AI vs. the 102 Unread Messages

1. The Group Thread Spiral

You know the one:

• Someone drops a 5-paragraph update.

• Half the group replies “lol” or thumbs-up.

• Now you’ve got 97 unread messages and zero clue what actually happened.

I asked ChatGPT to help me out.

Prompt to steal:
“Summarize this group chat thread and suggest one clear action item.”

It gave me:

• A short recap

• Who said what

• What (if anything) I was supposed to do next

Suddenly, the thread made sense—and I didn’t even have to scroll.

2. Writing Replies You Don’t Hate

Next issue: sounding friendly without overthinking every word.

I tried this:

“Write a friendly response to this thread that includes everyone but keeps it short.”

It came back with something that sounded like me on a good day:

• Brief

• Warm

• Useful

• Not “typed while walking into Target”

I tweaked a word or two and hit send. Easy.

🧰 Tools to Try

• ChatGPT – Summarize threads, write replies, even generate reminders

• Shortwave – Smart email + thread summarizer built for overload

• TLDR This – Drop in text, get a clean, no-fluff summary

✅ Try This Prompt

“Summarize this group chat. Who said what, what do I need to do, and what’s the next step?”

You’ll go from overwhelmed to actually helpful in one paste.

🎯 Bottom Line

You don’t need to reply to every ping.

You just need a smart filter—and a way to show up when it matters.

Because staying connected shouldn’t mean drowning in notifications.

👉 Stop drowning in texts. Let AI make you the calmest person in the chat.
Send this to your most overwhelmed friend. Or better yet—ask AI to do it for you.