Howie alternative: Ezail, the AI assistant you Cc for more than scheduling
Last checked November 13, 2026. Both products change often, so check each site before you buy.
Howie is "the AI assistant you loop in on anything that needs your time." You Cc Howie on an email or text it, and it finds times, books meetings and guards your calendar. Ezail works the same way, since you can Cc it on email, but it does more than scheduling. It answers email, makes phone calls, works in your company tools and gives your team a shared assistant. If you only need meetings booked, Howie is a specialist. If you want one assistant for scheduling and everything around it, look at Ezail.
Howie at a glance
- Where you use it: Cc or loop it in on email, or text it on iMessage and SMS. Howie's site lists Gmail and Google Calendar and doesn't mention Outlook or Microsoft 365.
- What it does: schedules over email and text, including busy group threads. It sends booking links and follows up when people go quiet. It also protects focus time, adds buffers and travel time, warns about conflicts, and follows scheduling rules you write in plain English. It also sends reminders, to-dos and a daily briefing.
- Integrations: Zoom, Granola, Notion, Todoist, Linear, Stripe and others.
- Security: SOC 2 Type II and CASA.
- Price: credits shared across a workspace with unlimited teammates, from $25 a month for 1,250 credits up to $2,500 a month. A custom assistant name and email address on your domain costs $20 a month more. New workspaces get $25 in free credits.
Ezail at a glance
- Where you use it: Cc it on email, or text it on WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Microsoft Teams. It connects to Gmail or Outlook and Google or Microsoft Calendar.
- Your own assistant: finds times and sends invites. It also answers and drafts email (you approve every draft before it's sent), makes phone calls, sets reminders and recurring tasks, reads voice notes, photos and files, and keeps projects up to date.
- Your team's assistant: one shared assistant per team with its own address, like
ai+yourteam@ezail.com, or a company mailbox you connect, like assistant@yourcompany.com. Cc it on a thread and it does the work in the team's tools, then replies to everyone on the team. - Security: CASA Tier 2 certified through the App Defense Alliance.
- Price: from $9 a month per person. The Team plan is $499 a month with unlimited members. Every plan starts with 7 free days.
Side by side
| Howie | Ezail | |
|---|---|---|
| Cc it on email | Yes | Yes |
| Text it on | iMessage, SMS | WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Teams |
| Calendars | Google Calendar | Google Calendar, Microsoft Calendar |
| Email accounts | Gmail | Gmail, Outlook |
| Scheduling rules, buffers and focus time | Yes, in depth | Basic |
| Answers and drafts other email | Not listed | Yes |
| Phone calls | No | Yes |
| Shared team assistant | Unlimited teammates on one workspace | Its own team address, memory and tools |
| Assistant on your own domain | $20 a month extra | Connect a company mailbox on the team page |
| Entry price | $25 a month in credits | $9 a month |
When Howie is the better choice
- Scheduling is the whole job, and you want fine control over rules, buffers, focus time and follow-ups.
- You and the people you meet with mostly use Google Calendar.
- You prefer texting over iMessage.
When Ezail is the better choice
- You use Outlook or Microsoft 365. Ezail works with Outlook and Microsoft Calendar as well as Google.
- You want more than meetings booked. The same assistant answers email, calls the venue, chases an invoice and updates Notion or Linear.
- Your team texts on WhatsApp, Slack or Teams. Ezail is there. Howie texts over iMessage and SMS.
- Your team wants one shared assistant. Ezail's team assistant has its own address, files, memory and connectors, and its replies go to everyone on the team.
Pricing compared
Howie sells credits per workspace with unlimited teammates, from $25 a month for 1,250 credits to $2,500 a month for 150,000. Its site doesn't say how many credits a meeting uses. A custom assistant email on your domain is $20 a month extra.
Ezail plans are Go ($9 a month), Plus ($19), Pro ($199) and Team ($499 with unlimited members). Each plan's price comes back as credits for the work Ezail does, at cost.
Good to know
Can the assistant use our own domain? Yes. Create a mailbox like assistant@yourcompany.com in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 and connect it on your team's page. Ezail then emails and books meetings from it, at no extra cost.
Does Ezail send email on its own? No. Ezail shows you every draft first. On a team, a member approves each email before it goes out.
Howie is a trademark of its owner. Ezail is not affiliated with Howie. Facts about Howie come from howie.com, checked on November 13, 2026.