Guide
How much does an executive assistant cost, and when does AI make sense instead
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) reports a $76,590 median annual wage for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, as of its May 2025 wage survey. An employer's full cost is higher after payroll taxes, benefits, recruiting, equipment, software, management time, and coverage are included.
AI makes sense for repeatable digital work that can be checked, such as inbox triage, meeting briefs, reminders, drafts, research, and calls to businesses. Pally does this for free, in your texts. Hire a person when the value comes from judgment, discretion, relationship management, negotiation, and owning a changing set of outcomes.
A practical approach
What to do
Start with a wage benchmark
Use the BLS national median as a starting point, then check state and metro wage data for your hiring market. Offers vary with location, experience, industry, and scope. Write the role first, because a calendar coordinator and a senior partner to the founder are different jobs.
Calculate the full cost
Add payroll taxes, benefits, paid time off, recruiting, onboarding, equipment, software, management time, and absence coverage to the salary. Ask your payroll provider and benefits broker for local numbers. Leaving overhead out makes a full-time hire look closer in cost to a tool or part-time service than it is.
Price the work left undone
Estimate what missed follow-ups, weak meeting prep, scheduling delays, admin errors, and founder distraction cost, using recent examples. Then find work you can delete, standardize, or hand to existing software before you assign it to a hire. This keeps the role from being judged only as an expense.
Test AI on bounded tasks
Pick low-risk digital tasks with clear inputs, such as a morning brief, finding messages that need replies, drafting follow-ups, summarizing notes, or setting reminders. Track time saved, corrections, missed context, and access concerns over several real weeks. A low price beside a salary does not make AI right for sensitive judgment.
The Pally option
How Pally helps
Pally handles connected-app briefs, reminders, research, drafts, and web tasks in your texts, and calls to businesses are included. Compare those tasks with the role you need rather than treating either AI or a person as a universal substitute.
Morning brief
A short morning brief with what matters: your day, your inbox, and the things you said you'd do.
See the recipeInbox, triaged
Ask what needs you. Pally reads the pile, flags the few, and handles the replies.
See the recipePre-meeting briefs
Walk in knowing who's in the room, your history, and what's still open, without doing the homework.
See the recipeOptions
Other tools people use
Fair alternatives, including ones that overlap with Pally.
Upwork
Upwork fits founders who want to test a narrower remote-assistance scope before creating a full-time role.
Contractor availability and context can be narrower, and you still need clear procedures and quality review.
Orchid
Orchid fits founders comparing a text-based assistant for morning rundowns, reply drafts, and meeting booking.
It drafts replies for you to approve rather than sending them on its own.
Hey Noah
Hey Noah fits founders comparing help with scheduling, action-item extraction, and phone calls over email or text.
Access is invite-only, and pricing is unpublished.
Lindy
Lindy fits a work-focused trial around inbox, scheduling, meeting, and follow-up tasks.
A software assistant does not take broad ownership of relationships, priorities, and ambiguous executive work.
Compare Pally and LindyMartin
Martin fits a trial covering calendar management, email drafts, reminders, to-dos, and voice access.
Voice, notifications, and settings live in its iOS app.
Compare Pally and MartinQuestions
Frequently asked questions
Is the salary the full cost of an executive assistant?
No. Employers also budget for payroll taxes, benefits, recruiting, onboarding, equipment, software, management, paid time off, and coverage needs.
Should I hire part time before full time?
A part-time or contracted trial can reveal the real workload when tasks are well defined. A full-time role fits better when availability, deep context, and changing priorities are central to the value.
Which executive assistant tasks fit AI best?
Start with repeatable digital tasks that have reliable source data and a clear review point. Inbox triage, briefs, reminders, draft preparation, and research are easier to test than negotiation or sensitive relationship management.
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