Hiring a VA, coordinator or assistant?
Before you hire a virtual assistant, put the repetitive part in Slack
Kipwise Agent posts the status update, drafts the follow-up and updates the record when you ask, in your Slack threads, as the person asking. Keep the person for calls and judgment.
Free trial when you add it to Slack. No card needed.
What the job post asks for
Four lines from real job posts for a virtual assistant, a coordinator or an executive assistant. Each one is work the agent can take.
“I should not need to repeatedly ask whether something was handled”
Status updatesAsk in the thread and it reads the thread and your issue tracker, Linear or Jira, then posts where things stand.
“What I need is someone who keeps it moving without me chasing it”
Follow-upsIt drafts the follow-up or the reply when you ask. Nothing is sent until you press Approve.
“Client requests don’t disappear into Slack”
Write-upsAsk it to write the thread up as a page in the folder you name. It publishes the page and posts the link.
“Nothing falls through the cracks”
Recurring checksAsk it to check every week and post what is still open, or put the check on a board with a step that waits for your OK.
Sort your job post
Take the tasks in your draft job post and put each one in a column. Software takes the repetitive ones. A person keeps the rest.
Software
Hand it to the agent
It does these when you ask, as you.
- Status updates from your threads, Linear or Jira
- Follow-up and reply drafts
- Record updates, after you approve
- A thread written up as an SOP page
- A recurring check on a board, with a step that waits for your OK
Split
The agent starts, you finish
It does the first pass. You decide what goes out.
- Inbox triage: it reads and drafts replies, you send the ones you want
- Meeting follow-ups: it drafts them from the thread, you send
A person
Keep these for your hire
These stay with a person.
- Phone calls
- Booking with people outside your company
- Judgment with clients
What it costs next to a virtual assistant
A 20-hour-a-week VA at the $10 an hour Upwork median is about $800 a month. Kipwise Agent is $10 per user a month, 3-user minimum, AI credit included.
A virtual assistant
20 hours a week at $10 an hour
Kipwise Agent
3-user minimum, AI credit included
Free trial when you add it to Slack. No card needed.
Approvals and permissions
It works as you, and asks before it changes anything
The agent uses your access, not a shared login. It opens only the pages, files and records you can open, in every tool you connect.
Before it sends an email, posts to another channel or updates a record, it shows an Approve or Deny card in the thread. Only the person who asked can press it. If nobody does, the card expires after 30 minutes and nothing runs.
@Kipwise post the Northwind status update, and draft a nudge to Priya for the logo files
Northwind onboarding, Thursday
Done: contract signed, kickoff booked for Monday.
Stuck: waiting on their logo files since Tuesday.
Linear: NW-42 “Set up workspace” is in review.
Create an email draft to Priya Nair with the subject “Logo files for Northwind”?
Also set the Northwind deal to Kickoff booked
Update the deal “Northwind”?
Sample data
Questions
Does it make phone calls?
No. It works in text, inside your Slack threads. Keep phone calls, and booking with people outside your company, for a person.
Does it send email on its own?
Only when you ask, and only after you press Approve. The card shows who it goes to, the subject and a preview, and only the person who asked can press it.
What does it cost?
$10 per user a month, for at least 3 users. That includes $5 of AI credit per person and $2 per person of shared team credit every month. Add it to Slack and the free trial starts on your first message, no card needed.
How much does a virtual assistant cost?
It varies by where and how you hire. In 93 recent Upwork job posts that name an hourly rate, the median was $10 an hour and the middle half offered $6.75 to $17.50. At 20 hours a week, $10 an hour is about $800 a month.
Is this a virtual assistant for a small business?
It is software that takes the repetitive part of an assistant’s job: status updates, follow-up drafts, record updates and write-ups, in your Slack threads. Keep a person for phone calls, booking with outsiders and judgment with clients.
Who can see what?
The agent works as the person asking. It opens only the pages, files and records that person can open, in Kipwise and in every tool they connect.
Where does my data live?
Your workspace connects to the US or EU Kipwise service. That does not mean every connected tool or AI model handles data in the same region. The agent keeps short facts from Slack messages, not the message text, and deletes them after 365 days (90 days on Free and Lite Slack workspaces). An admin can turn that memory off. To disconnect an account you connected, ask the agent in Slack and it deletes the access it stored.
How do I start?
Add it to Slack, then mention it in a channel it is in and ask in plain language. Reply in the same thread to carry on. If you would rather start with a person, book a 20-minute setup call.