Comparison · Motion
Motion vs Tessa: plan your time, or find out what needs doing
Motion is a productivity app that uses AI to fit your tasks and projects into your calendar. Tessa starts one step earlier: she finds the tasks in your email, Slack and meetings, prioritises them and gets the next step ready.
Planning your tasks helps little if you do not know what they are
Day-planning tools start from a task list. In many small companies the problem sits before that list: tasks are buried in emails, Slack messages and meetings, and nobody writes them down. What never reaches the list never gets planned, and ends up forgotten.
If you are looking for a Motion alternative, you may not need another planner but someone who reads everything that comes in, pulls out what you are being asked for and takes care of replies and follow-ups.
How it works with Tessa
- 1
Connect your email, calendar and Slack
One click connects your Google account and Slack. Tessa starts reading what comes in.
- 2
Review your prioritised tasks
Every email or message that asks you for something becomes a task with priority and a date. What you already answered, or was just a notification, closes itself.
- 3
Reply and schedule in one click
Tessa drafts the reply in your tone. If someone asks to meet, she suggests free slots and creates the event with Meet.
- 4
Automate the repetitive parts
Write routines such as “if a client has not replied in 3 days, follow up” and Tessa takes it from there.
What you get
- Tasks appear on their ownNo need to write down what people ask you by email or Slack: Tessa turns it into tasks with priority and a date.
- Less noise in your inboxNotifications and already-resolved threads close without you lifting a finger.
- Replies ready to goEvery task that needs an answer comes with a reply drafted in your tone, sent in one click.
- Meetings that create tasksTessa takes notes and assigns the tasks to each owner (Meet; Zoom and Teams in beta).
- For the whole teamEveryone gets their own assistant, and leaders see blocked or overdue work, never individual activity.
What Motion is
Motion is a productivity app that combines calendar, tasks and project management, and uses AI to schedule when to do each task based on deadlines and priorities. When things change, it rearranges your calendar for you.
It is especially useful for people and teams who want to protect time for deep work and stop deciding every morning what to do first.
Information about Motion is based on its public website as of October 2026; it may change.
How Tessa is different
Motion answers “when do I do this?”. Tessa answers “what needs doing, and how do I get it done?”. She reads email, Slack, meetings and, in beta, WhatsApp Business, and turns requests into prioritised tasks with the reply already drafted.
Tessa does not block out your calendar for focused work. What she does is schedule the meetings people ask for, brief you ten minutes before each one and remind you of commitments and follow-ups.
- Tasks from email, Slack and meetings, with priority and a date.
- One-click replies and automatic follow-ups.
- Meeting scheduling with suggested free slots.
- Routines in plain language, and approval for anything going out.
When to choose Motion
If your tasks are already clear and what you lack is time planning, Motion is a very good option. It suits people with lots of focused work and teams running projects with deadlines who want the calendar to adjust itself.
Tessa does not plan your calendar automatically, so if that is what you are after, Motion will serve you better.
When to choose Tessa
Choose Tessa if your day disappears into email, Slack and meetings, and what slips is what people ask you for on those channels. She fits small companies and startups on Google Workspace and Slack that want incoming work to sort itself and follow-ups that do not rely on anyone’s memory.
The two can coexist: Tessa finds and prepares the work, and you decide how to plan your time.
| Motion | Tessa | |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Scheduling tasks and projects into the calendar | AI assistant for the whole company |
| Automatic calendar planning | ✓ Its strength | ✗ |
| Tasks detected in email and Slack | Not its focus | ✓ |
| Drafted replies | Not its focus | ✓ In your tone, one click |
| Scheduling meetings people ask for | Check its website | ✓ Free slots and a Meet event |
| Meeting notes | Check its website | ✓ Meet; Zoom and Teams in beta |
| Data stored in the EU (Tessa) | Check its data policy | ✓ |
What Tessa reads for each person stays private, your data is stored in the EU and nothing goes out without your approval.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Motion alternative?
It depends on the job. If you want AI to plan your calendar, look at other planners. If you want tasks to surface on their own from email, Slack and meetings, with replies drafted and follow-ups handled, Tessa is built for that.
Does Tessa organise my calendar like Motion?
No. Tessa does not slot your tasks into time blocks. She schedules meetings people ask for, briefs you before each meeting and flags what is urgent.
How does Tessa prioritise tasks?
By what is being asked, who is asking and by when. She also learns from your corrections: every time you change a priority or a reply, she adjusts what counts as urgent for you. You can see what she has learned and delete it.
Can I use Motion and Tessa together?
Yes. Tessa finds and prepares the work that arrives through your channels; Motion helps you decide when to do it.
Is Tessa for the whole team or just for me?
The whole team. Each person connects their own email and Slack and gets a private task inbox. Tasks from meetings are assigned to each owner, and leaders see what is blocked or overdue, never anyone’s activity.
Is it free?
There is a Free plan for teams of up to 3 people, with tasks from email, one-click replies and follow-ups. No card needed.
Keep reading
- FeaturesEvery email that asks for something becomes a taskTessa reads your email and Slack, turns every request into a prioritized task with a due date and clears what's already done. Try it free.
- FeaturesAutomations you write the way you'd say themWrite “every Monday, remind clients with overdue invoices” and Tessa does it every week, with your approval for anything leaving the company.
- FeaturesWalk into every meeting knowing what it's aboutTen minutes before each meeting, Tessa tells you who's coming, what you discussed last time and what's still open with them. Try it free.
- FeaturesIf they go quiet, Tessa remembers for youTell Tessa “follow up if they don't reply in 3 days” and she'll have the reminder drafted in the same thread, ready to send. Start for free.
- CompareLindy vs Tessa: build your own agents, or get an assistant ready to workLindy lets you build your own AI agents. Tessa comes ready: email, Slack, meetings and plain-language routines for small teams. Compare and try Tessa free.
What does your team look like?
Same AI for both. Where you start is what changes.
Startups
5 to 30 people
Grow without losing the thread
Tasks from email and Slack, follow-ups, sales and investors, without everything landing on the founders.
Companies
30 to 250 people
What gets decided gets done
Minutes and tasks from every meeting, commitments that get followed up and a pulse per team, without watching anyone.
Connect your email and find out how many tasks were hiding in your inbox.
Start freeFree plan for teams of up to 3 people. Anything that leaves the company waits for your approval.