As the saying goes, "this meeting could have been replaced with one email." And if you add artificial intelligence to email, then one email can replace not only a meeting. With the help of neural networks, you can extract information from email, sort and filter, improve the quality of the letter and simply generate text. So the topic of today's article is AI assistants for email. Let's talk about the five best of them.
Why do you need a mail assistant?
Large language models perfectly perceive natural speech and are capable of generating text that is practically indistinguishable from that created by a person. There are disadvantages: errors, "hallucinations", distorted facts. That is why the work of the neural network will still have to be rechecked, but even in such an imperfect form it can bring a lot of benefits.
Here's what AI assistants do for email:
are engaged in creating text, because neural uk email database networks can do it best. They can even write a letter - the main thing is to compose the right prompt. And prompt engineering helps in composing prompts - a separate IT direction for working with neural networks. We tell you in detail at a free overview webinar , join us;
work with the text - correct spelling and typography, make the style a little more formal or relaxed, add greetings and good day wishes;
process the contents of mailboxes, for example, if it needs to be analyzed and categorized. Neural networks are capable of even more. Their analysis can go deeper and concern, say, tone, so that the answer can be made a little friendlier or more tactful;
make up a summary of the letters - "You have received a letter from Natalia Evgenievna regarding the lease agreement," and everything is immediately clear. You can set up the system so that the message will be sent to Slack;
extract information - collect data from emails and add it to a CRM or other system. This could be physical addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, whatever.
When properly configured, neural networks also work with attachments: they extract information from them, study it, distribute it, and systematize it.
So, what magical tools are capable of all this?
Shortwave: To Search and Find
Shortwave is a flexible and convenient AI assistant with a lot of useful features. And the main one is advanced email search. You just need to enter a question in the search. Let's say you remember that a long time ago you corresponded with a client about a specific warehouse in Domodedovo, but you can't remember either the client's name or the company's name. Shortwave will help - it will find the information.
It can also extract data. For example, you can write to it: "Make a tweet based on my correspondence about productivity." Or: "List all the tasks in the project to redesign the website of household goods."
The assistant also easily integrates with Google Calendar, allowing you to schedule and cancel meetings, and you can do this in natural language - as if you were talking to Alice.
In addition to the web, Shortwave works on Android and iOS, but only with Gmail accounts, at least for now. Also, the abundance of features makes the interface a bit cluttered, but that's to be expected.
Microsoft Copilot Pro: To Be Professional
If you or your business uses Outlook, look no further than Microsoft's AI assistant for email, called Copilot Pro . And as a bonus, it's coming to Microsoft's Office apps, too, so Word will get its own AI assistant.
Microsoft Copilot Pro's functionality may not be innovative, but it is clear and useful. First of all, the tool helps you write letters, including from scratch. Secondly, it makes a summary of an infinitely long correspondence, which is very useful because instead of reading a long feed of letters, you will simply get a list with the main ideas.
And thirdly, Microsoft Copilot Pro offers an interesting Coaching function, literally “Training”. The neural network analyzes the tone of the letter, its content and structure, and gives advice on how to improve it all. Perhaps this makes sense and will help you look more professional in the eyes of the interlocutor. Perhaps no one cares anymore. But the function, be that as it may, is interesting.
There is a drawback, and it is significant. The tool is designed only for Outlook and works exclusively with email addresses that are somehow associated with Microsoft.