What an AI assistant does well
An AI assistant reads an email the way an attentive colleague would: it spots who is writing, what they are asking for and whether it is urgent. On everyday messages, it does this quickly and consistently, without getting tired.
Sorting and prioritising
It sorts incoming messages: quote request, order query, complaint, supplier invoice, unsolicited sales pitch. It can flag what needs a quick answer and what can wait.
Summarising and extracting
A long email thread becomes a summary of a few lines. Useful details (name, company, reference, quantity, requested date) can be carried over into a CRM record or a table, instead of being copied by hand.
Preparing drafts
Using your templates, your prices and your usual answers, it prepares a draft reply. You read it, correct it if needed, then send it. The time saved comes mostly from repetitive replies: lead times, documents to provide, appointment confirmations.
What it does not do, or does badly
An AI assistant is neither infallible nor all-knowing. It is important to know this before trusting it with anything.
- It can get things wrong: misread a reference, mix up two customers, misinterpret an ambiguous request.
- It can confidently state something inaccurate, especially if it has not been given the right source.
- It does not know what is not written down: an agreement made over the phone, tension with a customer, a planned goodwill gesture.
- It struggles with some attachments: poor-quality scans, drawings, handwritten documents.
- It does not make commercial decisions: granting a discount, accepting a delay, answering a serious complaint.
Why human approval is not optional
An email sent in your company’s name commits you. A pricing error, a delivery promise you cannot keep or a clumsy reply to an unhappy customer can cost you dearly, far more than the time saved.
That is why we configure our assistants to prepare and suggest, without sending on their own anything that commits the business: replies to customers, quotes, invoices. You keep the final say. For very simple messages, such as an acknowledgement of receipt, you can decide to allow automatic sending, but that is a choice you make, not a default setting.
This check takes little time when the draft is good, and it lets you quickly spot the cases where the assistant got it wrong. Over time, you will learn which types of message you can trust it with and where to stay alert.
Your data and confidentiality
Your emails contain information about your customers, your prices, and sometimes personal data. Before connecting an AI assistant to your mailbox, ask simple questions: what data is sent, to which service, where is it processed, and is it kept?
Our approach: only the data needed for the task is sent, hosting is chosen with you, including in Europe, and you keep ownership of your data and your access. If you are subject to the GDPR in France or the Swiss FADP (nLPD) in Switzerland, these points are part of the checks to carry out before you start.
Getting started with an AI assistant
There is no need to hand over everything at once. Projects that work start with one specific task, judged by how it feels to you: less time spent sorting, fewer forgotten replies.
- Pick a frequent, repetitive type of message, for example quote requests.
- Gather the information the assistant needs: prices, lead times, standard replies.
- Run in draft mode for several weeks, checking every message.
- Note the mistakes and adjust the instructions.
- Then extend to other types of message, if you are happy with the result.
A fictional example to picture how it works
Imagine a fictional sheet metal company that receives price requests every morning, mixed in with delivery confirmations. The assistant reads each message, recognises the quote requests, extracts the material, thickness, quantity and requested lead time, then creates a record in the CRM. It also prepares a draft acknowledgement listing any missing information, such as a drawing or a finish. The person in charge of quotes checks the record, fills in any gaps, approves the draft and focuses on the pricing.
What we offer
Our AI assistant, Aristide, is available from €79 excl. VAT per month. It sorts, summarises, prepares drafts and feeds your tools, with human approval for anything that commits your business. If you would first like to know where AI can really help you, the free 30-minute first call is the place to start.