The 20 Best Personal Assistant Apps (2023 Edition)

Best Apps for Scheduling Meetings and Appointments

Calendly
Calendly is a widely used online scheduling tool that simplifies the process of setting up meetings and appointments. It helps users eliminate the back-and-forth emails and time zone confusion typically associated with scheduling. This tool also provides a streamlined way for individuals and businesses to share their availability with others and allows them to book appointments at convenient times.

Key features 

• Lets you add your availability to your website so that prospects can proactively book meetings with you. 
• Eliminates scheduling conflicts. 
• Saves time by automating meeting coordination.
• Enhances professionalism with personalized meeting invitations.
• Customizable meeting types (e.g. initial consultations, follow-up calls, and interviews). 
  
  

Doodle
Doodle is a free online meeting scheduling tool. It simplifies the process of coordinating meetings, events, and appointments among groups of people. It provides a straightforward way for individuals, teams, and organizations to find the best available time slot that works for everyone—thereby eliminating the need for lengthy email chains and manual coordination.

Key features 

• The poll maker feature allows organizers to create polls with multiple time options. Each option represents a potential meeting time or event slot. Polls are shared with participants, who can then indicate their availability by selecting the time slots that work for them.
• User-friendly and intuitive interface.
• Integrates with various calendar platforms. This allows participants to sync the finalized meeting with their personal calendars. 
  
  

Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook includes several meeting scheduling features that help users coordinate and manage appointments, meetings, and events. These features are designed to streamline the process of scheduling and organizing meetings within the Outlook ecosystem. 

Key features 

• Outlook can suggest available meeting times based on the calendars of participants. This feature helps users find common time slots that work for everyone.
• Users can send meeting requests to others by creating an event and inviting attendees. Attendees receive an email invitation with the option to accept, decline, or propose a new time.
• Provides reminders for scheduled meetings.
• Integrates with Teams and Skype.
• Allows users to add meeting notes, attachments, and agendas to scheduled events. 
  
  

SimplyMeet.me
SimplyMeet.me is a meeting scheduling tool that allows users to connect their personal and work calendars. It integrates with most popular calendars (e.g. Outlook, Google, Zoho, and Zimbra), video platforms (e.g. Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet), as well as Zapier. The tool is free for individuals and is available at a monthly subscription for professionals and enterprises. 

Key features 

• Lets you access all meetings and calendars using one scheduling app. 
• Automatically detects time zones to avoid meeting conflicts.
• Sends email reminders and notifications to all participants. 
  
  

Best Apps for Managing Calendars, Reminders, and To-Do Lists

Google Calendar
Google Calendar is an online calendar and scheduling tool. It offers a range of features that help individuals and teams manage their time, appointments, and events. Users can easily create new events by specifying the event title, date, time, location, and other relevant details. Users can also share their calendars with others, making it easier to collaborate and coordinate events. 

Key features 

• Allows users to meticulously plan their work and personal lives, as well as tackle their to-do lists. 
• Seamlessly integrates with Gmail and Google Meet.
• Users can opt to receive event reminders via email. 
• Automatic syncing means events created or updated on one device are automatically synced across all devices connected to the user’s Google account.

Todoist
Todoist is a popular task management and to-do list app that helps individuals and teams organize their tasks, projects, and goals. It provides a digital platform for capturing, prioritizing, and tracking tasks across various aspects of life, work, and personal projects.

Users can easily create tasks by entering task names, due dates, priorities, and labels. Tasks can also be organized into projects, which act as containers for related tasks. Projects help users categorize and manage their tasks more effectively.

Key features 

• Seamless task creation, prioritization, and organization.
• Due dates and reminders can be assigned to tasks.
• Recurring tasks can be set up, greatly reducing repetitive actions.
• Tasks and projects can be synced across all signed-in devices.

Apple Reminders
Apple Reminders is a task management app designed for Apple devices—including iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. It helps users create and organize tasks, to-do lists, and reminders, helping them stay on top of their commitments and responsibilities.

Key features 

• Has a clean and intuitive user interface, making it easy for users to create, organize, and manage tasks.
• Offers smart suggestions for task details based on natural language input. For example, typing “Buy groceries tomorrow” will automatically set the task’s due date to tomorrow.
• Tasks can be organized into different lists or categories, allowing users to differentiate personal, work, and project-related tasks.
• Siri integration allows users to check off tasks using Siri voice commands. 

Microsoft To Do
Microsoft To Do is a task management app developed by Microsoft. The app helps individuals and teams organize their tasks, to-do lists, and projects. It is designed to enhance productivity by providing a digital platform for capturing, prioritizing, and tracking tasks across various aspects of life, work, and personal projects.

Key features

• Users can easily create tasks by entering task names, due dates, priorities, and additional details.
• The "My Day" feature allows users to select tasks from their lists and add them to a daily task list, helping them focus on the tasks they plan to complete during the day.
• Tasks can be organized into separate lists, allowing users to categorize and manage tasks for different projects, contexts, or goals.
• Users can assign priority levels (e.g., high, medium, low) to tasks to help them focus on important activities.
• Tasks can have due dates and reminders, ensuring that users receive notifications when tasks are approaching their deadlines.

TickTick
TickTick is a task management and to-do list application that helps individuals and teams organize their tasks, projects, and goals. Similar to other task management tools, TickTick offers a digital platform for capturing, prioritizing, and tracking tasks across various aspects of life, work, and personal projects.

Key features 

• Users can create tasks by entering task names, due dates, priorities, and additional details.
• Tasks can be organized into projects or lists, allowing users to categorize and manage tasks for different purposes or contexts.
• Users can assign priority levels (e.g. high, medium, low) to tasks to help them focus on important activities.
• Tasks can have due dates and reminders.
• Kanban board view allows tasks to be organized into different columns to represent different stages of completion.
  
  

Best Apps for Managing Communications and Email

Spark
Spark Mail (commonly referred to as Spark) is an email client developed by Readdle, a software company that specializes in productivity apps for mobile devices. Spark Mail is designed to provide users with an enhanced email experience, offering features and functionalities that aim to improve email organization, efficiency, and collaboration. 

Key features 

• The smart algorithm categorizes emails into different sections such as Personal, Notifications, Newsletters, and Pins. This helps users prioritize their emails and focus on what's most important.
• Users can combine multiple email accounts from different providers (e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) into a single unified inbox, streamlining email management.
• Users can snooze emails and set reminders to follow up on them at a later time or date, helping prevent important emails from getting lost.
• Users can save and use email templates for common messages, saving time on repetitive tasks.
• Offers suggested quick replies for emails, making it easy to respond promptly with common responses.
• Offers robust search capabilities and filters to help users quickly find specific emails.
• Integrates with various productivity apps and services, including Dropbox, Google Drive, and third-party calendar apps. 
  
  

Gmail
Developed by Google, Gmail is one of the most widely used email services globally. It offers a range of features and benefits that make it a popular choice for personal and professional email communication.

Key features 

• Users are given a substantial amount of free storage space (typically 15 GB) for emails, attachments, and files.
• Gmail is known for its speed and reliability, ensuring that emails are sent and received promptly.
• Clean and intuitive user interface.
• The search functionality is robust, allowing users to find specific emails quickly using keywords, senders, and filters.
• Emails are automatically categorized into primary, social, promotions, updates, and forums tabs, helping users manage their inbox more efficiently.
• Users can create labels to categorize and organize emails, and filters can be set up to automatically sort incoming messages.
• Gmail seamlessly integrates with other Google services such as Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Meet, and Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).
• The spam filters automatically move unwanted and potentially harmful emails to the spam folder.
  
  

Microsoft Outlook
Aside from its meeting scheduling features, Microsoft Outlook offers additional features that help individuals and businesses manage their email communication, calendars, contacts, tasks, and more.

Key features 

• Outlook supports multiple email accounts and offers features like conversation view, email categorization, and rich text formatting.
• The calendar feature enables users to schedule appointments, meetings, and events. It supports various views (day, week, month) and integrates with other Outlook features.
• Provides a centralized place for managing contacts, including the ability to store detailed contact information, create contact groups, and link contacts to emails and appointments.
• The Focused Inbox automatically separates important emails from less important ones, helping users prioritize their inbox.
• Emails from multiple email accounts can be aggregated into a unified inbox, streamlining email management.
  
  
  

OnMail
OnMail is an email service developed by Edison Software. It aims to provide users with more control and privacy over their email communication, and offers a range of features and benefits designed to enhance the email experience. 

Key features 

• Anti-tracking technology automatically prevents ad-targeters from spying on your emails.
• Can accommodate very large attachments. Users can send files that are up to 200 times larger than the limit set by other email providers. 
• AI can clean up unwanted and unread emails.
• AI-generated responses help you speed up your communications.
• Gives you periodic nudges so that important emails are always answered.

Best Apps for Travel Management and Recording Travel Expenses

TripIt
TripIt is a travel organization app that helps individuals and travelers manage their travel plans, itineraries, and bookings. It centralizes travel information from various sources into a single platform, making it easier to stay organized and informed during trips.

Key features 

• Automatically generates a comprehensive itinerary for your trip by collecting information from your email confirmations for flights, hotels, car rentals, and more.
• All your travel-related information (including flight details, hotel reservations, activities, and transportation) is organized in one place.
• Monitors flight status, gate changes, delays, and other travel updates, providing real-time information to keep you informed.
• Lets you easily share your travel plans with friends, family, or colleagues.
• In case of flight disruptions, the app suggests alternative flight options to help you navigate unexpected changes.
• Helps you find better seats for flights and offers notifications when preferred seats become available.
• Monitors flight prices and notifies you if you're eligible for a flight refund or credit.

Expensify
Expensify is a popular expense management app that helps individuals and businesses manage their expenses, receipts, and reimbursements. It offers features that streamline the process of recording expenses, categorizing them, and generating reports. 

Key features 

• Allows users to capture receipts using the mobile app's camera, eliminating the need for manual data entry. Receipts can also be forwarded via email.
• The SmartScan technology automatically extracts information from receipt images, populating relevant fields like merchant, date, and amount.
• Users can assign expenses to specific categories and tags, ensuring accurate tracking and easy reporting.
• Enables users to set up custom rules that automatically categorize and tag expenses based on keywords, amounts, or other criteria.
• Expenses are tracked in real-time, helping users stay up to date with their spending and budgets.
• Can handle per diem expenses based on location and dates, simplifying reimbursement for daily allowances.
• Supports expenses in multiple currencies, making it suitable for international travel and business.
• Users can reconcile expenses with credit card transactions to identify any discrepancies.

Concur
Concur (often referred to as SAP Concur) is a popular travel and expense management solution designed for businesses and organizations. It offers a comprehensive suite of features to help manage travel bookings, expense tracking, reporting, and reimbursement processes. 

Key features 

• Allows users to search for and book flights, hotels, and car rentals, as well as make other travel arrangements through its platform.
• Users can capture and track expenses using the Concur mobile app, capturing receipts, categorizing expenses, and associating them with specific trips.
• The mobile app uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to capture and extract data from receipts, automating data entry.
• The platform can enforce company spending policies, ensuring expenses are aligned with company guidelines.
• Users can categorize expenses into specific categories and assign them appropriate tags for accurate reporting.
• Allows organizations to set up automated approval workflows for expense reports, ensuring proper authorization before reimbursement.
• Enables users to create detailed expense reports that include receipts, categories, and expense details.

Best Apps for Dictation and Note-Taking

Evernote
Evernote is a versatile note-taking and organization app that helps individuals and teams capture, organize, and manage information in various forms. It offers a wide range of features designed to enhance productivity, streamline information management, and facilitate collaboration.

Key features 

• Allows users to create notes using various formats, including text, images, audio recordings, web clippings, and attachments.
• Notes can be organized into notebooks and stacks, providing a hierarchical structure for categorizing and managing content.
• Users can assign tags to notes for further categorization and easy retrieval using keywords.
• The robust search feature enables users to quickly locate specific notes, even within attachments and handwritten notes.
• The Evernote Web Clipper browser extension allows users to save web pages, articles, and online content directly into their Evernote account.
• Evernote supports note sharing, allowing users to collaborate on notes and notebooks with others.

Otter.ai
Otter.ai is an AI-powered transcription and note-taking tool that helps individuals capture, transcribe, and organize spoken content—including meetings, interviews, lectures, and more. It's designed to enhance productivity by automating the process of converting spoken words into written text and providing tools for organizing and sharing that content. 

Key features 

• Offers real-time transcription, allowing users to see spoken words converted into text as the conversation happens.
• The tool can differentiate between multiple speakers, labeling their contributions for easier reference.
• Users can play back the audio and see the corresponding text, making it easy to review and verify content.
• Lets users highlight important passages and add keywords to specific parts of the transcription.
• Transcriptions can be exported in various formats, including text, PDF, and Word documents, facilitating sharing and archiving.
• Integrates with Zoom and other platforms.
• Supports collaborative note-taking, making it useful for team meetings and brainstorming sessions.

Best Apps for Task Delegation and Project Management

Trello
Trello is a popular project management and collaboration tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help individuals and teams organize tasks, projects, and workflows visually. It's known for its simplicity and flexibility, making it suitable for a wide range of applications. 

Key features 

• Trello's structure revolves around boards (projects), lists (workflow stages), and cards (individual tasks or items).
• Users can easily move cards between lists and reorder them within lists using simple drag-and-drop actions.
• Each card can contain detailed information, such as descriptions, due dates, attachments, checklists, labels, and comments.
• Create checklists within cards to break down tasks into smaller subtasks, ensuring nothing is overlooked.
• Attach files, images, documents, and links to cards for quick reference and collaboration.
• Assign due dates to cards to manage deadlines and keep tasks on track.

Asana
Asana is a widely used project management and collaboration tool that helps individuals and teams organize tasks, projects, and workflows. It offers a range of features to enhance productivity, streamline communication, and track progress. 

Key features 

• Asana's structure is based on tasks (individual to-do’s), projects (collections of tasks), and portfolios (groups of related projects).
• Each task can have detailed information such as descriptions, due dates, assignees, attachments, comments, and subtasks.
• Asana offers various views, including list view, board view, timeline view, and calendar view.
• Users can create task dependencies to indicate the order in which tasks should be completed, ensuring smoother workflows.
• Due dates can be assigned to tasks and projects.
• Automation features can streamline repetitive tasks, saving time and reducing manual effort.

MySigrid
MySigrid is a proprietary task delegation and remote collaboration tool offered by Sigrid, a leading provider of premium executive and personal virtual assistance. This digital personal assistant app allows Sigrid’s clients to seamlessly delegate tasks to their dedicated Virtual Executive Assistants (VEAs)

Sigrid’s VEAs and Specialists can handle an array of work-related and personal tasks for their clients—including calendar management, appointment scheduling, project management, family logistics, and travel management. 

Key features 

• Tasks can be quickly captured using the rich chat interface. Users can also attach supporting documents and snippets to their tasks. 
• Users can send tasks as voice notes.
• Quick-reply feature makes it faster and easier to communicate with the dedicated VEA. 
• Users can view all delegated tasks in one place.
• Lets you follow real-time progress towards task resolution.
• Receive reminders about important dates and events.
  
  

Are Your Apps Making You More Productive…Or Less?

While the sheer number of virtual personal assistant apps have made it much easier for busy individuals to keep their lives organized and running efficiently, maintaining too many apps can actually lead to less, rather than more, productivity.

Studies have consistently shown that human beings are more productive when they laser-focus on one task at a time. So if you’re constantly toggling between apps in an attempt to get more things done at once, you might actually be making more mistakes and accomplishing less quality work. 

If you’re a busy professional or entrepreneur, you’re also better off delegating secondary and recurring admin tasks to a trusted assistant. There are only so many hours in the day, and you’re not making the best use of your time if you’re making your own travel arrangements, scheduling your meetings, or organizing your calendar.

By delegating your non-core tasks to Sigrid, you can boost your productivity and get more meaningful work done—whether that’s closing new clients, developing new products, or meeting your business goals. 

Our highly experienced and qualified human virtual assistants will partner with the latest technology and apps to capture, delegate, and resolve your tasks. And unlike machines, we offer additional skills that even the most efficient apps cannot replicate—such as empathy, a personalized touch, and the ability to come up with simple solutions to complex problems. 

Here are just some of the work-life tasks that can be delegated to your Sigrid Virtual Executive Assistant:

• Email Management 
• Calendar Management & Scheduling
• Travel Management 
• Digital Marketing Assistance 
• Remote Event Management
• Project Management
• Remote Property Management 
• IT Support
• Service Procurement
• Expense Management
• Specialized Research
• Human Resources
• Bookkeeping 
• Social Media Management
• Document Management 
• Child & Family Logistics 
• …. and much more.