives the backlink)	Published / Not yet published	dofollow / nofollow / unknown	[exact placement instruction]

If more than 2 total placements were agreed, add a row for each one.

Key notes

• [note 1]
• [note 2] ...

Next action [Concrete single action: e.g. "Follow up - no reply in 3 weeks", "Verify their link is still live", "Place our link on X page"]

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Step 5 - Offer to draft a reply

After the briefing, ask:

"Want me to draft a reply to [partner name]?"

If yes, write a short, natural follow-up email based on the status and next action. Match the tone of the existing thread (formal/casual).

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Edge Cases

• No threads found: Say so clearly and ask if they want to try a different search term.
• Many unrelated threads: Filter for threads that mention "link", "exchange", "collaboration", "guest post", or contain URLs from their domain.
• Partial information: Fill in what's available and mark missing fields as "-". Do not guess or invent URLs or anchor text.
• Multiple partners found: List them briefly and ask which one to brief on.