AI News Digest

Weekly AI News Digest

Searches 11 AI/ML blog sources for the past week, compiles findings into a categorized HTML digest, and sends it via email.

Quick Start

When the user asks to run this workflow:

1. Search all news sources using Serper
2. Compile results into HTML email
3. Send via available email MCP tool

Instructions

Step 1: Get recipient email

Ask the user for the recipient email address if not provided. Default to asking rather than assuming.

Step 2: Search AI News Sources (Past Week)

Use the Serper MCP tools (mcp__serper__google_search) to search for AI news from the past week from these 11 sources. Use num: "10" for 10 results per source to have enough candidates after date filtering.

CRITICAL DATE FILTERING: The tbs: "w" parameter is unreliable and often returns old content. You MUST:

1. Calculate the date 7 days ago from today (e.g., if today is Jan 18, 2026, use after:2026-01-11)
2. Add the after:YYYY-MM-DD operator to EVERY search query
3. After receiving results, ONLY include articles that have a date field showing a date within the past 7 days
4. Discard any results without a date field or with dates older than 7 days

Sources to search (run in parallel for speed):

For each source, append after:YYYY-MM-DD with the date 7 days ago. Example for Jan 18, 2026:

site:openai.com/news AI after:2026-01-11
site:deepmind.google AI after:2026-01-11
site:research.google AI after:2026-01-11
site:news.mit.edu artificial intelligence after:2026-01-11
site:machinelearningmastery.com after:2026-01-11
site:marktechpost.com AI after:2026-01-11
site:towardsai.net after:2026-01-11
site:tldr.tech AI after:2026-01-11
site:topbots.com AI after:2026-01-11
site:sidbharath.com AI after:2026-01-11
site:digitalocean.com AI machine learning after:2026-01-11

Post-Search Filtering (REQUIRED):

After collecting all search results, filter them strictly:

1. Check each result's date field (e.g., "Jan 15, 2026", "3 days ago")
2. Parse the date and verify it's within the last 7 days
3. DISCARD any result that:
   • Has no date field
   • Has a date older than 7 days
   • Has only a year (e.g., "2025") without specific date
4. If a source returns no recent results, that's okay - don't include old content just to fill the digest

Step 3: Compile the Digest

Organize search results into these categories:

1. Executive Summary - 2-3 sentences summarizing key themes
2. Research Breakthroughs - Academic and lab research news
3. Industry News - Business, products, market developments
4. Tutorials & Guides - How-to content, learning resources
5. Tools & Resources - New tools, platforms, open source projects

Format as clean HTML with:

• Professional styling (Arial font, max-width 700px, white background card)
• Clickable links to source articles
• Color-coded section headers (#1a73e8 blue)
• Footer with source attribution

Step 4: Determine Email Tool

Check for available email MCP tools in this order of preference:

1. Google Super (Rube) - Check for GOOGLESUPER_SEND_EMAIL via mcp__rube__RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
2. Gmail (Rube) - Check for GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL via mcp__rube__RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS
3. Direct Gmail MCP - Check for mcp__gmail__send_email if available

To check Rube tools:

Use mcp__rube__RUBE_SEARCH_TOOLS with:
- queries: [{"use_case": "send an email", "known_fields": "recipient_email: <email>"}]
- session: {"generate_id": true}

Look at toolkit_connection_statuses in the response:

• If googlesuper has has_active_connection: true → Use GOOGLESUPER_SEND_EMAIL
• If gmail has has_active_connection: true → Use GMAIL_SEND_EMAIL
• If neither is connected → Prompt user to connect via mcp__rube__RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS

Step 5: Send the Email

Use the available email tool with these parameters:

{
  "recipient_email": "<user-provided-email>",
  "subject": "Weekly AI News Digest - Week of <date range>",
  "body": "<compiled HTML content>",
  "is_html": true
}

Subject line format: "Weekly AI News Digest - Week of Jan 13-17, 2026"

For Rube tools, use mcp__rube__RUBE_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL with the appropriate tool_slug.

Step 6: Confirm Success

Report to the user:

• Email sent successfully
• Message ID (if returned)
• Summary of what was included (counts per category)

HTML Email Template

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><meta charset='UTF-8'></head>
<body style='font-family: Arial, sans-serif; max-width: 700px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 20px; background-color: #f5f5f5;'>
<div style='background-color: white; padding: 30px; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);'>

<h1 style='color: #1a73e8; border-bottom: 3px solid #1a73e8; padding-bottom: 10px;'>Weekly AI News Digest</h1>
<p style='color: #666; font-size: 14px;'>Week of [DATE RANGE] | Past 7 Days in AI</p>

<h2 style='color: #333; margin-top: 25px;'>Executive Summary</h2>
<p style='line-height: 1.6;'>[SUMMARY]</p>

<h2 style='color: #1a73e8; margin-top: 30px;'>Research Breakthroughs</h2>
<ul style='line-height: 1.8;'>
  <li><strong><a href='[URL]' style='color: #1a73e8;'>[Title]</a></strong> - [Description] ([Source])</li>
</ul>

<h2 style='color: #1a73e8; margin-top: 30px;'>Industry News</h2>
<ul style='line-height: 1.8;'>
  <li><strong><a href='[URL]' style='color: #1a73e8;'>[Title]</a></strong> - [Description] ([Source])</li>
</ul>

<h2 style='color: #1a73e8; margin-top: 30px;'>Tutorials & Guides</h2>
<ul style='line-height: 1.8;'>
  <li><strong><a href='[URL]' style='color: #1a73e8;'>[Title]</a></strong> - [Description] ([Source])</li>
</ul>

<h2 style='color: #1a73e8; margin-top: 30px;'>Tools & Resources</h2>
<ul style='line-height: 1.8;'>
  <li><strong><a href='[URL]' style='color: #1a73e8;'>[Title]</a></strong> - [Description] ([Source])</li>
</ul>

<hr style='margin-top: 30px; border: none; border-top: 1px solid #ddd;'>
<p style='color: #999; font-size: 12px; margin-top: 20px;'>
Generated by Claude Code Weekly AI News Digest Skill<br>
Sources: OpenAI, DeepMind, Google Research, MIT News, Machine Learning Mastery, MarkTechPost, Towards AI, TLDR Tech, TOPBOTS, Sid Bharath, DigitalOcean
</p>

</div>
</body>
</html>

Customization Options

Users can customize:

• Recipients: Provide different email addresses
• Sources: Request additional or different blog sources
• Categories: Request different categorization schemes
• Time Range: Default is past 7 days (using after: date operator), can adjust to 14 or 30 days
• Frequency: Designed for weekly delivery, can be scheduled via external scheduler

Requirements

• Serper MCP - For Google search (mcp__serper__google_search)
• Email MCP - One of:
  • Rube with Google Super connected
  • Rube with Gmail connected
  • Direct Gmail MCP server

Troubleshooting

No email tool available:

• Check if Rube MCP is configured
• Use RUBE_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS to connect Gmail or Google Super
• User must complete OAuth flow via provided link

Search returns no results or very few recent articles:

• Some sources may not have published in the past week - that's normal
• Try expanding to 14 days by adjusting the after: date
• Check if Serper MCP is configured and has credits
• The digest may be shorter some weeks - quality over quantity

Email not received:

• Check spam folder
• Verify recipient email address
• Check message ID in response for tracking