How to manage email with AI without losing control

Triage: four decisions for every email

The most reliable method is to make one decision per email, once. When you open one, pick one of these four options and never just leave it “for later”:

• Reply now: if it takes under two minutes, do it.
• Turn it into a task: if it needs work, write it down with a date and archive it from the inbox.
• Delegate: if it belongs to someone else, forward it with one line of context and, if it matters, note when to check back.
• Archive or delete: notifications, FYI copies and newsletters you won't read.

Email time blocks instead of email all day

Checking email every few minutes breaks up your work. For most roles two or three blocks a day are enough, say first thing, after lunch and before you finish. If your job needs fast replies (support, sales), decide which senders or subjects deserve an instant notification and mute the rest.

Tell your team and regular clients how you work: if they know you reply within the day, nobody expects an answer in five minutes. Anything truly urgent will reach you by phone or chat anyway.

Filters that are actually worth it

A few well-chosen rules remove a lot of noise. Start with these:

• Newsletters and tool notifications to a label you review once a week.
• Supplier invoices and receipts to a folder for bookkeeping.
• Emails where you're CC'd kept apart from those addressed to you.
• Unsubscribe from anything you haven't opened in the last month.

What AI can do (and what you shouldn't hand over)

AI is good at sorting, summarising long threads and writing a first draft with the conversation's context. It's bad at knowing what hasn't been written down: your relationship with a client, a delicate negotiation, or what you discussed on the phone.

• Delegate: separating requests from FYIs, thread summaries, first drafts, reminders.
• Always review: any email going outside the company, especially with figures, dates or commitments.
• Don't delegate: decisions, bad news, sensitive conversations with people.

How to choose an AI email assistant

Before connecting your inbox to any tool, check these points:

• Where your data is stored and whether there's a data processing agreement (GDPR).
• Whether it can send emails on its own or always asks for approval.
• Whether colleagues or your manager can see what it reads from your inbox.
• Whether it learns from your edits, and whether you can see and delete what it learned.
• Whether it handles your language well: tone doesn't translate word for word.

How Tessa automates it

Tessa does the triage for you: it reads each new email, decides whether it asks something of you and, if so, creates a task with a priority and a date under “For you”. Anything you've already answered, archived or that was just an automated notice closes itself, so the list reflects what's really pending.

For emails that need an answer, it leaves a draft in your tone, using what's already been said in the thread. You review it, change it if you want, and it goes out as you. If someone asks to meet, it suggests free slots from your calendar. Every edit you make teaches it your style, which you can review and delete whenever you like.