Best AI executive assistants in 2026 — an honest roundup

"Best AI executive assistant" is the wrong question until you say who's asking. A founder who lives in iMessage wants something different from a sales team that needs approvals, and both want something different from a solo operator who just needs their inbox triaged. The tools below are genuinely good — they're just good at different jobs. This roundup lays out what each one is actually for as of 2026, so you can match the tool to the work instead of the marketing.

Everything here reflects each product's public positioning as of 2026. Pricing and features move fast, so treat specifics as a starting point and check each vendor's site before you commit. Full disclosure: we make Arlo, and it's on this list. We've tried to position it honestly next to the others rather than talk over them.

The best AI executive assistants at a glance

Assistant	Where it works	Best for	Pricing (as of 2026)
Lindy	Email, Slack, calendars, business apps	Inbox triage + workflow automation	~$29.99–$199.99 per user/mo, 7-day trial
Poke	iMessage, SMS, Telegram	Personal tasks over text	Light free, heavier paid
Martin	iOS, voice, text, email	Voice-first scheduling and reminders	See Martin's site
Catch	Text + voice calls	Proactive action, flat pricing	~$99/mo, calls included
April	Text messages, no app	Simple personal EA over text	~50 messages free, then ~$25/mo
Arlo	iMessage/SMS, Slack, WhatsApp, live calls	An AI colleague for a governed team	Free to start ($20 of usage a month) · Plus $20/mo · Max $100/mo

Lindy

Lindy, out of San Francisco, is the closest thing to a true executive-assistant-as-workflow-engine. As of 2026 it triages Gmail and Outlook, drafts replies in your voice, schedules, preps you for calls, records and summarizes meetings, and texts you the parts that matter — much of it operated over iMessage and SMS. Its "when this, do that" workflow builder is the real differentiator, and with a reported ~400K users it's one of the more proven options. If your problem is a flooded inbox and repetitive multi-step processes, Lindy is the pick. Pricing runs roughly $29.99–$199.99 per user/mo with a 7-day trial.

Poke

Poke, from The Interaction Company in Palo Alto (backed by General Catalyst, public since April 2026), is the friend-you-text version of an assistant. You sign up with a phone number, there's no app, and it lives in iMessage, SMS, and Telegram. It's tuned for personal life: daily planning, calendar, email filtering, flight check-ins, smart home, and shareable "Recipes." It's consumer-first and conversational, and it does that job well. If you want a sharp personal assistant for your own texts, Poke is a strong pick — see our Arlo vs Poke head-to-head. Pricing is light-free with heavier use paid.

Martin

Martin is the voice-first one. It's iOS-first and built around talking: manage email, calendar, and reminders by voice or text, with Gmail and Outlook connected. As of 2026 its lane is quick spoken interactions — reminders, scheduling, dashing off a message while you're walking. If the way you actually want to use an assistant is to speak to it, Martin was designed for exactly that.

Catch

Catch takes a different tack: it's built to proactively take action rather than wait to be asked, and it prices simply. As of 2026 it's roughly a flat $99/mo with voice calls included and no per-call fees, which makes budgeting easy if calling is central to your workflow. If you want an assistant that leans forward and you don't want to think about metered call costs, Catch is worth a look.

April

April is the minimalist personal EA. It lives entirely in text messages, with no app to install, and it's priced to try — your first ~50 messages are free, then it's about $25/mo for unlimited. As of 2026 it's a clean fit for someone who wants a lightweight personal assistant over SMS without a lot of setup or configuration.

Arlo

Here's our case, made plainly. The tools above each picked one lane — personal texter, inbox automator, voice, proactive action. Arlo is built for a different customer: a team that needs one colleague across every channel, with accountability baked in.

• It works everywhere, including the phone. Arlo runs in iMessage and SMS, Slack, WhatsApp, and live phone calls it can place. Context doesn't drop when a thread becomes a call, and there's no new app to adopt.
• It acts, then proves it. Arlo connects to 3,000+ tools, and for software with no API it logs in once through a secure browser session and clicks, reads, and fills forms like a person would. It keeps persistent memory and sends one morning briefing of what changed.
• Governance is the default. Clear requests run, and Arlo asks first when a request is unclear, would spend money, or can't be undone. Every run leaves a full audit trail — every tool call, source, and approval, on the record. That's the line between a personal bot and something a team can let act on its behalf.
• It scales past one person. It's free to start with $20 of usage a month, then Plus at $20 a month for $100 of usage or Max at $100 a month for $500 of usage, with every capability on every plan. Admin policy, roles, SSO, and audit export are available on request.

Where Arlo is not the answer: if you only need a personal assistant for your own texts and errands, Poke, April, or Martin will feel lighter and cheaper. Arlo earns its keep when the work is shared and carries stakes.

How to choose

Match the tool to the job. Pick Lindy for inbox triage and workflow automation. Pick Poke or April for a personal text assistant. Pick Martin if you want to talk to it. Pick Catch if you want proactive action with flat, call-inclusive pricing. Pick Arlo if you need an AI colleague for a team — one assistant across iMessage, Slack, WhatsApp, and phone, with approvals and an audit trail.

Still deciding between the personal options? Our Poke alternatives overview and the AI executive assistant explainer go deeper on the category, and the full comparisons hub lines up the head-to-heads.

Two head-to-heads go deeper than this roundup can: Arlo vs April for the text-first personal EA lane, and Arlo vs Catch for the flat-rate exec assistant with calls included.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best AI executive assistant in 2026? It depends on the job. Lindy leads on inbox triage and workflow automation, Poke and April are strong personal texters, Martin is voice-first, and Catch takes proactive action with flat, call-inclusive pricing. Arlo is the team-scale pick — an AI colleague across iMessage, Slack, WhatsApp, and phone calls with approvals and a full audit trail.

What is the best AI executive assistant for a founder? If you're running operations largely yourself and want one assistant that reaches you wherever you are, Arlo fits: it works in iMessage and SMS, Slack, WhatsApp, and on live calls, with one memory across all of them, and it asks first on money or anything unclear. If you only need your own inbox and calendar handled, Lindy, Poke, or Martin will feel lighter and cheaper — see AI assistant for founders.

What is the best AI executive assistant for a small team? Look for three things a personal assistant won't give you: shared context across people, a check with you before its own wording goes out in your name to someone who hasn't seen it, and a record of what happened. Arlo is built around those defaults. Most of the alternatives in this roundup are designed for a single user, which is a genuine strength for personal work and a real gap for shared work.

How much do AI executive assistants cost in 2026? Roughly: Lindy ~$29.99–$199.99 per user/mo with a 7-day trial; Catch ~$99/mo with calls included; April ~50 messages free then ~$25/mo; Poke light-free with heavier use paid; Martin per its own site. Arlo is free to start with $20 of usage a month, then Plus at $20 a month for $100 of usage or Max at $100 a month for $500 of usage, and every plan includes calls and bookings. Pricing moves fast — check each vendor before you commit.

Which AI executive assistants can make phone calls? As of 2026, Catch places outbound calls, Martin is voice-first for spoken interaction, and Arlo places calls for you and keeps a transcript of each one. Most text-first assistants do not make calls at all.

When is Arlo the wrong choice? When you only need a personal assistant for your own texts and errands. Poke, April, or Martin will feel lighter and cheaper, and the governance layer that makes Arlo useful for a team is dead weight for a single user. Arlo earns its keep when the work is shared and carries stakes.

Try Arlo

If the assistant you need has to act for a team and stand up to review, try Arlo — an AI colleague inside the tools you already use, governed by design and auditable end to end.