How I AIHow to use Perplexity Computer to build a custom slack inbox (full tutorial)
CHAPTERS
Meet Yash Tekriwal: hyper-optimizing work with Perplexity Computer
Claire Vo introduces Yash Tekriwal (Head of Education at Clay) and frames the episode around building custom tools with AI—specifically a better way to process Slack overload. The promise: a full tutorial plus a broader debate about AI-built micro-software and the future of SaaS.
The real problem: 100–150 Slack notifications a day (and most are FYIs)
Yash describes waking up to 100–150 tagged notifications daily, which creates anxiety and makes everything feel equally urgent. His key insight is that 60–80% are FYI noise; only ~30–40 truly require action, so the goal is triage and prioritization rather than “read everything.”
A practical framework: when to use AI vs. deterministic code
They distinguish between using AI to directly do tasks (summarize/categorize) versus using AI to help build deterministic systems with APIs. Yash argues Slack is a good candidate for deterministic logic because timestamps and message states are structured, while AI should be reserved for the ambiguous classification layer.
Prototype v1: building a Slack digest using OpenClaw (in Discord)
Yash shows an early implementation built with OpenClaw, iterating through a long back-and-forth to reverse-engineer Slack notification logic and produce a daily digest. It works—but outputs a long scroll of text that still feels draining to process.
Why Discord for agent work: threads, search, and context management
Claire notices Yash is running OpenClaw in Discord and asks why. Yash explains that Discord’s threading and quick search (Command+K) make it easier to manage many parallel “projects” and keep context clean compared to other chat surfaces.
The UX problem: a digest that works… but is still overwhelming
After using the digest for a week, Yash realizes that even a well-structured text feed requires excessive scrolling and context switching. He wants a ‘Superhuman for Slack’—a clean interface that matches his mental model and supports fast triage.
Building the visual dashboard in Perplexity Computer (multi-model agent workflow)
Yash switches to Perplexity Computer to turn the digest into an interactive dashboard. He highlights Perplexity’s orchestration advantage: it can use different models for different steps, run troubleshooting loops, and progress from prompt to working app with fewer manual reprompts.
Three reasons Perplexity Computer beats Claude Code for this use case
Yash outlines why Perplexity Computer feels superior for his workflow: parallel task execution, cloud-native agent behavior, and smoother integration with everyday tools. The net effect is faster iteration, less setup friction, and more “speed of thought” building.
Connectors in action: automating meeting follow-ups (Notion → Asana + drafts)
They explore how connectors enable cross-app automations beyond Slack. Yash describes pulling meeting transcripts from Notion, extracting action items, routing longer-term tasks to Asana, and drafting responses for messages/emails—turning meetings into structured follow-through.
The Kanban-style Slack dashboard: action/read/FYI + one-click ‘Archive All’
Yash demonstrates the core deliverable: a Kanban-style board with three columns—Action Required (red), Need to Read (yellow), and FYI (green). The standout feature is batch archiving: clearing FYIs from the dashboard also clears those notifications in Slack.
The long tail of customer requests: micro-software, SaaS, and “Slack custom”
Claire and Yash discuss how AI lowers the cost of building niche workflow extensions that SaaS products won’t prioritize. They predict a “Cambrian explosion” of small, useful apps—often non-venture-scale—where individuals prototype solutions and creators package them cheaply ($15/month) or get acquired.
The anti-to-do list: systematically eliminating recurring pain
Claire introduces an “anti-to-do list” framework: write down tasks you never want to do again and invest time in automating them. Yash agrees, positioning Perplexity Computer as a practical way to burn down these recurring annoyances (Slack triage, email spam, meeting action items).
Building a consolidated digest: news + email + Slack as a command center
Yash shows a second dashboard that combines AI news, email, and Slack into a single prioritized view. He explains an iterative build loop: first get the right data, then add UI, then improve usability with deep links and interaction patterns.
Authentication, deployment, and sharing: why cloud agents remove friction
They dig into the operational advantage of Perplexity Computer: apps are already deployed and shareable, and connectors reuse existing authentication rather than requiring repeated token setup. The agent can also detect auth issues and prompt reauthentication or use in-browser proof-of-concepts.
Team use case: prototyping persona-based learning journeys for Clay University
Yash shares a teammate’s project: using Perplexity Computer to redesign Clay University into persona-based learning paths (SDR/BDR, RevOps, Marketing Ops, etc.). The key value is “visual bridging”—a functional prototype that helps cross-functional teams align without heavy design tooling overhead.
Lightning round: fun AI uses + how to recover when models fail
In closing, Yash shares personal uses (brainstorming games and event ops) and candid strategies for when AI performs poorly. His tactics include adding missing context deterministically (timestamps), being extremely explicit/strict in prompts, and iteratively refining reusable skills for recurring failure modes (e.g., calendars/dates).
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