An AI Approach to Email

Every successful founder gets the same advice: "You need an assistant."

When you ask what this assistant would actually do, the answer is almost always the same: manage your inbox and calendar. But here's what no one talks about—you're about to pay $10,000-15,000+ per year for someone to do what AI can now do better, faster, and for just $720/year.

The Email Black Hole Nobody Wants to Admit

The average professional spends 11-15 hours per week on email—that's 28% of your entire work week. Think about that. More than a quarter of your productive time is spent reading, writing, sorting, and responding to messages.

And it's not just the time. It's the constant context switching. The mental fatigue. The nagging feeling that you're always behind on your inbox.

The traditional solution? Hire a virtual assistant for $10-15/hour. For 20 hours a week of email and calendar management, you're looking at $10,400-15,600 per year.

But what if I told you there's a better way—one that costs 95% less and works 24/7?

The $60/Month AI Stack That Replaces Your VA

I've eliminated 80% of my email overhead using three AI tools that work together seamlessly. No assistant needed. No back-and-forth scheduling. No inbox anxiety.

Total cost: $60/month. That's $720/year versus $10,000+ for a virtual assistant.

Here's the exact system:

Tool #1: Superhuman – Your AI Writing Co-Pilot

Problem it solves: Writing thoughtful responses takes forever

Superhuman transforms Gmail into a productivity powerhouse. The game-changer? Press ⌘+J, type a few bullet points about what you want to say, and watch it expand into a fully-formed email that sounds exactly like you wrote it.

But here's the hidden gem most people miss: Auto-Labels. Using natural language, you can tell it things like "Label any email about invoices, payments, or receipts as Finance." No more complex Gmail filter rules. Just tell it what you want in plain English.

Cost: $30/month
Impact: Cut email writing time by 70%+

Tool #2: Cora – Your Inbox Gatekeeper

Problem it solves: 80% of emails don't need your immediate attention

This is where the magic happens. While Superhuman helps you write faster, Cora ensures you only see what actually matters.

Every morning, Cora sends you a "Daily Brief" with all your non-urgent emails summarized. The brilliant part? You teach it using natural language. Just chat with it: "Keep customer emails in my inbox, but move all newsletters and promotions to the brief."

Suddenly, your inbox only shows the critical 10% of emails that actually need your attention right now. Everything else gets batched into a single daily review.

Cost: $15/month
Impact: Reduces inbox volume by 80%

Tool #3: Howie – The Calendar Ninja

Problem it solves: The endless scheduling ping-pong

Remember the last time you tried to schedule a meeting? The back-and-forth "How about Tuesday at 2?" exchanges that somehow take 8 emails to confirm a 30-minute call?

Howie eliminates all of it. Just CC Howie on any email thread (or email directly), and it handles the entire scheduling process. No more Calendly links that make you look like a robot. No more timezone confusion. It reads the context, finds the times, and adds events to your calendar automatically.

Cost: $15/month
Impact: Zero scheduling emails in your inbox

The Math That Makes This a No-Brainer

Let's break down the real numbers:

Virtual Assistant Route:

• Cost: $10-15/hour

• 20 hours/week for email/calendar = $10,400-15,600/year

• Limited to working hours

• Needs training and onboarding

• Takes vacations and sick days

• Can make mistakes or misunderstand context

AI Tool Stack:

• Total cost: $60/month ($720/year)

• Works 24/7/365

• Learns and improves continuously

• Never calls in sick

• Handles multiple tasks simultaneously

• 95% cost savings

But this isn't really about the money. It's about reclaiming your time and mental energy for the work that actually moves your business forward.

Taking It Further: Full Automation with Lindy

Ready to push the boundaries? Lindy lets you create workflows for routine responses.

Customer support inquiries get automatic, personalized responses. Meeting requests get pre-qualified. Invoice confirmations send themselves.

This is where you transition from managing email to having email manage itself.

The Bottom Line

We're at an inflection point. The old model of throwing human labor at digital problems is dead. The new model uses AI to eliminate the problems entirely.

Your inbox doesn't need a babysitter. It needs a copilot.

And for $60/month, you can experience that today.