AI agent that spots stalled tasks and drafts unblocking next steps

Once a day, this workflow reads your task sheet in Google Sheets and hands it to an AI agent that looks for stalled or blocked tasks, suggests one next step for each, and can post a digest to Slack and log what it flagged.

Schedule

Google Sheets

AI Agent

Slack

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5 steps Setup ~8 min Used on 1.1k sites Productivity Free to import

The AI agent that spots stalled tasks and drafts unblocking next steps workflow on the FlowMattic canvas, with 5 steps across Schedule, Google Sheets, AI Agent, Slack — The workflow as it appears in the builder after import. Each step opens for editing.

What this workflow does

Task lists go quiet in ways that are hard to see. A row sits on the same status for a week, nobody owns it, and it only comes up when a deadline slips. This workflow gives that list a daily read-through so stuck work gets named while there is still time to move it.

Every day at the time you set, the Schedule trigger kicks off a fresh review. FlowMattic then pulls the rows from your task sheet with the Google Sheets Get Rows action and passes all of them to an AI Agent. Its instructions are to identify tasks that look stalled or blocked, propose one concrete unblocking step for each, post a summary to Slack and log the flagged items. The template runs it on GPT-4o through OpenAI, and the output format is plain text.

The agent has two tools. One sends a message to a Slack channel, with the text written by the agent. The other adds a new row to a Google Sheets spreadsheet, so you build a record of what was flagged and when. The agent decides when to call each tool, so check Task History after the first few runs to see what it actually did.

How well it spots a stalled task depends on what your sheet holds. Columns such as status, owner and last updated give the agent something to judge by.

Morning check on a team task tracker

Your team tracks work in a shared Google Sheet. Each morning the channel gets a short list of tasks that look stuck, each with a suggested next move, before stand-up starts.

Client project board for an agency

Deliverables for each client live in one sheet. The daily digest points out items waiting on feedback or assets, and the log sheet shows how often the same item gets flagged.

Spotting orphaned tasks

Rows with no owner or no recent update are easy to miss in a long list. The agent can call them out in Slack so someone picks them up.

How this workflow runs

What happens at each step once the workflow is on, and what you need before you import it.

Step 1Trigger
Schedule Every Day
Starts the workflow once every day. Set the time after import so the digest arrives when your team is reading Slack.
Step 2Action
Google Sheets Get Rows
Reads the rows from the Google Sheets spreadsheet that holds your tasks. Connect your Google account and choose the spreadsheet and sheet. All rows go to the agent as one list.
Step 3Action
AI Agent Execute Agent
Runs an AI agent on the task rows with instructions to find stalled or blocked tasks and suggest one concrete unblocking step for each. It then decides whether to use its Slack and Google Sheets tools.
Step 4Tool
Slack Send Channel Message
A tool the agent can call to post the blocked-task digest to a Slack channel. The agent writes the message text. Connect Slack and pick the channel during setup.
Step 5Tool
Google Sheets Add New Row
A tool the agent can call to log flagged items as a new row in a Google Sheets spreadsheet. The agent fills in the row data, so use a separate log sheet to keep it apart from your task list.

What you need

FlowMatticCore
Google Sheets AccountAccount
AI ProviderAccount
Slack AccountAccount

After importing, map your own data. To keep the template universal, not every step is pre-filled. Open each step in the builder and connect your accounts and fields (channels, lists, sheets, recipients) before you switch the workflow on.

Make it yours

Changes worth making after you import it.

Edit the agent's system prompt to define stalled in your terms, for example no update in five working days or status set to Waiting, so its picks match how your team works.
Change the Schedule to weekdays only, or to every week, if a daily digest is more than your team needs.
If your sheet is long, add a Filter or trim the columns you pass in the user input so the agent sees only open tasks and the fields that matter.
Use the agent's log sheet to review its suggestions after a few weeks and tighten the prompt where it flagged tasks that were fine.

Questions about this workflow

Will the AI agent always post to Slack every day?

It is instructed to, but the agent chooses when to call its tools. Check Task History after a few runs. If you want a message every day without exception, add a regular Slack step after the agent that posts its text output.

Does the agent change my Google Sheets task list?

No. The first Google Sheets step only reads rows. The agent's sheet tool adds new rows, so point it at a separate log sheet and your task list stays as it is.

What AI provider does this Slack and Sheets agent need?

The template is set to OpenAI with GPT-4o, so you connect an OpenAI account. To use a different provider, check which ones the AI Agent step lists and run a test after you switch.

How does the agent decide a task is blocked?

Only from the rows it receives and its instructions. It has no other view of your projects, so include columns like status, owner and last updated, and spell out your own rule in the system prompt.