I used to start every morning the same way: coffee in one hand, phone in the other, scrolling through an inbox that somehow grew overnight. 47 new emails before 8 AM. By the time I actually got to "real work," it was almost lunch.
Sound familiar?
I spent years trying every productivity hack out there. Inbox zero methods. Gmail filters. Scheduling specific "email times." Nothing stuck. The emails just kept coming, and I kept falling behind.
That frustration is why I eventually built Mailkea. But before I talk about that, let me share what I've learned about AI email assistants—including what actually works and what's just marketing hype.
The Real Problem Isn't Email Volume
Here's something that took me too long to realize: the number of emails isn't really the issue. The problem is the mental overhead.
Every email sitting in your inbox is an open loop in your brain. "Did I reply to that client?" "What was that thing my boss mentioned?" "I need to follow up on that proposal..." These thoughts don't just disappear when you close your inbox. They linger, drain your focus, and create a low-grade anxiety that's hard to shake.
When researchers talk about "email overload," they usually cite stats like "professionals spend 28% of their workweek on email." But that misses the point. It's not just about time—it's about the cognitive load that follows you everywhere.
So What Exactly Is an AI Email Assistant?
Strip away the buzzwords and an AI email assistant is pretty simple: it's software that reads your emails and helps you deal with them faster.
The "AI" part means it can understand context, not just match keywords. So instead of setting up 50 different Gmail filters ("if from: boss AND contains: urgent, then..."), the AI just gets it. It knows a message from your biggest client about a deadline is more important than a newsletter, even if neither contains the word "urgent."
The good ones can also draft replies for you. Not perfect first drafts—I'll be honest about that—but solid starting points that capture the right tone and hit the key points. You edit and send. What used to take 5 minutes takes 30 seconds.
What AI Email Assistants Actually Do Well
After testing dozens of tools (and building one), here's what genuinely works:
Automatic sorting that actually makes sense. The best AI assistants categorize emails without you lifting a finger. Work emails, personal stuff, newsletters, receipts, spam—sorted before you even open your inbox. This alone changed how I start my mornings.
Draft replies for routine emails. "Thanks for sending this over, I'll review and get back to you by Friday." "Got it, adding to the calendar." "Here's the document you requested." These responses don't need creativity. Let the AI handle them.
Surfacing what matters. When you have 100 emails, knowing which 5 actually need attention right now is huge. Good AI can flag these without you having to wade through everything else.
Learning your patterns. The more you use it, the better it gets at predicting how you'd respond, what you'd prioritize, and what you'd ignore.
What Doesn't Work (Yet)
I want to be honest here because most AI tool marketing won't be:
Fully automated responses without review. We're not there yet. AI can draft, but you should always read before sending. It occasionally misses nuance, gets a name wrong, or responds too formally (or too casually) for the situation. Always review.
Replacing human judgment for complex situations. If a client emails upset about a project issue, the AI can give you a starting point, but you need to craft the response yourself. Emotional intelligence still matters.
Working magic without any setup. You'll get 80% of the value immediately, but the last 20%—the really personalized stuff—requires feeding the AI information about your business, your common responses, your preferences. It takes some investment.
How I Decide If Someone Actually Needs This
Not everyone does. Seriously.
If you get 10 emails a day and they're mostly from people you know, you probably don't need an AI assistant. You need 10 minutes and a cup of coffee.
But you might need an AI email assistant if:
- You regularly have 50+ unread emails by end of day
- You've missed important emails because they got buried
- You spend more than an hour daily on email
- You manage multiple email accounts
- A lot of your replies are variations of the same thing
- The thought of opening your inbox makes you tired
If three or more of those sound like you, this technology can genuinely help. If none do, save your money.
Why I Built Mailkea
I tried a lot of existing tools before building my own. Some were too complicated—dashboards with a million options that took longer to configure than just answering emails. Others were too simple, basically glorified spam filters.
What I wanted was something in between: smart enough to actually help, simple enough that I could set it up in 5 minutes and just... use it.
So that's what Mailkea tries to be.
When an email comes in, it gets automatically categorized—work, personal, newsletters, receipts, whatever. Important stuff floats to the top. When I need to reply, I can generate a draft with one click, edit if needed, and send. For clients who ask the same questions repeatedly, I built a knowledge base so the AI actually knows what to say about my products and policies.
Is it perfect? No. Is it dramatically better than my inbox was two years ago? Absolutely.
The Honest Trade-offs
Using any AI email tool means trusting it with sensitive data. Your emails contain private conversations, business deals, personal information. That's not a decision to take lightly.
When I built Mailkea, I made privacy non-negotiable. Your emails are encrypted. We don't sell data. We don't use your emails to train models for other users. But I'd encourage you to ask these questions of any AI email tool you consider. If they're vague about data handling, that's a red flag.
There's also a learning curve. Not a steep one, but it exists. You'll need to spend maybe 20-30 minutes in the first week understanding how the AI categorizes things, training it on your preferences, and building up your knowledge base if you want accurate responses. After that, it mostly runs itself.
Getting Started (If You Want To)
If you're curious, here's what I'd suggest:
Start with organization, not automation. Just having your inbox sorted automatically is a game-changer. Use that for a week before you touch anything else.
Generate drafts, but edit them. Don't just trust and send. Read what the AI produces, fix anything that feels off, and hit send. Over time, you'll edit less and less as the AI learns your style.
Build your knowledge base gradually. When you find yourself typing the same information repeatedly—your return policy, your pricing, your standard response to a common question—add it to the knowledge base. This is where the real time savings compound.
Be patient. It's not magic. It's a tool. Like any tool, it takes some time to figure out how to use it effectively.
My Inbox Now
I still get a lot of emails. That hasn't changed. What's changed is how I feel about it.
My mornings start with a categorized inbox. I scan the important stuff first—takes maybe 5 minutes. I generate quick drafts for anything routine, edit, send. The whole process that used to eat my entire morning now takes about 30 minutes.
That extra time? I use it for work that actually matters. Or sometimes, honestly, I just drink my coffee without staring at my phone.
That's the real win. Not "productivity hacks" or "crushing your inbox." Just... a calmer start to the day.
If you want to try Mailkea, there's a free tier that lets you test it out. No credit card, no commitment. If it helps, great. If not, no harm done.
And if you have questions—about Mailkea or AI email tools in general—feel free to reach out at david@mailkea.com. I actually read those emails. (The AI helps, but I read them.)
