AI “Executive Assistants”? Don’t Make Me Laugh

There’s been a rash of shiny new AI tools popping up all over LinkedIn and the wider internet, each one claiming to be the next great “AI Executive Assistant.” You’ve probably seen the ads: slick graphics, a smug headline about “replacing your assistant,” and copy that reads as though it was written by someone who’s never spent five minutes in the real world of C-suites.

And here’s the kicker—most of these ads are clearly written by men who haven’t got the faintest idea what an Executive Assistant actually does. To them, an EA is a glorified diary manager. A glorified note-taker. Someone who answers emails and books flights. In other words: tasks that AI can indeed do, in a limited and error-prone fashion.

But here’s the problem: that’s about 5% of the actual role.

An Executive Assistant isn’t just an admin bot with a smile. They’re a gatekeeper, a strategist, a trusted confidant, a political operator, and—let’s be blunt—the person who often saves executives from their own worst instincts. They’re the one who knows which board member secretly hates being in meetings before 10am, which client needs a softer touch, which department is on the brink of revolt, and which “urgent” issue is really just noise.

Show me an AI tool that can do that, and I’ll eat my digital diary.

And here’s where these AI tool marketers really shoot themselves in the foot: they’re not just insulting EAs with their ridiculous claims, they’re alienating them. Because here’s what the tech bros don’t seem to grasp: executives actually ask their assistants for input on new tools. “Have you heard of this?” “Should we be using that?” “What do you think about trying this system?”

If your marketing has just written off the very people who act as gatekeepers for these decisions, congratulations—you’ve just removed yourself from the running. No shortlist. No pilot. No chance.

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About the Author: Richard Arnott, BA, FInstAM, FIToL, is a Director of BMTG (UK) Ltd, and the author and lead presenter of the groundbreaking, globally recognised Advanced Certificate for the Executive Assistant: ACEA® program. Richard also sits on the editorial board of Lucy Brazier OBE's Executive Support Magazine.

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