Email is a complex digital hydra. For each one you delete from your inbox, two others replace it. Managing the unending seas of emails, newsletters is a giant task. But wouldn’t it be great if AI could be your email Hercules? This category has evolved a lot in the last few years. Now you’ll find AI email assistants that’ll help you write emails, improve communication, sort through conversations, or burn a stack of junk mail in a flash. This is a lot more compared with the first-wave AI email apps that just integrated with OpenAI for writing drafts and called it a day.
The best AI email assistants
- Shortwave – Use AI for your email search
- Microsoft Copilot Pro for Outlook – Improves communication
- Gemini for Gmail – Ideal for Google Workspace users
- Superhuman – Combines AI generation with message templates
- Mailbutler – Gathers contact details and tasks
What can AI bring to email?
AI has shown us that it can understand and generate human language pretty well. While it still can’t work without supervision, it’s a useful tool to improve your existing automation with the ability to understand language. It can make a few decisions on its own, and it’s up to you to accept or edit the results. Right now, the most common use of AI in email apps is for writing messages with generative AI. When composing a new email, you can start from a prompt pretty much like in ChatGPT or start generating a reply based on the sender’s message text.
AI email assistants: Our top 5 picks
1. Shortwave
Shortwave is one of the email assistants that has the widest range of AI features of all the apps on this list. They all live in the top-right of your screen. Click on the magic stars icon there, and a chat window appears docked on the right side. This is the Shortwave AI Assistant.
The most unique possibility it offers is AI-powered email search. You can ask questions to your inbox to surface old, forgotten conversations without actually having to get lost in the mess. More than this, it can extract data from email threads, generate content, or answer your questions ChatGPT-style. But, Shortwave only works with Gmail accounts for the time being, so if you’re doing email with other providers, you’ll have to sit out. Here’s hoping it’ll integrate with more inboxes in the future.
Pros:
- Deep integration with Google Calendar
- The AI assistant is very flexible
Cons:
- The interface feels cluttered at times
2. Microsoft Copilot Pro
You can write emails from scratch using the Microsoft Copilot Pro AI assistant. Moreover, you can also get a big-picture view of a conversation in a list of topics. Unlike the other AI email assistants on this list, Copilot adds little numbers in superscript that you can use to jump to the message where that topic is discussed. Thus, it is super helpful for searching your conversations for specific statements.
And, of course, this isn’t the only place where you’ll be getting AI. You’ll also get Copilot features to help write documents in Word, generate presentations in PowerPoint, and analyze data in Excel.
Pros:
- Tends to get the newest OpenAI models quickly
- Also unlocks AI features in your other Office apps
Cons:
- No integration with non-Microsoft email inboxes
3. Gemini for Gmail
Google is deep in the AI game as well. You’ll notice the Gemini icon at the top right of every Workspace app. When you click it in Gmail for the web, a side tab opens with contextual suggested actions. For example, when you open it while viewing your inbox, you can ask for a summary of your unread emails. The AI will sweep through your messages and present them there, ready for follow-up questions. You can also track orders from the same spot, thus it’s a straightforward way of keeping tabs on your stuff without sifting through confirmations, notifications, and receipts.
Pros:
- Seamless integration with Gmail
- Plenty of starter and follow-up prompts
Cons:
- Lots of potential, but feels a bit underpowered at the moment
4. Superhuman
AI saves time when writing emails, but it might fail to produce the exact results you’re looking for. This is especially true if you’ve crafted the perfect outreach email or the ideal company presentation paragraph. Superhuman will help you balance both: the speed of AI generation and the precision of your existing messaging.
On top of this generative AI tool, you’ll be able to summarize any of your email threads. If you need to travel back in time to find answers, you can use AI-powered search to surface information. The user interface is minimalist, offering tools to split your inbox based on email types and a way to mark your emails as done, useful for tracking what’s still to do.
Pros:
- Split your inbox by topics to organize messages
- Powerful keyboard shortcuts
Cons:
- Not as many AI features as the other options
5. Mailbutler
Mailbutler went deep in integrating generative AI into its compose window. Further, it keeps your contact information complete and picks up on tasks mentioned in your emails, two features that set it apart from the competition.
It works as either a Chrome extension, Apple Mail extension, or Outlook add-in. It adds a sidebar to your inbox, letting you access the extra features there. You can access your contacts, notes, and tasks, as well as the contextual actions you can take when viewing an email. In addition to signatures, it also processes the text of the emails, looking for tasks, adding them to the sidebar so you won’t forget them. And since the app integrates with task management apps, you can send them straight over without having to retype anything.
Pros:
- Data extraction from email signatures
- Task extraction, plus integration with task management apps
Cons:
- The interface is a bit clunky in spots
Tired of Email overload? AI assistants are the future
AI email assistants are more than just productivity tools, they’re tools that transform modern businesses. They automate the routine tasks, personalize your communication, and keep you one step ahead in a technologically driven world. The pros like efficiency, round-the-clock availability, and tailored engagement are compelling. However, you have to balance them against risks like miscommunication and data privacy concerns. Therefore, choose wisely, implement thoughtfully, and continuously refine your strategy. Your future self will be grateful.
