# AI Virtual Assistant > An AI virtual assistant is an AI employee that manages your inbox and to-do list, runs digital errands, researches options and handles documents and data entry. On CellCog it is hired in minutes, remembers how you like things done, and compares vendors with the agent ranked #1 on Deep Research Bench (July 2026) before recommending one. - Canonical (HTML): https://cellcog.ai/ai-employees/ai-virtual-assistant - Site index for agents: https://cellcog.ai/llms.txt - Last updated: 2026-10-19 The small tasks never stop: forms, follow-ups, comparisons, bookings, the reply you keep meaning to send. Your AI virtual assistant takes the whole list and comes back with things done, not links. ## See your AI Virtual Assistant at work - **Works through your list.** Inbox, errands and follow-ups become a list it clears, one finished item at a time. - **Comes back with an answer.** A trip plan, a vendor comparison or a filled form, finished and ready for you. - **Remembers how you like it.** Preferences, addresses and past choices live in your Drive, so you only explain once. - **Asks before it spends or sends.** Purchases, bookings and emails wait for your yes. - **Tells you what got done.** What it finished today, what is still open and what is waiting on you. ## What it does - **Clears your inbox**: Sorts the mail, drafts replies in your voice and reminds you before bills, renewals and follow-ups are due. - **Runs digital errands**: Forms, sign-ups, returns and renewals, handled end to end. - **Researches and recommends**: Compares the options and comes back with one recommendation and the reasons. - **Plans trips**: Flights, hotels and a day-by-day plan, with the confirmations filed where you can find them. - **Answers your phone**: Gets its own phone number. It picks up, tells callers they are talking with an AI employee, handles what it can and puts urgent calls through to you. - **Calls businesses for you**: Books, changes or cancels an appointment or reservation with a US business you name, then tells you what was confirmed. ## Set up in three steps 1. **Hire in one line.** "Hire a virtual assistant. Start with my inbox and the vendor renewals due this month." 2. **Connect what it needs.** Add your email, calendar and Drive, and give it a phone number if you want calls answered. You choose what it can reach. 3. **Hand over the list.** Paste your to-dos. It works through them and asks before anything costs money. ## Works with your tools Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Notion, Slack, Zoom, and 1,500+ more tools. ## Nothing is bought or sent without your yes. - **Asks before spending**: Anything that costs money waits for your approval, every time. - **Sends on your approval**: Emails and form submissions wait for your yes unless you approve a kind in advance. - **Everything visible**: Every errand and its result sits on one board you can read any time. ## What it won't do - **No physical errands**: Picking up a package still needs a person; anything digital is fair game. - **No sends without your yes**: Emails and form submissions wait for your approval by default. - **No purchases on its own**: It finds the best option; you approve anything that costs money. ## Three ways to handle the small stuff | | Doing it yourself | A chatbot | AI Virtual Assistant | |---|---|---|---| | Remembers your preferences | Yes | Forgets between chats | Yes, in its memory | | Starts work without being asked | n/a | No | On a schedule | | Sends emails and fills forms | You | No | Yes, after your approval | | Comes back with a recommendation | You | Suggests options | A finished answer | | Answers and makes phone calls | You | No | Yes, on its own number | | Asks before spending | n/a | n/a | Always | ## Things to ask it - Go through my inbox from the last week. Draft replies for everything that needs one, flag the three things that actually need my attention, and archive the noise. - Plan a 3-day trip to Austin for the conference: flights from JFK, a hotel near the venue, and a day-by-day itinerary. - Turn these meeting notes into a clean summary, a decision log, and a follow-up email to the team. - Build a tracker for our vendor contracts: renewal dates, costs, and owners, and remind me 30 days before each renewal. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is an AI virtual assistant? An AI virtual assistant is an AI employee that manages your inbox and to-do list, runs digital errands, researches options and handles documents and data entry. ### What can an AI virtual assistant do? Anything digital on your list: sort and answer email, fill out forms, compare products or vendors, plan a trip, keep trackers current and remind you before deadlines. ### How is it different from a chatbot? A chatbot answers when you ask and forgets you after. This one has its own inbox and task board, remembers your preferences and starts work on a schedule without being asked. ### Does it learn how I like things done? Yes. It keeps what you tell it and what you correct in its memory, so the tenth request needs fewer notes than the first. ### Can I trust virtual assistant AI with my inbox? You choose what to connect and can disconnect anytime. Emails wait for your approval by default, and everything it does is visible on its task board. ### Can it join my video calls? Yes. Invite it to Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams and it joins under its own name, camera off, takes the notes and follows up afterward. ### What does it cost? You pay for the work, not the hire. Hiring is free. Each time your employee works, it spends credits from your account: on Flash, built for speed, a working session typically runs under $5. On Max, our deepest reasoning, the same session runs up to about $25. From there the cost depends purely on how much work you assign. Start free, no credit card needed, with 200 credits. ### How do I get started? Click "Get started" to sign up and hire your AI Virtual Assistant in minutes, or use "Talk to us" and our team will help you set it up. Hire one: https://cellcog.ai/ai-employees/ai-virtual-assistant