# Learn about AI assistants

Plain-English guides on how personal AI assistants work, how much to let them do, and how to keep your email and your data under control. They are written to be useful whether or not you ever try Gravel.

## What will you find in Learn?

Four guides, each starting with the short answer and then showing the reasoning, so you can use them without signing up for anything.

- [What is a proactive AI assistant?](https://gravel.chat/learn/proactive-ai-assistant) How an assistant that messages you first differs from a chatbot, and what makes one good.
- [How much should an AI assistant do without asking?](https://gravel.chat/learn/autonomy-levels) The four autonomy levels, one confirmation per plan, and why to start read-only.
- [How to stop missing important emails](https://gravel.chat/learn/stop-missing-important-emails) Filters, VIP senders and follow-up habits, and where an assistant helps.
- [What to check before giving an AI assistant your inbox](https://gravel.chat/learn/ai-assistant-privacy-checklist) A checklist for what it reads, where data lives, training, staff access and deletion.

Questions about Gravel itself are answered in the [FAQ](https://gravel.chat/faq).

## Where should you start?

If the idea is new to you, start with what a proactive assistant is. If you have an inbox problem today, start with the email guide, which works with any mail app. If you are about to connect an assistant to your mail, read the privacy checklist first and the autonomy guide second.

To see Gravel in action instead, read [how it works](https://gravel.chat/how-it-works) or browse real [use cases](https://gravel.chat/use-cases).

## Pages

- [What is a proactive AI assistant?](https://gravel.chat/learn/proactive-ai-assistant.md): A proactive AI assistant notices what needs you and messages you first instead of waiting for a prompt. How it differs from a chatbot and what makes one good.
- [How much should an AI assistant do without asking?](https://gravel.chat/learn/autonomy-levels.md): How much freedom to give an AI assistant: four autonomy levels, one confirmation per plan, why to start read-only, and which actions should always ask first.
- [How to stop missing important emails](https://gravel.chat/learn/stop-missing-important-emails.md): Filters, VIP senders, a weekly sweep and follow-up habits that keep important email from slipping, plus how an assistant that texts you first can help.
- [What to check before giving an AI assistant your inbox](https://gravel.chat/learn/ai-assistant-privacy-checklist.md): Seven questions to ask before an AI assistant reads your email: what it keeps, where data lives, training, staff access, deletion, export and permissions.

## Related

- [Frequently asked questions about Gravel](https://gravel.chat/faq.md)
- [How Gravel works, step by step](https://gravel.chat/how-it-works.md)
- [What you can hand to an AI assistant that texts you first](https://gravel.chat/use-cases.md)

---

Gravel · https://gravel.chat/learn · Updated 2026-10-19 · Status: Early access, €12 a month