I get somewhere between 80 and 120 emails a day. Client requests, vendor follow-ups, proposals that need answers, scheduling back-and-forth, and about 40 messages that could've been a two-line reply but somehow weren't.
So I ran an experiment. For one full work week, I let an AI assistant draft every single email response for me. Not send — draft. I still reviewed everything before it went out. But the AI read the incoming message, understood the context, and wrote the reply.
Here's what actually happened.
Monday: The Easy Wins
The first thing I noticed is how fast AI eats through the simple stuff. The "got it, thanks" emails. The "yes, Thursday works" emails. The "here's the link you asked for" emails.
These aren't hard to write. But there are dozens of them every day, and they add up. By lunch on Monday, I'd cleared my inbox in about 20 minutes instead of the usual hour and a half. The AI nailed the tone on these — short, professional, done.
Tuesday: It Started Getting Interesting
A client emailed asking about adding a new feature to their website. Normally I'd spend 10 minutes thinking through the scope, typing out what's involved, and giving a rough timeline.
The AI pulled context from our previous conversations and drafted a response that covered the scope, mentioned the timeline, and even flagged a potential issue I hadn't thought of yet. I made one small edit and sent it.
That's when I realized this wasn't just about saving time on easy emails. It was making me better on the complex ones too.
Wednesday: The Awkward Moment
Here's where it got real. A client sent a frustrated email about a delayed deliverable. The AI drafted a response that was technically correct — acknowledged the delay, explained the reason, offered a new timeline.
But it was too smooth. Too polished. When someone's frustrated, they don't want a perfect corporate response. They want to feel heard. The draft read like a customer service bot, not like me.
I rewrote about half of it. Added a line that was more direct: "This one's on me. I should have flagged the delay sooner." That's something the AI wouldn't naturally write, because it doesn't think about relationship dynamics the way a human does.
Important lesson: AI handles the what really well. The how — the emotional intelligence part — still needs a human touch on sensitive messages.
Thursday: The Surprise
I got a long email from a prospect asking detailed questions about our process, pricing structure, and timeline for a new project. The kind of email that usually takes me 25 minutes to respond to thoughtfully.
The AI drafted a comprehensive reply in about 10 seconds. It pulled from how I've answered similar questions before, structured the response clearly, and even included a soft close suggesting a call to discuss further.
I changed maybe two sentences. Total time: three minutes instead of 25.
Multiply that by even a few of those emails per week and you're looking at hours back in your schedule.
Friday: The Numbers
By Friday, I had a pretty clear picture. Here's what the week looked like:
Emails handled: 487
AI drafts I sent with zero edits: About 60%
AI drafts I sent with minor tweaks: About 30%
Drafts I mostly rewrote: About 10%
Time saved: Roughly 6 hours across the week
Six hours. That's almost a full workday I got back just from not typing routine email responses.
What I'd Tell Another Business Owner
First — don't let AI send emails without you reviewing them. At least not at the start. The review step is where you catch the 10% that needs a human touch.
Second — the real value isn't in the easy emails. It's in the complex ones where AI gives you a strong first draft and you just refine it. That's where the time savings compound.
Third — it gets better over time. By Friday, the drafts were noticeably more "me" than they were on Monday. The AI learns your patterns, your phrases, your style.
Would I do it again? I'm still doing it. It's been three months now and I can't imagine going back to writing every email from scratch.
Try This
Pick one day next week. Route your email through an AI assistant — even a simple one like ChatGPT — and have it draft responses. Don't send them automatically. Just see how close the drafts are to what you'd actually write. Most business owners are surprised by how good they are right out of the gate.
David Oralevich is the founder of ApolloClaw, helping small businesses put AI to work. If you want to see what AI can actually do for your business, book a free call.