Canary Mail review: A powerful AI-driven email assistant

Email is probably the most used app/service that is used by people all around the world and recently I got a chance to try out a new AI-powered email app - Canary Mail. Canary offers multi-platform accessibility, catering to Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS users. For this review, I tested Canary on both iOS and MacOS.

The desktop application seamlessly blends with the design conventions of Mac and Windows operating systems, a refreshing departure from the trend where desktop software often feels secondary to web and mobile counterparts. In contrast to applications like Gmail, which primarily operate within browsers, Canary adheres to the traditional email client model, allowing you to open messages in multiple windows.

Canary's standout feature is Copilot, its integrated AI capable of composing emails on your behalf. Whether you start from a new draft or a response, activating Copilot is as simple as tapping a magic wand icon. A dialogue box prompts you to instruct the AI, which then generates the email. My experimentation with Copilot yielded coherent and polite responses, ideal for sounding human with minimal effort. While it raises philosophical questions about email etiquette, from a software review perspective, it's undeniably a potentially valuable and fun tool.

The AI assistant understands conversational language, creating a more engaging and human-like interaction as you navigate your digital mailbox. It streamlines email management by eliminating the need for manual searches, saving you valuable time. The AI assistant adapts to user preferences and learns from interactions, providing a personalised and efficient email experience tailored to your needs as you start using it more and more.

Beyond its AI and encryption capabilities, Canary Mail boasts several features commonly found in other email clients. You can snooze emails, temporarily removing them from your inbox. Read receipts are also on offer, albeit through a tracking pixel, which some users may block. The ability to easily unsubscribe from newsletters is another convenience.

However, there are a few noticeable bugs in Canary Mail. My older work emails were not visible sometimes and an occasional crash here and there, though none of these issues were deal-breakers. For my personal email, it worked flawlessly.

Canary Mail offers a free version that doesn't require account sign-up; simply download the app, connect your email accounts, and enjoy seamless email management. For enhanced features, the Pro subscription is available starting at $20 per year. The Pro version includes a built-in calendar, pinned emails, end-to-end encryption, read receipts, and customisable snooze times.

In conclusion, Canary Mail seems like a reliable choice for those seeking a dedicated email client that consolidates multiple email addresses in a single interface. Its AI integration, particularly Copilot, stands out as a notable feature, simplifying email composition. Even without this feature, Canary offers a robust cross-platform email client with a focus on security, making it a valuable tool for enhancing email productivity.