Shortwave
The AI email client that rebuilds Gmail around search and summaries
Overview
Shortwave rebuilds the Gmail experience around AI search and summarization instead of the classic folder-and-label system. Ask it something like "what did the vendor say about the contract renewal" and it searches your actual inbox history for the answer instead of making you dig through threads yourself. It also drafts replies in something closer to your own voice and summarizes long threads so you can skim instead of read everything top to bottom.
It's built for people who live in their inbox, founders, salespeople, support teams, and anyone drowning in email who's already on Gmail. That last part matters: Shortwave only works with Gmail, so Outlook or Microsoft 365 users are out of luck entirely. There's no permanent free plan anymore, just a 14-day trial, and pricing is per seat starting at $30/mo, which adds up fast for a team. If you're a solo Gmail user who gets genuinely overwhelmed by email volume, it's worth the trial. If you're on Outlook, or you're a team watching per-seat costs closely, it's not going to fit.
Key Features
AI Search: Natural-language search across years of email history, not just keyword matching.
Thread Summaries: Long threads get condensed into a quick summary so you don't have to scroll through everything.
AI Drafting: Personalized reply drafts based on your own writing style.
Team Inboxes: Shared inboxes for addresses like support@ or hello@, with assignment and collaboration built in.
AI-Powered Filters: Auto-sort and triage incoming email using AI rules instead of static keyword filters.
Pricing
Starting price
$30/mo (Business plan; no permanent free tier)
Free Trial: 14 days, no permanent free plan.
Business: $30/seat/month. Standard AI intelligence, 50 threads per AI search, 3 AI-powered filters, 5 years of AI search history.
Premier: $45/seat/month. Advanced intelligence, 2x AI usage of Business, unlimited AI search history, 100 threads per AI search.
Max: $120/seat/month. Expert intelligence, 6x AI usage of Business, 150 threads per AI search, 50 AI-powered filters.
Disclaimer: pricing may change, confirm on Shortwave's own pricing page before buying.
Pros
Genuinely Useful AI Search: Finds specific information buried in old threads faster than Gmail's native search.
Built by People Who Know Email: Former Google Inbox team, and it shows in the thoughtful thread and summary design.
Team Inbox Support: Shared addresses and collaboration features that plain Gmail doesn't offer.
Style-Matched Drafting: AI reply drafts are trained on how you actually write, not generic boilerplate.
Cons
Gmail Only: No Outlook or Microsoft 365 support at all, which rules out a huge chunk of business users.
No Free Tier: Just a 14-day trial, then you're paying $30+/mo per seat.
Per-Seat Costs Add Up: Pricing scales directly with headcount, which gets expensive for growing teams fast.
Another Inbox to Trust: You're routing your email through a third-party AI layer, which some privacy-conscious users and companies will be wary of regardless of Shortwave's compliance claims.
What Makes It Unique
Inbox-Wide AI Search: Shortwave's AI search understands natural-language questions across your entire email history, going well beyond Gmail's native keyword search.
Kay Score
7
/ 10
Tool Information
Pricing
$30/mo (Business plan; no permanent free tier)
Category
Research & Productivity
Platform
Web / iOS / Android
Last Updated
