> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.smaq.io/documentation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.smaq.io/documentation/features/automations/daily-brief.md).

# Daily Brief

The Daily Brief is a digest automation that combines selected sub-reports into one email. Use it when you want a single daily check-in instead of three or four different alerts.

A Daily Brief is automatically created when you set up a new project, populated based on the connections you have. You can edit or duplicate it from the Automations page.

> **\[Screenshot needed]** Example Daily Brief email — three sections (Campaign Performance, Product Opportunity, Landing Page) with headlines and one-paragraph summaries each.

### What it includes

You choose which sub-reports go into your brief. Available components depend on your connections:

| Sub-report                           | Connection required       | What it does                                                                                                                                                   |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Campaign Performance Check**       | Google Ads or Meta Ads    | Pulls the last 14 days of campaign-level performance, highlights trends, and surfaces key metrics (CPC, CTR, ROAS, CPA).                                       |
| **Ecommerce Product Opportunity**    | GA4 with ecommerce events | Finds products with organic traffic spikes, low-views-high-conversion sleeper winners, products with paid spikes, and products with view-but-no-cart drop-off. |
| **Google Ads Landing Page Analysis** | Google Ads                | Runs PageSpeed checks on landing pages tied to your Google Ads account.                                                                                        |

You need to pick at least one sub-report. Most users include all that apply to their connections.

### Configuration

> **\[Screen video needed]** Building a Daily Brief from scratch — selecting all three sub-reports, scheduling for 8 AM, adding three recipients. \~60 seconds.

#### Sub-reports

Check the components you want included. Each shows a one-line description.

> **\[Screenshot needed]** Sub-report selection section with three checkboxes ticked.

#### Schedule

* **Frequency**: Daily.
* **Time**: when to send the email. 7–9 AM local time is the most common pick.
* **Timezone**: yours.

If you want weekly cadence on the same content, use the **Weekly Brief** automation type instead.

#### Recipients

Add as many emails as you need. Each recipient gets the same content. Press Enter after each email.

#### Run on-demand

After saving, click **Run** on the automation card to send immediately. Useful for testing and for ad-hoc deliverables.

### Output

The Daily Brief output is:

* **Emailed** to all recipients.
* **Saved as a snapshot** in the automation's Snapshots tab, viewable in-app forever.

The email format is consistent: a one-line headline per sub-report, followed by an expandable section with the detailed analysis.

### Tier availability

* **Starter** — limited (alert-style brief only)
* **Growth** — full Daily Brief
* **Scale & Agency** — full Daily Brief + Weekly Brief

### Tips

* **Pair with a Weekly Brief.** Daily for ops, Weekly for stakeholders. Different content style, different recipients.
* **Don't add too many recipients.** Five or fewer keeps it personal. Larger audiences benefit more from a [public dashboard](/documentation/features/dashboard/public-share-and-chat.md) they can visit on demand.
* **Tune sub-reports over a week.** If Ecommerce Product Opportunity isn't useful for your business, remove it — quieter briefs get read more.

### Troubleshooting

* **Email never arrives** — check spam, then verify the recipient email is correct. SMAQ sends from `automations@smaq.io`.
* **Empty sections** — usually means one of the sub-reports' connections has lapsed or has no data. Check the connection's health in Data Sources.
* **Out of credits** — Daily Briefs consume credits per run. See [Credits & top-ups](/documentation/plans-and-billing/credits-and-top-ups.md).

### Related

* [Dashboard Summary](/documentation/features/automations/dashboard-summary.md) — scheduled summary of a specific dashboard instead.
* [Metrics Alert](/documentation/features/automations/metrics-alert.md) — for threshold-based pings instead of a digest.
* [Automation reference](/documentation/features/automations/reference.md) — see all 28 types.