OpenAI’s dots is a general agent: you give it goals inside ChatGPT and it works toward them across the apps you connect. It comes with ChatGPT Pro (from $100 a month) and Business Premium seats. If what you need is help with work email and calendar, there are assistants built for that, most of them for less.
alfred_ is our product. Every other product is described from its own website and pricing page, checked October 28, 2026.
Same criteria, five alternatives
| Product | What it is | Where it works | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| alfred_ | AI assistant for client-facing teams: the emails that need you, replies you owe and replies you're waiting on | Your Gmail, Outlook and IMAP accounts, plus text, web, iPhone, Claude and ChatGPT | $29.99 a month; teams $49.99 a seat |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps, including Outlook | Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams | $18 a user a month (Business add-on, paid yearly) |
| Gemini in Gmail | Gemini in Google Workspace apps, including Gmail | Gmail, Docs, Meet and other Workspace apps | $7 a user a month (Workspace Business Starter, annual) |
| Town | A work assistant that learns your people, projects and voice | Inboxes, calendars, chats and apps | Free plan; Starter $15 a month; Pro $49 a user |
| Martin | A personal assistant you call, text or email | Calendar, inbox, SMS, phone calls, WhatsApp, Slack | $21 a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) |
alfred_
alfred_ is an AI assistant for client-facing teams, and each person on the team gets their own. It reads your email across up to six Gmail, Outlook and IMAP accounts, flags the emails that need your answer, and keeps one list of the replies you owe and the replies you’re waiting on. It manages your calendar, prepares you for meetings from your email, calendar and notes, and sends a morning brief by email or text. You can ask it for things on the web, on iPhone, by text, or from Claude and ChatGPT, and nothing is sent until you approve it.
- What it does not do: it is not a new email app, it does not send anything without your approval, and it does not take calls or notes in meetings.
- Price: plans start at $29.99 a month with a 7-day free trial. The team plan is $49.99 a seat on one bill.
alfred_ is the best alternative to dots when the problem is client work slipping: the replies you owe, the people who haven’t answered you, the meeting you walk into unprepared.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft describes Copilot as “built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams,” with AI chat grounded in your work data and pre-built agents for research and data analysis.
- What it is not: an assistant outside Microsoft 365. It works in Microsoft’s apps.
- Price: the Microsoft 365 Copilot Business add-on starts at $18 a user a month paid yearly. Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot is $23.50 a user a month paid yearly.
Gemini in Gmail
Google lists “Gemini in Gmail - find, summarize, and write emails faster with AI” as part of Google Workspace, alongside Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet.
- What it is not: an assistant outside Google Workspace. It works in Google’s apps.
- Price: Google Workspace Business Starter, which includes the Gemini AI assistant in Gmail, is $7 a user a month on an annual plan. Business Standard is $14.
Town
Town calls itself “the unusually helpful AI work assistant,” working “across inboxes, calendars, chats, and apps.”
- How it is priced: Free, then Starter at $15 a month and Pro at $49 a user a month billed annually. Paid plans include a monthly credit allowance (1,250 on Starter, 5,000 on Pro), with pay-as-you-go overage on Pro.
Martin
Martin describes itself as an assistant that “manages your calendar, inbox, SMS, phone calls, WhatApp, Slack, and more,” reached by call, text or email.
- How it is priced: Basic is $21 a month billed yearly or $35 monthly, with limited proactive actions and two tasks at a time. Pro is $30 a month billed yearly or $49 monthly.
The short answer
If client email slipping is the problem, alfred_ is the best alternative to dots: it keeps the list of what you owe and who owes you, across the accounts you already use, and lets you reply by text. The plans that include dots itself are on dots pricing, and the two side by side are in alfred_ vs dots.
