Email replies
Replies on the right thread, offers times that are really free, and sounds like you.
The test
- Day 1
Taylor wants to meet Wednesday at 2. That doesn't work — reply, offer two other times this week when I'm free, and write it the way I usually do.
Setup
- A conflict on the calendar Wednesday at 2pm and fixed free slots the rest of the week.
- Twenty sent emails that show the tester's tone and sign-off.
Time allowed: 30 minutes.
Passes when
- Replies on Taylor's thread to the right person (sent after asking, or saved as a draft in Gmail)
- Both offered slots are this week and actually free
- Tone and sign-off match the sent emails
Scoring notes
- Pastes text in chat for you to send yourself: checkpoint 1 is missed.
Results 34 tested
20 passed, 6 partial, 8 failed. Average score 6.6.
| # | Assistant | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dots | Pass | 10 |
| 2 | Instinct | Pass | 10 |
| 3 | Muse | Pass | 10 |
| 4 | Asmi | Pass | 9 |
| 5 | Hark | Pass | 9 |
| 6 | Poke | Pass | 9 |
| 7 | Town | Pass | 9 |
| 8 | Waldo | Pass | 9 |
| 9 | Familiar | Pass | 8 |
| 10 | Gemini Spark | Pass | 8 |
| 11 | Norton Family Assistant | Pass | 8 |
| 12 | Tomo | Pass | 8 |
| 13 | Butler | Pass | 7 |
| 14 | Caddy | Pass | 7 |
| 15 | Luke | Pass | 7 |
| 16 | Nessi | Pass | 7 |
| 17 | Ollie | Pass | 7 |
| 18 | Pally | Pass | 7 |
| 19 | szn | Pass | 7 |
| 20 | Wajo / Fo | Pass | 7 |
| 21 | Alfi by Text.ai | Partial | 6 |
| 22 | Neo | Partial | 6 |
| 23 | Joshu | Partial | 5 |
| 24 | Persona | Partial | 5 |
| 25 | tinyNature | Partial | 5 |
| 26 | Tressa | Partial | 5 |
| 27 | Ask Ranger | Fail | 4 |
| 28 | Manus | Fail | 4 |
| 29 | OpenClaw | Fail | 4 |
| 30 | The Shadow | Fail | 4 |
| 31 | Today | Fail | 4 |
| 32 | AVA | Fail | 3 |
| 33 | Lucas | Fail | 3 |
| 34 | OpenInstinct | Fail | 3 |
What people say 61 public quotes
Public posts about this kind of task, each linked to the original. Not scored, and posts by the companies themselves are left out.
Last week it told me 'NOT TO OPEN' an email from a friend inviting me to a backyard BBQ—it turned out to be a phishing scam.
Use caseOpen sourceSupposed to ping me when an email comes in and it doesn't for awhile.
BugOpen sourceThe agent, which Meta launched on September 8, booked a Friday date night and made a packing schedule for my upcoming move. It also emailed a friend about a trip next month and made a planning document with places we want to visit.
Use caseOpen sourceThe weakest safety record here: an unapproved email send, terms disclaiming any confirmation guarantee.
BugOpen sourceOn day 2 it tried to send an email on my behalf that I hadn't approved.
BugOpen sourceFirst, I asked it to look through my email and send me a daily digest of "important" emails (my inbox gets quickly clogged with PR pitches and newsletters). It did this admirably well.
Use caseOpen sourcethe blocker wasn't capability. it was that the personal assistant job i actually want (mail, notes, calendar, "what did i promise") already lives on my laptop, and i wasn't ready to hand off cards day one.
Use caseOpen sourceoh no my instinct @muse and @TownAI are having a turf war whenever a new email appears
BugOpen sourceTown AI offers an autonomous personal assistant feature that acts as a digital worker—learning your habits to manage schedules, draft emails, and handle routine workflows across your entire tech stack.
OtherOpen sourceInstinct helped me successfully find and request multiple quotes for some housework I wanted to have done, communicate with the contractors via email, and then confirm, and schedule, the best option (most reputable and least expensive).
PraiseOpen sourceI've used it every day for the last 7 days, and I'm highly, highly impressed.
PraiseOpen sourceOne reviewer noted that its grammar could feel "a bit unprofessional", particularly when Folk writes emails on the user's behalf.
ComplaintOpen sourceBeen an absolute game changer for my personal work- I’ve got my own assistant now prepping me for a day in the stock market, responding to emails, and learning how I like to work.
PraiseOpen sourceIn September it shipped something the others only implied: its own email address at mail.instinct.com, so the agent can create accounts and talk to businesses without stuffing your inbox.
OtherOpen sourceTake a picture of a shopping list on the frige and order all of it from Sam's Club
Use caseOpen sourceThe process didn't go smoothly on mobile; the Google sign-in screen kept glitching and returning me to the Muse website instead of the app.
BugOpen sourcehe handles my calendar and drafts follow-ups. i approve what goes out.
PraiseOpen sourceI got access to Instinct recently and quickly found some pretty compelling use-cases for it.
PraiseOpen sourceMuse is Meta's personal AI agent that shops, emails, and books travel for you from a chat.
OtherOpen sourceIt books, it orders, it watches my inbox, it remembers everything.
PraiseOpen sourceand then not sending the email itself. This is intern behavior which may have been ok 9 months ago but newer
BugOpen sourceIt tracks my deadlines, handles my email, and gets things done.
Use caseOpen sourceNow I use Mimestream and have my @TownAI agent draft emails and organize inbox (among many other things)
Use caseOpen sourceuse @TownAI or another agent to handle inbox organization and email drafting
Use caseOpen sourceOrchid is a personal EA that lives in iMessage and SMS: it texts you your day each morning, drafts replies in your voice, books meetings, dinners and travel after you approve, runs recurring habits, and remembers what you tell it. Gmail and Google Calendar only; no published pricing.
OtherOpen sourceWent over my emails, and found a subscription for an app that I don't even use
PraiseOpen sourceSo the truth is, I’ve only used it for one day, but for work purposes, it’s been amazing. I have it responding to basic emails and set up summary reminders every hour.
PraiseOpen sourceInstinct is the first one i actually hand real tasks to. It booked my family's flights end to end,orders my stuff, watches my kids' school email.
PraiseOpen sourceEvery five is just not good enough when other services like @interaction send me alerts nearly instantly.
ComparisonOpen sourceI asked my townie to monitor a couple of email threads and alert me when I get a response.
Use caseOpen sourceI had a version of this w openclaw — but now can just recommend @TownAI !
PraiseOpen sourceMoms, dads all of us need @TownAI to survive the onslaught of school emails and WhatsApp groups. Only feature request: more ability to go back into WhatsApp groups and read/summarize.
PraiseOpen sourceI've tried Hermes, OpenClaw, Tasklet, GrokBot but Instinct takes the cake
ComparisonOpen sourcethis is a leap forward in personal agent UX in that it works inside of my WhatsApp.
PraiseOpen sourceEvery morning, my Instinct grabs the new emails from my Gmail inbox
PraiseOpen sourceBookings, rebookings, complicated travel planning, restaurant reservations, email follow ups, all out of the box, autonomous and done well and in a reassuring way (screenshots, etc).
PraiseOpen sourcedoes a great job prepping meetings, automatically drafting emails and optimizing my day
PraiseOpen sourceIt's insane how well the @vellum_ai email integration works.
PraiseOpen source@iknowdan @tonycclo @Andrey__HQ @interaction @pallyai @avec connect your email to it for 10 minutes lol most fun you will ever have checking your email
PraiseOpen sourceOne user cheered, "I have a backlog of friends I ghosted on WhatsApp because I forgot to text back. Hoping to power through them with Pally." Indeed, for those who suffer from messaging anxiety, this tool is a lifesaver.
PraiseOpen sourcecurrently it’s largely an email reader, a to do list, and a very funny bot (amazing product btw)
Use caseOpen sourceIt gets time wrong, which is unforgivable for a product about time. Its email judgment isn't sharp enough to trust unsupervised.
ComplaintOpen sourceone user wrote a one-star review after weeks of use, arguing that basic email checks took fifteen minutes or more when they worked at all.
BugOpen sourceIt's more capable than Poke on email specifically, with prebuilt routines for inbox triage, meeting briefings, and expense logging.
ComparisonOpen sourceOne of my new favorite AI tools is @TownAI . It sweeps my emails, drafts responses, does morning briefing, calendaring, and so much more!
PraiseOpen source# 4. Orchid **Website:** orchid.ai **Best for:** work email and meetings **Pros:** * Useful for drafting replies and booking meetings * Approval-before-sending flow makes sense for work * More executive-assistant-like than chatbot-like **Cons:** * Mostly focused on work coordination * Less useful if email and meetings are not your main pain point * Not as broad as a daily personal assistant **My take:** Interesting for people who spend a lot of time coordinating through email and calendar.
Use caseOpen sourcesounds like caddy is handling the productivity/email workflow stuff really well for u.
ComparisonOpen sourceSo far I have been impressed; it does a good job of texting me about important emails to check.
PraiseOpen sourceOrchid orchid.ai, exec assistant, drafts replies and books meetings, wants sign-off before sending
Use caseOpen sourceIf your work lives across Slack, project management tools, and CRM systems, the email-first model may add friction instead of cutting it.
OtherOpen sourcean AI in your pocket is now better at managing your health than your doctor, your calendar than your assistant, and your money than you.
PraiseOpen source