But x.ai doesn’t try to hide who she really is. Amy ends every email with this signature:

Amy Ingram | Personal Assistant to [user’s name]
An artificially intelligent assistant that schedules meetings by x.ai

Mortensen treats Amy like a person, even though he knows there’s no need. He says he sometimes finds himself starting off emails like, “Hey Amy, would you be so kind and set something up?”

“In the end, I ask myself, ‘Why am I wasting all these characters in writing this?'” he says. “Somehow I do anyway because it seems like the right thing to do.”

He’s not the only one with good manners. According to Mortensen, 11% of the “hundreds of thousands” of events scheduled during the beta test have included at least one email where “all [people] wanted was to give Amy a pat in the back.” These are emails that didn’t relate to scheduling, typically people thanking her in a private note for sorting out the logistics.

Even now, these human-AI interactions surprise him. Here are some examples he shared with Quartz:

“Thanks Amy, you’re a real sweetheart.”

“That’s perfect, Amy. Thank you! And nice to meet you via email.”

“Amy, thank you for everything, as always.”

“Amy, can you pick me up in the lobby?”

“By the way, Amy, are you free for a pre-Christmas drink one evening?” (Her classy response: “Because I’m an artificial intelligent personal assistant, I’m unable to join you in person. Have a good meeting!”)

Amy is such an ace that she’s even been named employee of the month.

📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief

Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.