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.
@Kipwise what needs me today?
Three emails need you, and your 3pm has two meetings at once.
Move the roadmap sync to 4pm.
Move “Roadmap sync” from 15:00 to 16:00 in Google Calendar?
Move “Roadmap sync” from 15:00 to 16:00 in Google Calendar?
✓ Approved by Hollie BrandtMoved. The invites to the others are updated.
Sample data
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
One agent, four parts
Your knowledge base, support desk, request desk and tasks, run by one agent
Install the agent and you get all four. It answers from your pages, speaks to your customers, takes requests from your team and works your task boards, in the threads where your team already is.
Knowledge base
Ask in a thread and get the answer from your team’s pages, with the page it came from. Ask it to write the resolution down, approve the change, and the next question is answered faster. It only reads pages the asker can see.
About the knowledge base@Kipwise do we have a doc on refunds for annual plans?
Yes. Refund policy gives annual plans a full refund within 30 days of purchase.
We gave Acme 60 days because their migration slipped. @Kipwise can you write this up?
Add “Acme: 60-day window” to Refund policy in Customer Success?
Add “Acme: 60-day window” to Refund policy in Customer Success?
✓ Approved by Gus FerreiraRefund policy
Annual plans get a full refund within 30 days of purchase. After that, the account owner decides.
Acme: 60-day window
Acme gets 60 days instead of 30 because their migration slipped. Agreed in #support on 12 Sep.
Edited by Gus Ferreira · via KipwiseSample data
Customer support
A chat widget on your site answers from your public help center and hands the conversation to a person when asked. It lands in Slack with a draft reply, and nothing a customer can see goes out until you approve it.
About customer supportNew website chat: the customer wants to talk to someone. I drafted a reply.
Reply to Acme with the refund policy and offer a credit instead?
Reply to Acme with the refund policy and offer a credit instead?
✓ Approved by Gus FerreiraSample data
Internal requests
Employees ask for IT, HR or ops help in Slack, confirm in plain words, and get a request they can follow. The channel only sees a neutral line, and nobody needs a seat to ask.
About internal requestsI lost my laptop charger. Can I request a new one?
Send this request to IT: a replacement laptop charger?
Send this request to IT: a replacement laptop charger?
✓ Approved by Declan MossRequest #42 sent. Ask “what are my requests?” to follow it.
- Type
- Equipment
- Assigned
- IT
- Status
- Received
Request #42 was sent.
Sample data
Tasks
Boards the agent works. A card can run on a schedule or when something happens, stops at an approval step before it writes, and counts against a monthly budget.
About TasksTo do1
Working1
Needs approval1
Done1
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.
Is this an AI chief of staff?
It does the chief-of-staff chores that fit in text: status updates, follow-up drafts, record updates, write-ups, and calendar and email work through the tools you connect. Anything that goes out or changes a record waits for your Approve.
What is the best AI assistant for small business?
The best AI assistant for small business teams works in the chat your team already uses, acts only with the access of the person asking, and asks before it sends or changes anything. That is the Kipwise Agent in Slack or Microsoft Teams, at $10 per user a month.
What can an AI assistant for small business owners do?
Answer questions from your own pages, chase and summarise, draft replies, keep records up to date, and run routine jobs on a schedule. Phone calls and booking with outside people stay with a person.