How to Use AI Tools as Your Personal Executive Assistant

An executive assistant keeps your day in order so you can focus on the work that matters. AI tools can now take on much of the routine:

• Summarize your inbox
• Draft replies in your tone
• Find open meeting times
• Brief you before meetings
• Turn notes into tasks
• Track follow-ups and deadlines
• Research and plan trips

AI takes the routine. You keep the decisions.

Gemini

The best fit if you live in Gmail, Calendar, and Google Docs

Microsoft Copilot

The best fit if you work in Outlook, Teams, and Microsoft 365

Claude

Strong at writing and prep, with connectors for Gmail, Calendar, and Drive

ChatGPT

Links to email and calendar apps on paid plans

Agent apps

Grok Bot and Meta Muse can run multi-step tasks once you approve them

What each tool can read or send depends on your plan and, at work, on your admin’s settings. Confirm before you depend on it.

I am [role]. My top priorities this quarter: [priorities]. Key people: [names and roles]. My working hours: [hours]. My meeting preferences: [meeting rules]. My email tone: [tone]. Always check with me before sending anything or accepting a meeting.

Store this in custom instructions, a Claude Project, or a ChatGPT project, so you only write it once.

Brief me on today: each meeting with a one-line prep note, the five most important unread emails, this week’s deadlines, and anything I committed to doing.

• Sort email into reply today, reply this week, read later, and ignore
• Draft replies to the urgent messages
• Unsubscribe from newsletters you never open
• Flag messages that need your decision

Let AI write the draft. Send only what you have read.

• Find times that work for everyone
• Guard your focus blocks
• Leave buffers between meetings
• Draft invites that include an agenda
• Flag meetings to cancel or shorten

Get me ready for my meeting with [person or company]. Summarize our recent emails, the open issues, their goals, and three questions I should ask.

• Record or transcribe meetings only when everyone consents
• Summarize the decisions and action items
• Draft the follow-up email
• Add tasks with due dates to your to-do list

• Research travel options that fit your budget
• Draft documents and reports
• Compare vendors or products
• Track renewals and key dates

Always give the go-ahead before your assistant:

• Sends any email or message
• Accepts or declines a meeting
• Books or buys anything
• Shares a file
• Deletes anything

• Follow your company’s AI policy for work email
• Connect only the accounts you need
• Never paste passwords or one-time codes into a chat
• Review training and data settings
• Disconnect accounts you no longer use

Morning

10 minutes for the briefing and inbox triage

Before meetings

A prep summary for each one

After meetings

Notes, tasks, and draft follow-ups

End of day

Review the drafts and plan tomorrow