Perplexity launches an AI assistant for your inbox – but you won’t believe how much it costs

Perplexity releases new AI email assistant for writing, summarizing and more
It works across Gmail and Outlook, and promises big productivity gains
However it will only be available as part of a subscription costing $200/month

Perplexity has introduced a new AI tool designed to act as a personal AI assistant to turn emails into actionable insights, but it comes at a cost.

Although in isolation, the new Email Assistant tool might not seem so pricey, it’s only available to Perplexity Max subscribers, meaning a combined monthly bill of $200.

Perplexity says Email Assistant can draft email replies in your tone and style, handle back-and-forth scheduling, add meeting to your calendars, provide summaries of emails and meetings, and lets you ask questions about your inbox. It also organizes emails with smart labels, and works across Gmail and Outlook.

Email Assistant for Perplexity Max

For existing subscribers, Email Assistant adds more value to the high-tier plan, which includes unlimited Labs, early access to new features and advanced model options, but for non-subscribers, it’s a very expensive option for a modest boost in productivity.

The productivity benefits aren’t entirely clear, with Perplexity boasting that users could see a productivity boost of 3-18x per day – a big range.

But, importantly for companies (who are likely the biggest subscribers), SOC 2 and GDPR compliance ensures maximum data privacy, and Perplexity promises never to train on user data thanks to enterprise-grade encryption.

To interact with the Email Assistant, users must either email assistant@perplexity.com or CC the address in threads. “The email assistant knows it’s you and gets right to work,” Perplexity said.

All of that being said, Perplexity isn’t the only company offering generative AI assistance within the email environment, and it’s far from the cheapest.

Google’s Gemini already integrates with Gmail to summarize email threads, find information in inboxes and craft responses. Microsoft’s Copilot also integrates into Outlook for scheduling, taking action, summarizing and more.