11 Ways an Email AI Can Prevent Embarrassing Mistakes
Everyone has horror stories surrounding workplace emails. Maybe yours is a "Reply All" misclick, a forgotten draft you should have sent long ago, or even a typo that communicates the opposite of what you intended. What if you could avoid blunders like these and save face, whether new or a long-term company veteran?
Luckily for you, this technology already exists in the form of email AI assistants. Below, we break down eleven of the ways artificial intelligence can ensure you never send something you end up regretting. Learn how to safeguard both your pride and career, protecting yourself from even the most common email faux pas.
1. Escaping the Possibility of a "Reply-All" Disaster
This is a common problem and one that either amuses or frustrates everyone involved, whether sender or receiver. Hitting that "Reply All" button by accident is a little too easy and can cause a chain reaction involving all people linked to the message. Not only that, but the group nature of such a mistake can also be very embarrassing, and follow you for days every time your email pings.
An AI can help to identify if your message is for one person or many based on the message's contents. It can compare this to the listed recipients and offer you suggestions, such as updating the emails listed in the "To:" box.
Similarly, you can specify that any emails with words like "Confidential" or "Internal use" stay within your business. It can then offer other advice, such as suggesting you speak via direct messaging instead of making a direct reply.
You can even go into more detail with privacy, such as ensuring you always include someone as a "BCC:". Your AI can then make sure their email address remains private in the future of the message chain.
Over time, AIs can learn your patterns, and proactively spot mishaps. Though, if necessary, you could incorporate an "Are you sure?" system in the system. This would require you to confirm each time you do something outside your normal habits.
Together, these systems give you all the tools you need to avoid many common messaging problems. Everyone can then instead focus on their role without worrying about how a simple email could spell disaster.
2. Ensuring the Right Tone Using AI Analysis
Another potential problem when sending emails is coming across like you are too frustrated with a work situation. This can occur if you are deep in a stressful period at work, and are trying to put across the facts without too much sentiment. In some cases, it can appear like you are being terse or clipped in your language.
Planning messages using an AI email responder can mean the difference between insult and praise. It can help you ensure you hit the right sentiment based on the recipient and subject matter. Adjust the phrasing you use to give yourself the best chance of not only saying exactly what you want to say but also making sure you say it right.
An AI system can offer you a range of different words and phrases, each matching the specific mood you wish to aim for. It can even incorporate them seamlessly into the message itself without you manually editing the text.
Many companies even have an internal lexicon, or even use a regional dialect, which can confuse external clients. For example, several Scottish companies are prone to using the phrase "outwith". This uniquely Scots word means "outside of" in the country's native language, but you will still find it in messages that leave the nation.
An AI can detect all such examples of niche language use and confirm whether the recipient is likely to understand the phrasing.
The more you use an email writing AI, the better it will be at this process. Not only will it be able to detect nuances in your interactions with others, but you can give it specific rules you want it to follow. You can make sure it uses the correct title, or even that it displays a light-hearted tone with those working in a more casual office.
3. Preventing Inadvertent Oversharing of Information
The last thing you want is to forward an email to a client, only to forget that confidential information exists in some of the message's email chain. This can not only be embarrassing, but even harmful, especially if the data is subject to rules such as GDPR or USDP.
With an AI writing email for you, you can expect it to analyze the text for writing related to privacy. This may even include sensitive data such as social security data, without those specific words appearing in the message. It can then warn you of its existence, allowing you to take action to protect the data of those you work with.
You can even customize this form of email software to be more or less sensitive to specific issues. For example, you might need to inform it of specific topics it should never pass to those outside of your company's employees. It will then protect these from going outside of the internal email system unless it receives explicit instructions to do so.
In some cases, you may even want to silo information that moves around within the company. This may be for any number of reasons, including a possible leak or the wish to surprise members of a team with positive news. Informing email writing software of these specific rules can then help you to give everyone only the information they need.
For those in HR, this may be especially important to protect those who work for your company. If an employee has a complaint about another, an AI can warn you if you then include the person facing the complaint in the message.
Each of these can protect both you and your company from leaks and litigation, giving you the peace of mind you deserve.
4. Improving Clarity and Conciseness with AI Email Writing
For those unused to engaging in lengthy email chains, it can sometimes be hard to be concise. Sending lengthy messages can get you a reputation for being verbose and as such, difficult to get a clear answer from.
Instead, using a generative AI for writing emails, you can check your messages for wordiness or unclear language. It can then suggest clearer alternatives that will be easier for others to understand at a glance.
If you are prone to repeating yourself, ask the virtual email assistant whether you seem to be using the same phrasing several times. Another option is to request for it to find places where you describe the same concept using different words. Both of these can work to reduce correspondence to a much more concise length.
Over time, this can even help you understand how to improve your writing. You will start to recognize times when you have written something that needs to sound smoother, allowing you to change it on the fly. This can boost your writing skills without you needing to seek out learning opportunities.
5. Tailoring the Context of Email Using LPMs
The last thing you want is to repeat yourself over several emails. You need to know every message you send provides more information and does so in a way that the recipient is more likely to retain that knowledge. Having a full understanding of both your writing style and the nature of the person receiving the message is the only way to have that assurance.
Some AIs, such as "Large Personalization Models" (LPMs) are built around this idea. They are fully customizable and have the ability to build up a unique user model based on your needs and your legacy of interaction.
Based on past interactions, LPMs can give you better help related to:
A message's formality or informality
Comprehending the context an email is sent in
Understanding the tone of the message
Finding irrelevant or redundant information in outgoing mail
Keeping email chains focused on an important topic
These smart assistants go further than analyzing your history of emails to understand the context of any messages you send. They can use the information available to them to craft a full understanding of how you prefer to communicate. LPMs can then leverage a profile of your relationship with every individual and tailor the experience they offer to match.
When writing email, AI will detect the purpose of the message, such as whether it's informational, a request, or for feedback. Using this information, LPMs will work with you to adjust the content to ensure it remains relevant to a specific situation.
6. Catching Spelling and Grammar Mistakes With an Email Writing AI
It may seem simple, but an email management AI is much better at detecting spelling and grammar errors in any messages you draft. Instead of reading a piece of text and saying "This word does not work", for example, it will consider the nature of that word in its context. As one example, if you are correcting someone's spelling, it will not flag the original text, as it knows it is correct in context.
These technologies can also offer you changes with an understanding of the right use of words such as "their" or "there. They recognize incorrect usage and won't overlook errors. This is true even when the incorrect word resembles other, irrelevant, words.
At the same time, they can also provide explanations for suggested corrections. This can speed you up in the future by helping you understand why a change is needed and how to learn from it.
7. Creating Calendar Events So You Never Forget Meetings
"Are you coming?" is a phrase you don't want to see pop up in a private message when you didn't even realize there was a meeting happening. Forgetting to create a reminder for a meeting can cause huge problems, and may even spell disaster for a pitch you are working on.
AI email tools can prevent this possibility by detecting dates, times, or even a simple suggestion of a meeting within messages. They can then suggest that you set a calendar event and even write out its details without manual input from you. All you might need to do is confirm that you want the event to exist.
If you want the tool to go the extra mile, you can even ask it whether it wants to help you find the perfect meeting time. The AI can streamline the meeting process for everyone, preventing issues not only for you but for all participants.
8. Crafting Personalized Subject Lines to Prevent Unopened Messages
If you need large numbers of people to open your email, such as if you are in marketing, you want to have a good subject line. After all, if the first thing people read in their inbox isn't compelling, they may never open it.
Large language models possess extensive knowledge when it comes to crafting compelling text. You can thus expect an auto-generated email response to include subject lines that capture people's attention.
By using real-time information from the Internet, it can also start to identify specific words or phrases that are in vogue. You can also ask it to train itself on your industry's vocabulary or write for a specific grade of readability. It can then start to incorporate language used by people from your circle into subject lines.
It can even discuss why it makes specific suggestions, giving you a good understanding of which ones might be best for your purposes.
9. Offering Reminders to Prevent Missed Deadlines
With access to your email, an AI can put together both a calendar of meetings and expected end dates for your work. Such tools can then begin creating a list of times you should complete work by, developing a prioritized to-do list.
If it can integrate with task management software, it may be able to help you with planning your ongoing role. It can even incorporate common work habits into its expectations, offering an ongoing estimate of progress.
You can use such a tool to remind yourself of upcoming deadlines and provide others with a clear list of tasks on your plate. This offers you a better method of communicating your professional capabilities.
10. Mastering Internal Email Guidelines Using ADIs
When you start working with a new company, you may have issues following along with internal guidelines. This may lead to problems if you send messages in the wrong way to the wrong people.
With access to a wide array of tools, an artificial diverse intelligence (ADI) can understand what should and should not be allowed. For example, by using document management systems, an ADI can analyze your email content to see if it falls foul of company policies. It can then flag issues with etiquette, inappropriate language, or even the use of email for off-topic conversations.
The exact nature of what you may want to use an ADI for will depend on your specific system and the nature of the ADI. Still, there are plenty of opportunities for the software to help stop you from falling foul of email behavior guidelines.
At the same time, by learning from collective email behavior, an ADI can also learn about the culture of a company. It can advise policy-makers on issues related to either a policy not having the intended effect or other problems they might cause.
11. Helping You Save Face by Recognizing Phishing Attempts
As an email writing tool analyzes your incoming messages, it can warn you if it believes you to possibly be falling victim to malicious actors. It can check for suspicious links and problematic language patterns, or even check the message against lists of known scams.
Users such as yourself also benefit from educational tips an AI can provide. It can offer a comprehensive understanding of these scams to help you recognize emails that may compromise security.
Protect Your Reputation With Error-Free Communication
As you can see, an AI-powered email companion can ensure every email is an opportunity to impress rather than cause you stress. Ensuring every message you send has the right level of polish and precision is a dream many wish for. So, why not try out an email generation tool that can give you that kind of experience?
Forget the fear of a hastily sent email disaster by using MindOS to help you manage your emails. So, try MindOS as an email AI for free to start sending emails with confidence and peace of mind.