Build an AI Agent that Monitors Events and Sends You Instant Alerts
Create an autonomous agent that watches websites, social media, news sources, and apps 24/7 to notify you the moment something important happens.
What You'll Build
Your AI agent will continuously monitor sources you care about and alert you instantly. It can:
- Watch any website or feed for specific content, changes, or keywords appearing
- Monitor social media for mentions, hashtags, or posts from specific accounts
- Track breaking news from multiple sources and filter for topics you care about
- Send instant notifications via SMS, email, Slack, Discord, or phone call when events occur
Before You Start
- An Everna account (sign up at app.everna.io)
- Clear idea of what events you want to monitor
- Notification channel (Email, Slack, Discord, SMS, or Twilio for calls)
How to Set It Up
Create Your Agent
Go to app.everna.io and click New Agent. Name it something like "Event Monitor" or "Alert Agent".
Define What to Monitor
Tell your agent exactly what to watch and when to alert you. Be specific about sources, triggers, and notification preferences. Here are three real world examples:
Example 1: Product Launch Monitoring
"Check Apple's newsroom page every 15 minutes. When a new product announcement appears, read the full details and send me an instant SMS with a summary including product name, price, and release date. Also monitor @Apple on Twitter for any announcements. Send me a single alert combining all sources with links."
Best for: Never missing important announcements from companies you follow
Example 2: Competitive Intelligence
"Monitor the websites and LinkedIn pages of my top 5 competitors: [list URLs]. Check every hour for new blog posts, press releases, job postings, or product updates. When you detect any change, screenshot the page, summarize what changed, and send me a Slack message in #competitive-intel channel with the screenshot and your analysis. Track all changes in a Google Sheet with timestamps."
Best for: Staying ahead of competitors and market movements
Example 3: Breaking News Alerts
"Continuously monitor CNN, BBC, Reuters, and Bloomberg for breaking news articles. Only alert me about stories containing keywords: climate policy, renewable energy, carbon tax, or EV regulations. When a relevant story breaks, read the full article and send me an email with a 3 sentence summary, key quotes, and your assessment of how this might impact the solar industry. Only send alerts for genuinely important news, not minor updates."
Best for: Staying informed about specific topics without news overload
Connect Required Tools
Enable the tools your agent needs to monitor and notify:
- Web Browser - Visit websites and check for changes
- Notifications - Send alerts via Email, SMS, Slack, Discord, or phone calls
- Social Media Access - Monitor Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit (sign in to each)
- Spreadsheet Access - Log all events to Google Sheets for records (optional)
Launch and Test
Click Create Agent to deploy. Your agent will start monitoring immediately. Send yourself a test alert to confirm notifications work properly.
Check the activity logs after a few hours to see what your agent has monitored and adjust sensitivity if needed.
Best Practices for Event Monitoring
Be Specific About Triggers
Vague instructions like "monitor for interesting news" will create too many alerts. Specify exact keywords, sources, and criteria for what counts as alert worthy.
Set Smart Check Intervals
For fast moving events (stock prices, breaking news), check every 5-15 minutes. For slower changes (competitor websites, job postings), check every 1-6 hours to save costs.
Include Context in Alerts
Have your agent summarize why the event matters and what action you might take. Alerts like "New article posted" are less useful than "Competitor launched pricing change, 20% cheaper than us, here's the link".
Use Multiple Notification Channels
For urgent events, send SMS or phone calls. For less urgent, use email or Slack. This prevents alert fatigue while ensuring you never miss critical events.
Keep a Log of Everything
Have your agent save all detected events to a spreadsheet, even if they did not trigger an alert. This lets you review patterns and refine your monitoring criteria.
Test with Known Events First
When setting up, ask your agent to monitor for an event you know will happen soon (scheduled product launch, daily news cycle). Verify alerts work before relying on them.
Common Issues and Solutions
Getting too many alerts
Add stricter filters to your monitoring instructions. Use phrases like "only alert if truly significant" or "ignore minor updates". Increase minimum thresholds for what triggers an alert.
Missing important events
Check monitoring frequency and expand sources. If monitoring a website, verify your agent can access the page properly. Some sites block automated access and you may need API access instead.
Alerts arriving late
Reduce check interval time. For truly instant alerts on high priority sources, consider using webhooks or RSS feeds which push updates immediately instead of polling.
Notifications not sending
Verify your notification channels are properly connected in the agent settings. Check spam folders for email alerts. Confirm webhook URLs are correct for Slack/Discord.