Custom Agents are the next step for Notion AI: not just answering questions, but running real workflows in the background.

In this hosts-only deep dive, Tim Jeffries and Jerwin Parker break down what Custom Agents are, how they differ from the “regular” Notion AI experience, and how to think about implementing them safely in a team.

Tim and Jerwin walks through the Custom Agents interface, including triggers, activity logs, permissions, and integrations, then shares a set of practical agents Smooth Ops has been using to reduce admin overhead and increase project context.

In this episode, we cover

Custom Agents vs Notion AI: what changes when AI can run autonomously
Personalized instructions and playbooks: the foundation for consistent outputs
Triggers: schedule-based runs, property-based triggers, and Slack/Calendar/Mail possibilities
Permissions and governance: what the agent can access, and how sharing agents can extend access
Real examples (Tim): meeting follow-up, Slack context capture, email-to-CRM logging, lead intake automation, and project status updates
Real example (Jerwin @ TrustOnCloud): a meeting triage custom agent for a marketing leader to capture actions, track accountability, and keep momentum after internal calls
Ambient context: why Tim rebuilds a daily context page overnight so AI stays “stateful” across conversations

Three Actionable Takeaways

Takeaway #1: Start with personalized instructions + playbooks before you build agents.
Build a reliable “baseline assistant” first, then turn repeatable playbooks into agents once you trust the workflow.
Takeaway #2: Treat agents like employees: define the job, grant minimal access, then audit regularly.
Good outcomes come from clear instructions, tight permissions, and reviewing activity logs.
Takeaway #3: Use agents to capture context automatically (meetings, Slack, email) so work stays “stateful.”
The more structured context lives in Notion, the less the AI has to guess, and the better the outputs become.

Hosts:
- Tim Jeffries — Website · LinkedIn · Instagram · YouTube
- Jerwin Parker — Website · LinkedIn · Instagram · YouTube
Resource Tim mentioned (Episode gift): https://www.notion.com/templates/how-to-build-ai-playbooks

Who this is for

Operators, consultants, founders, and Notion power users who want to automate repeatable work, reduce cognitive load, and keep project context up to date without relying on memory.

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