Build a weekly research brief with a specialist HeyMate

Write a brief for the researcher

Define the question before choosing the schedule. “Watch competitors” is too broad. A more useful scope names the products, the kinds of changes that matter, and the period to compare. Specify whether you want releases, pricing changes, documentation updates, or customer announcements, and which sources count as evidence.

Try this prompt

Create a research mate for changes to the three products I name. Prefer official release notes and product documentation. For each finding, include the source URL, publication date when available, what changed, and why it might matter. Mark anything you could not verify.

Make the output easy to audit

Scope and period: what the brief covers and which dates it compares.
Confirmed changes: short findings with direct sources.
Implications: clearly labeled analysis rather than vendor claims.
Open questions: missing pages, inaccessible sources, or conflicting information.
Next actions: decisions a person should review, not automatic external changes.

Do a one-off run before creating a routine. Open the linked pages and check whether they actually support the claims. A recent crawl date is not always the date of an event. Ask the mate to distinguish “newly found” from “newly announced” so old documentation does not become a false product launch.

Then add a recurring routine

HeyMate mates can have scheduled routines. Start with the cadence controls available in your version, such as daily at a chosen time or every N hours. Write the intended period into the task so each run has a clear boundary. Check the first few outputs before relying on the routine.

Try this prompt

For each research run, compare with the previous brief if it is available. Do not repeat an unchanged item as new. If nothing material changed, say so briefly. Do not contact vendors, publish, or change files outside the agreed workspace.

Research depends on the provider’s tools and the integrations you configure. If a run has no browser or source access, it should report that limitation rather than imply a fresh search. A recurring schedule does not give an agent new permissions or make a model’s knowledge current.

Keep interpretation separate from evidence

A feature launch does not prove adoption, product quality, or revenue. Ask for the exact evidence behind business implications. If the brief is intended for a client or team, review the sources yourself before sharing. Use a stable format so missing dates and unsupported comparisons stand out instead of being hidden by polished prose.

For a meeting-focused version, see meeting preparation. For a tool choice, see HeyMate versus Claude Cowork, including where the products overlap.

Understand background work and cost

Enabled routines and approved jobs can run in the background. That is different from an app that acts only while you hold a hotkey. Provider limits and optional connector fees still apply, even though HeyMate adds no subscription fee. Review privacy and storage and use only the accounts and sources you intend to expose.

Try it with one small task.

HeyMate is free and open source for macOS 14.2 and later. Bring your own AI; provider limits and optional service fees apply. Current builds are self-signed and not Apple notarized.

Set up HeyMate on Mac