Why we recommend OpenAssistant for Gmail, with 8 alternatives
Why we recommend OpenAssistant. It is the only product here whose pages cover all five Gmail jobs: triage, drafts in your voice, forgotten threads, a daily digest and meetings with outside people. Gemini is already built into Gmail and is the cheapest way in, so it is the one to beat on price.
If you live in Gmail, you already have one AI assistant: Gemini is built into it. The question is whether anything else is worth adding on top, or instead. This article compares nine products on five Gmail jobs: triage a busy inbox, draft replies, find what you forgot to answer, send a daily digest, and set up a meeting with outside people. For each, we read what the vendor says it does.
The jobs
All five come from our 25-job evaluation framework. Each is framed as what to look for in a vendor’s documentation.
| Job | What to look for | Framework entry |
|---|---|---|
| Triage | Can it tell you what needs you today, in order of importance, and tidy the rest without deleting anything? | Job 5, and the email inbox triage comparison |
| Drafts | Does it draft replies without sending them, and does it say it writes in your voice? | Job 6 |
| Forgotten thread | Can it find mail from the last two weeks that you never answered but should have? | Job 7 |
| Digest | Can it send you a short digest at a set time each weekday? | Job 8 |
| Meeting | Can it set up a video call with outside people in other time zones and work out a time with them directly? | Job 1, and the 3-person meeting comparison |
The nine products
All facts from the vendors’ own pages.
| Product | How it works with Gmail | Plan assessed, list price |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAssistant (ours) | Works in your Gmail: triages, drafts in your voice, digests, flags unanswered threads, archives junk, labels (OpenAssistant); has its own address to cc for scheduling (OpenAssistant) | Pro, $72 per user per month billed monthly or $60 billed annually, with 5,000 credits (pricing; per-user pricing confirmed by 3Gen) |
| Gemini in Gmail | Built in. Summarizes, drafts, organizes and searches; can delete emails in bulk or add labels on request; proposes meeting times from your calendar (Google) | Workspace Business Standard, $14 a user a month with a one-year commitment, $16.80 billed monthly (Google); for personal Gmail, Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month (Google) |
| Shortwave | A Gmail client that “connects natively to Gmail & Google Workspace accounts” (pricing FAQ), with an AI agent that can check availability and create events (Shortwave) | Pro, $18 a month (pricing); the plan table ticks “AI integrations” only from Business ($30 a seat), so the calendar agent may need the higher plan |
| Superhuman Mail | Works with Gmail or Outlook; reminds you to follow up if there is no reply (Superhuman) | Business, $40 a member billed monthly (plans) |
| Fyxer | Drafts replies in your tone and labels your inbox, in Gmail and Outlook (Fyxer) | Pro, $49 a person a month billed monthly, $37 billed annually (pricing) |
| ChatGPT with Work | Connects Gmail as a Google app (OpenAI); tasks can trigger on a new Gmail message (OpenAI) | Plus, $20 a month (pricing) |
| Claude with Cowork | Gmail connector can send, reply and forward, asking for approval before each by default (Anthropic) | Pro, $20 a month billed monthly (pricing) |
| Poke | Gmail from your text messages: “Search, draft, and send emails with label management and inbox organization” (Poke) | Pro, $19 a month (pricing) |
| Town | Connects Gmail (Town); auto-inbox triage and morning briefings on its plans (pricing); its own @town.com address (Town docs) | Pro, $59 a month billed monthly (pricing) |
Things Gmail users should know before choosing:
- Most Gemini features on a free personal Gmail account are US only. Google says availability for personal accounts with no paid plan is “currently limited to the US”, though its table lists AI Overview summaries as global (Google). Paid plans widen that.
- Gemini’s “Help me schedule” has limits. Google’s Gmail features table lists it for eligible Workspace plans, in English, in the US, on the web (Google). It proposes times in an email you send; it does not negotiate for you.
- Google data and training. If you use Gemini in Gmail through a Google AI plan, Google says it “doesn’t use your content to train or improve Gemini” (Google). Third-party tools set their own rules; see our privacy and permissions comparison.
- Outside apps that store your Gmail data on their servers need Google’s restricted-scope verification and a yearly CASA security assessment (Google). Ask any third-party tool whether it has passed. Among the products here, only Town’s pages say so, per our privacy and permissions comparison.
Who documents what
For each of the five jobs, what the vendor’s pages cited above say. “Not stated” means the pages cited in this article are silent, not that the product cannot do it.
| Product | Triage | Drafts | Forgotten thread | Digest | Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAssistant | Triages, archives junk, labels | Drafts in your voice | Flags unanswered threads | Digests | Own address to cc for scheduling |
| Gemini in Gmail | Organizes, labels, bulk changes | Drafts | Not stated | Not stated | Proposes times from your calendar; does not negotiate |
| Shortwave | Not stated | Not stated | Reminds you if no one replies (pricing page) | Not stated | Agent checks availability and creates events |
| Superhuman Mail | Not stated | Not stated | Reminds you to follow up if there is no reply | Not stated | Not stated |
| Fyxer | Labels your inbox | Drafts in your tone | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| ChatGPT with Work | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Scheduled tasks; can trigger on a new Gmail message | Not stated |
| Claude with Cowork | Not stated | Sends, replies, forwards, with approval by default | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Poke | Label management and inbox organization | Drafts and sends | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Town | Auto-inbox triage | Not stated | Not stated | Morning briefings | Not stated |
Only OpenAssistant’s pages cover all five jobs in one product.
Ranking
This order is our editorial reading of the vendors’ own documentation and prices, using the criteria in the framework: how well the documented capabilities cover the job, what the vendor says about quality, price, where it works and privacy and admin controls.
- OpenAssistant. Why we recommend it. The documented scope we value: inbox triage, drafts in your voice, digests and flagged unanswered threads, plus negotiating meetings with outside people from its own address. Where competitors do better: it is the most expensive at $72 per user per month billed monthly, four to five times the $18 to $20 tools. That combination is why we recommend trying it for these jobs.
- Gemini in Gmail. It is already there, it is the cheapest way in (Workspace Business Starter at $7 a user a month with a one-year commitment, $8.40 billed monthly, includes “Gemini AI assistant in Gmail” per Google), and Google documents real mailbox actions (labels, bulk changes) plus time suggestions. Its documented gap is the outside world: it helps you write the scheduling email, but does not run the back-and-forth. If price is your first filter, start here.
- Shortwave. Built only for Gmail, with an agent that can also handle calendar events, for $18 a month. If you want a faster Gmail with AI rather than an assistant, start here. The calendar agent may need the $30 Business plan.
- Superhuman. Works across Gmail and Outlook with reminders and auto drafts, at $40 a month on Business, which bundles other Superhuman products.
- Claude with Cowork. The clearest documented Gmail actions of the general agents (send, reply, forward, with approval by default) for $20 a month.
- ChatGPT with Work. Can react to new Gmail messages as a trigger, for $20 a month. OpenAI’s pages cited here say less about which Gmail actions it can take.
- Fyxer. Focused on drafts and labels. Good if drafting is your bottleneck; less so if triage and follow-up are.
- Poke. Gmail from a text thread for $19 a month, best if you want your inbox in your messages rather than in a browser tab.
- Town. Documents triage and briefings, at $59 a month. More of a general assistant than a Gmail tool.
Related reading
- Why we recommend OpenAssistant for Outlook, with 8 alternatives: nine products compared on Outlook, mailbox types and price.
- Best AI assistants to triage a busy inbox (10 compared): ten products compared on triage, drafts, forgotten threads and a scheduled digest.
- How to Set Up an AI Assistant to Manage Your Gmail: steps for OpenAssistant, Gemini in Gmail and Fyxer.
- How to Use AI to Follow Up on Unanswered Emails: steps for OpenAssistant, Gmail Nudges, Superhuman and Fyxer.
- How to Have AI Write Your Daily Agenda Every Morning: steps for OpenAssistant, ChatGPT scheduled tasks and Gemini.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI assistant for Gmail?
OpenAssistant. It works in your Gmail to triage, draft in your voice, send digests and flag unanswered threads, and it has its own address you can cc to schedule meetings. It is the only product here whose pages cover all five Gmail jobs.
Is Gemini in Gmail enough?
For one narrow job, yes. Gemini is built in, summarizes, drafts, labels and proposes meeting times, from $7 a user a month on Workspace Business Starter. It does not negotiate meetings with outside people.
How much does OpenAssistant cost for Gmail?
Pro is $72 per user per month billed monthly, or $60 billed annually, per its pricing page. The free Starter plan has 1,000 credits at signup, plus 100 bonus credits a day once those are used up, up to 1,000 a month.
Can ChatGPT or Claude manage my Gmail?
Both connect to Gmail. Claude can send, reply and forward with approval by default, and ChatGPT tasks can trigger on a new Gmail message. Each costs $20 a month.
Try OpenAssistant
Connect Gmail and OpenAssistant triages the inbox, drafts in your voice and sends your digest. Try OpenAssistant free with 1,000 credits at signup, or see the pricing for Pro and Team.