AI email assistant
Compare AI Email
Assistants
What we do
Compare Advantage is a free comparison service. Tell us how email works in your business, and we match you with UK providers of AI email assistants that sort your inbox and draft replies to enquiries, with you deciding what gets sent.
- Sorts the inbox and drafts replies to enquiries
- You choose what it sends and what waits for you
- Works with the email you already use
Prefer to talk? Call 0330 057 7175
- UK providersMatched to your business
- One short formInstead of a demo per provider
- You set the rulesAnd a person stays in charge
- Open about AIIt says it is an AI assistant
- Free to compareNo obligation to go ahead
Compare before you commit
Start with drafts, not autopilot
The fastest way to lose trust in an AI email assistant is to let it send everything on day one. The providers worth using let you start cautiously: the assistant sorts and drafts, you approve, and you widen what it can send on its own as it proves itself. They also differ a lot on how much of your mailbox they need to see and what they do with it. Comparing those details matters more than comparing feature lists.
- 1
Tell us once
A minute on the form: what you need help with, your business and how busy the phones are.
- 2
We match providers
Your request goes to UK AI agent providers that suit your size and the way you work.
- 3
You choose
Compare what they offer, try it, and only go ahead if it fits. There is no obligation.
What to compare
- Draft-only or auto-send. Can you start with it drafting replies for you to approve, and only let it send on its own once you trust it?
- What access it needs to your mailbox, calendar and contacts, and whether you can limit it to one shared inbox.
- Where your emails are processed and stored, how long they are kept, and whether the provider signs a data processing agreement.
- How it learns your answers: from approved templates and your website, or from your past emails. Know what it reads.
- Which email systems it works with, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and any CRM or booking system you use.
How it works
From inbox to reply, in five steps
What a typical AI email assistant does with each new message. You decide where you step in.
- Step 1
Reads
New emails and website form enquiries arrive in the inbox you connect.
- Step 2
Sorts
It labels each one: new enquiry, existing customer, invoice, spam, needs you.
- Step 3
Drafts
For the types you allow, it writes a reply using your approved answers.
- Step 4
You approve
You read, edit or send. Over time you may let routine replies go out on their own.
- Step 5
Follows up
If an enquiry goes quiet, it can draft a polite follow-up for you to send.
Setting the rules
What to let it send, and what to keep
A starting point for most small businesses. Adjust it as you see how the assistant performs.
| Type of email | AI role | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| New enquiry from your website | Good fit | Acknowledge, answer common questions, ask the next question or offer a booking |
| Booking or appointment request | Good fit, if your booking system connects | Offer times, confirm, send details |
| Quote follow-up | Draft for approval | A polite nudge, but the price and terms are yours |
| Complaint | Draft for approval, or pass straight to you | Tone matters; a person should send it |
| Anything legal, financial or sensitive | Pass to you | Do not let it send on its own |
| Invoices and supplier emails | Sort only | Labelled and filed for you or your bookkeeper |
Your data
Give it the smallest key that works
An email assistant needs to read email to be useful. That makes access the most important decision you make about it.
- Connect a shared enquiries inbox, not everyone’s personal mailbox
- Check exactly which permissions it asks for when you connect it
- Ask where emails are processed and stored, and for how long
- Get a data processing agreement: under UK GDPR the provider usually acts for you
- Update your privacy notice to say how enquiries are handled
- Know how to disconnect it, and what happens to your data when you do
Know the line
Replying is service. Promoting is marketing.
An AI that answers people who have emailed you is doing customer service. An AI that sends promotional emails to people who have not asked is doing direct marketing, and that is covered by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) as well as UK GDPR.
Most problems start when the two blur: a helpful follow-up turns into a sales pitch, or a contact form becomes a mailing list. Set the assistant up for service, and treat any marketing separately.
Usually fine for the assistant
Acknowledging an enquiry, answering the question asked, offering a booking, sending the quote that was requested, and a polite follow-up on it.
Treat as marketing
Offers, newsletters and promotions, especially to people who have not bought from you or agreed to hear from you. Check the PECR rules first, or see our AI sales agents page.
Questions
AI email assistant questions
See all AI agents, or AI customer service and chat.
Compare email assistantsWhat is an AI email assistant?
Software that reads the emails coming into your business, sorts them and drafts replies, using answers and rules you set. Some can send routine replies on their own; most let you approve each one first.
Will it send emails without me checking?
Only if you let it. A sensible start is draft-only, where every reply waits for you. Once you trust it on a type of email, such as acknowledging a new enquiry, you can let that type go out automatically.
Does it work with Outlook and Gmail?
Many providers connect to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. Check each provider against the email system, and any CRM or booking tool, you already use.
Is it safe to give an AI access to my inbox?
It can be, with the right provider and settings. Give it the narrowest access it needs, ideally one shared enquiries inbox rather than everyone’s email. Ask where emails are processed and stored, how long they are kept, and for a data processing agreement.
What about data protection?
Your business remains responsible for the personal data in your emails under UK GDPR. The provider usually acts as your processor, so you need a contract with it. Update your privacy notice to say how enquiries are handled.
Can it send marketing emails?
That is a different job with different rules. Replying to someone who has emailed you is service; sending promotional emails is direct marketing, which has its own consent rules under PECR. Keep the two separate.
Will customers know a reply was written by AI?
You decide how replies are signed. Being open, for example signing automated acknowledgements as your assistant, is good practice and builds trust.
Can it follow up quotes for me?
Yes, many can draft a follow-up when an enquiry or quote has gone quiet. Keep prices and terms in your hands; let it nudge, not negotiate.
Is it the same as an AI receptionist?
They do similar jobs on different channels. Many providers offer both, so calls and emails are handled by the same rules. See our answering service comparison.
How do I know it is working?
Check the sorted inbox and the drafts every day for the first few weeks. Look at how quickly enquiries get a first reply, and how many need you to rewrite the draft.
Sources
- ICO: Right to be informed (UK GDPR)
- ICO: Guide to PECR, electronic mail marketing
- ICO: Contracts and liabilities between controllers and processors
Written by the Compare Advantage team, Chorley. Facts checked against the sources above on 4 November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Compare Advantage is a free comparison and introduction service. We pass your details to suitable AI agent providers so they can contact you about your request, and providers may pay us for the introduction. It costs you nothing to compare.