Task

Design an AI-powered assistant to prioritize emails, automate responses, and integrate tasks across tools

Team

1 Product Designer

Duration

8 weeks

Scope

UX/UI design, intelligent workflows, AI-powered features

About the product

Email remains the backbone of business communication, but for most professionals, it’s also the place where focus goes to die. Important messages are buried under noise, and tasks stay hidden inside endless threads.

The goal was to design an email AI assistant that sits on top of existing platforms and transforms inboxes into something smarter: less manual sorting and more connected workflows.

Design focus

To be valuable in everyday work, the email assistant AI tool had to:

spot priority messages automatically and let people filter by urgency;
summarize long emails into clear actions, not just text blocks;
draft replies while still leaving users in control;
connect email with calendars, HR, and project tools instead of being “just another app.”

AI email assistant: turning inbox overload into actionable workflows Cieden

Challenges

urgency detection and auto-replies happen in the background, so the UI had to surface why a decision was made;
users needed to see suggestions and stay in charge, not feel like the AI was sending things on its own;
instead of a new app, the assistant had to feel like a natural extension of the inbox UI.

Results

fewer missed priorities, with urgent messages surfaced clearly in context;
long threads distilled into concise recaps and next steps;
replies drafted in the right tone, reducing cognitive load for users;
tasks and schedules flowing directly into existing tools without extra setup.

Priority detection & custom filtering

Most inboxes offer rules and labels, but they might be tedious to set up and rarely keep up with real work.

The idea was to let the AI email assistant do the sorting, but in a way that still felt controllable for the user by making sure they could always see why a message was flagged and adjust the logic:

urgency labels: critical messages appear at the top of the inbox so nothing gets lost;
quick filters: people can slice their inbox by category instantly, no rule-writing required;
contextual scheduling: proposed calendar slots appear right inside urgent threads, reducing back-and-forth.

Email management

We wanted users to stay in flow instead of bouncing between apps. That meant turning each email into a small workspace:

inline summaries: every new email comes with a short recap, so users see the key points immediately;
scenario suggestions: AI proposes possible actions, like scheduling a demo or consulting the marketing team;
tone control: users can tweak replies to sound more friendly or confident;
smart add-ons: contextual prompts suggest relevant attachments (pricing sheets, decks) based on context.

Reply automation

Being away from the desk means either drowning in emails later or spending hours setting up filters. With reply automation, users can quickly set out-of-office preferences in plain language with no complex rule builders:

smart forwarding: project-related emails get routed to the right teammate automatically;
priority notifications: only urgent senders trigger mobile alerts;
contextual auto-replies: AI drafts polite responses that explain when you’d be back and reassure follow-up.

Tasks assistance

Managing files and follow-ups through email is usually messy with multiple versions of the same document and long proposals without clear next steps hiding inside email threads. The AI assistant reduces this friction with:

smart document handling: the system groups versions and offers smart naming for clarity;
quick context: AI generates company overviews and background details for new senders;
actionable insights: It also creates a concise plan of suggested actions instead of leaving users to parse long threads.

Task management integration

Emails often contain work that goes beyond communication. To avoid things slipping through the cracks, the assistant helps turn them into trackable tasks.

context capture: the AI gathers all versions of shared documents and can apply smart naming for quick recognition;
proactive suggestions: when a new proposal or request arrives, the assistant not only summarizes but also recommends next steps like “research sender” or “draft reply plan”;
emergency handling: in cases like unexpected leave, the system suggests immediate actions (notify HR, reassign project) and longer-term measures (contingency planning).