#417 Revolutionizing Productivity: Yohann Abitann on AI-Powered Executive Assistants

The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu

In this exciting episode, Mehmet speaks with Yohann Abitann, founder of NewMail AI, about tackling one of the most pressing challenges for executives today: email overload. Yohann shares his fascinating journey, from studying at NYU and working at Stanford Research Institute to developing an AI-powered executive assistant designed to transform productivity for leaders.

Discover how NewMail AI leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence to prioritize communication, declutter inboxes, and manage calendars—letting busy professionals focus on what matters most.

👤 About the Guest

Yohann Abitann is a Swiss-French entrepreneur and founder of NewMail AI, an innovative platform redefining email and calendar management. With a background in computer science and cybersecurity from NYU, Yohann honed his skills at Stanford Research Institute and Carnegie Mellon University. His career spans pivotal roles in AI-driven projects, including real-time speech analysis and computer vision systems, culminating in his mission to create a smarter, AI-powered executive assistant for leaders and entrepreneurs.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Why traditional tools fall short: The outdated email model vs. modern challenges in the attention economy.

• AI as a “guardian of attention”: How NewMail filters critical communications while maintaining privacy.

• Unified communications: The vision for integrating email, calendar, and messaging platforms.

• AI collaboration: Why human-AI partnerships are the future of productivity.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• The philosophy behind building tools that enhance—not replace—human capabilities.

• How NewMail prioritizes and organizes emails using advanced AI techniques.

• The importance of explainable and transparent AI for managing sensitive business data.

• Practical insights for integrating AI into your daily workflows.

📝 Episode Highlights

On Email Overload

“I actually offer a bounty to whoever can prove to me they have the high score of the most emails—I’ve seen up to 150,000 unread emails in an inbox!”

On AI and Productivity

“Personal touch at scale. We’re not trying to replace you. We’re trying to give you more time to be you and let the machine do what’s for machines.”

Advice for Entrepreneurs

“Find the pain. If there’s no pain, it’s not worth it. Become married to the pain, not the solution.”

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• https://newmail.ai: Explore their AI-powered productivity tools.

• Connect with Yohann Abitann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yohann-abittan/

Episode Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Introduction and guest background
• [00:05:00] Discussion of email management challenges
• [00:16:00] NewMail AI's approach to privacy and data handling
• [00:26:00] Future of AI integration with messaging platforms
• [00:34:00] Discussion of AI agents and automation
• [00:46:00] Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs