Supercharge Your Email Workflow with AI

Most of us don’t realize just how much email consumes our day—until we measure it.

The average professional spends over 3 hours per day on email, which amounts to 15+ hours a week, or nearly two full workdays.

With over 347 billion emails sent daily, it’s no wonder inboxes have become digital stress zones.

After testing nearly a dozen AI email tools, I’ve found the biggest productivity boost often comes from pairing ChatGPT with my existing email client—especially when stakes are high and clarity matters.

Here’s my latest thinking on AI for email.

Cut your email time in half—and say exactly what you mean.

Email remains the backbone of business communication. But it’s also one of the biggest time drains. The asynchronous nature of email means you don’t get real-time feedback—so clarity, tone, and structure are critical.

Yet, too many people fire off messages without refining them. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use ChatGPT to draft, edit, and elevate your emails, without switching tools or adding overhead.

Dozens of AI-powered email apps have emerged—Superhuman, Shortwave, MailMaestro, Missive, and others—all promising automation, summarization, and tone optimization.

But unless they integrate directly with your email client (and your workflow), the value quickly drops off. The real winner? Likely Gmail and Outlook in the long-term, which dominate market share and are increasingly embedding native AI capabilities.

That said, their current capabilities are still limited compared to top third-party tools.

Here’s why I use ChatGPT: it’s the most capable email model so far, but it’s not well integrated into your email client. While Microsoft 365 uses a similar model, the experience still seems lacking in my experience.

That’s why I integrate ChatGPT into my email flow using a simple copy-paste routine. I typically use keyboard shortcuts to launch ChatGPT. On Mac you can launch it using the keyboard shortcut Option + Space.

On Windows, press Alt + Space to open the companion chat when the ChatGPT app is open.

Here’s why this setup works well for me.

Rough-draft your email—even just a few bullet points.

Trigger ChatGPT on your desktop using the shortcut (Mac: Option + Space | Windows: Alt + Space).

Paste your draft and iterate live in the floating ChatGPT window.

Polish with Canvas—especially useful for sensitive, strategic, or customer-facing communication.

Add your human touch—then hit send.

This approach lets me stay in flow—without switching between tabs or apps. It’s fast, contextual, and responsive to tone and structure in real time.

Here are five you can paste directly into ChatGPT to up level your next message:

“Rewrite this thread to persuade the reader toward [desired outcome].”

“Take this email and reduce tension—make it more collaborative without being passive.”

“Turn this update into a clear, professional email explaining what I’m doing and why it matters.”

“Summarize this internal thread into a client-facing response with a confident tone.”

“Translate this draft into a 2-paragraph note that educates without sounding condescending.”

If you’re curious about other tools, here are the most noteworthy I’ve tried:

Beyond writing, AI can transform how you manage your inbox.

I use SaneBox to filter noise, surface priorities, and snooze distractions. It helps me focus on actionable messages—and ignore the rest.

Shortwave organizes my inbox with threads and labels.

Zapier links Gmail labels to tasks—so tagging an email “Action Item” sends it to Notion.

My Notion Task Management Toolbox tracks everything in context.

End result? No more to-dos buried in emails. It all flows into a single, usable workspace.

Email isn’t going anywhere—but the way we write them has to evolve. ChatGPT doesn’t replace your voice; it helps shape it faster and more effectively. In a world where attention is short and inboxes are overflowing, every message matters. Make yours count.

Let’s be honest: with market share dominance and deep pockets, Gmail and Outlook are best positioned to absorb AI natively and dominate the space. Gmail’s Help Me Write feature is already a notable step toward native AI integration.

But until those features match the nuance and flexibility of tools like ChatGPT and Shortwave, your best bet is to combine them. Use ChatGPT for the thinking and drafting. Use your inbox to deliver.

Microsoft’s Copilot AI for Outlook aims to streamline communication with features like smart reply drafting, meeting summaries, and inbox triage. You can prompt Copilot with natural language—“Draft a reply agreeing to this request”—and it delivers a first pass.

But in practice, results can feel overly formal or rigid. Copilot is well-integrated and enterprise-aligned, but like Gemini, it’s still refining how well it meets the nuanced needs of human communication (Microsoft).

Google's Gemini AI has been integrated into Gmail, offering features like email summarization and drafting assistance. While the underlying model shows promise, the current email experience feels inconsistent. Users have reported variability in performance, with some instances of Gemini failing to provide accurate summaries or appropriate responses. As it stands, Gemini is a step in the right direction but hasn't fully matured into a reliable email assistant.

Email is asynchronous by design. That means clarity is currency—and AI can be your editor, strategist, and tone-checker in one. ChatGPT helps you write better, faster emails without losing your voice. Start small. Iterate live.

Then add your human touch.

I appreciate your support.