Read AI launches a email based ‘digital twin’ to help you with schedules and answers
Source: TechCrunch
Overview
Read AI’s meeting‑notetaking platform launched an AI‑powered, email‑based assistant called Ada. The tool is marketed as a “digital twin” that can manage schedules, answer questions from a company’s knowledge base, and handle out‑of‑office replies—all via email.
Ada can be activated by sending an email to ada@read.ai with the subject line “Get me started.” Once set up, it interacts directly within email threads.
Scheduling
- When you ask Ada to find a time to meet, it replies to the other participant with your available slots.
- If the recipient proposes a different time, Ada suggests new options.
- Ada accesses your calendar through Read AI but does not disclose the nature of the meetings to others.
Knowledge‑Base Queries
Ada can pull information from:
- Your company’s internal knowledge base
- Topics discussed in prior meetings
- Public internet searches
Example query:
“Ada, can you provide an update on how we are tracking for Q1 goals?”
Drafting Replies
If someone else asks a question in a thread, Ada prepares a draft response for you to review and refine before sending. The assistant will not reveal sensitive information without your explicit permission.
Technical Details
Read AI’s VP of Product, Justin Farris, explained that Ada does not rely on MCPs (Model Context Protocols). Instead, it builds a knowledge graph from meeting data and connected services to deliver more contextual answers. Over time, Ada will take proactive actions—for instance, prompting you to schedule a follow‑up item mentioned during a meeting.
Company Perspective
CEO David Shim described the solution as akin to training a new employee: once Ada is added to your workflow and linked to additional services, it “ramps up” and handles an expanding set of tasks.
“When you are bringing on a new employee, you train them. When you add Ada to your workflow and connect more services to give more context, it starts to ramp up and handle more tasks for you.” – David Shim, TechCrunch interview
Availability & Growth
- Currently available via email; Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations are slated for the near future.
- Read AI reports over 5 million monthly active users, aiming for 10 million.
- Approximately 50 000 new sign‑ups occur daily, with a broader audience of 100 000 users consuming content (e.g., meeting summaries) without an account.
- The U.S. remains the largest market, but 60 % of users are international, and revenue is split roughly evenly across regions.
Funding & Product Suite
Read AI has raised over $81 million in funding (see the announcement here). Recent product launches include:
- Search Copilot – an AI tool for cross‑platform knowledge discovery (announced here).
- New capabilities to update customer‑service relationship software, send custom emails from meeting reports, and stay up‑to‑date on topics using internal and web knowledge (details here).
Competitive Landscape
Other meeting‑notetaking platforms are also expanding their AI features:
- Granola added “recipes” (repeatable prompts) to surface knowledge from meeting data (TechCrunch article).
- Quill (recently emerged from stealth with a $6.5 M round) integrates with tools like Linear, Notion, and various CRMs to automate tasks (Quill website)).
Image Credit: Read AI