GAIA vs Carly
Carly (formerly CalBot) gives you AI agents with their own email address: you CC them to schedule meetings, sort your inbox and update your CRM. GAIA is a personal assistant you reach from chat apps, the web and the desktop, with workflows across your tools.
Carly started as CalBot, a scheduling assistant you CC on email, and has grown into a platform of AI agents. Each agent has its own name, email address, integrations and permissions, and you reach it by email, SMS, Slack, its dashboard chat or from Claude and ChatGPT over MCP. Its catalog spans CRMs, accounting, support desks and hundreds more apps, and teams can add business calling and an AI receptionist. GAIA is one personal assistant rather than a set of agents. It triages your inbox, manages your calendar and tasks, remembers your preferences, runs workflows triggered by your tools and is reachable from iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and Discord as well as its web and desktop apps. GAIA does not make or answer phone calls.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | GAIA | Carly |
|---|---|---|
| Core approach | One personal AI assistant that works across email, calendar, tasks and your other tools | A platform of AI agents, each with its own name, email address, integrations and permissions |
| How you reach it | iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and Discord, plus a web app and a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux | Email (CC your agent), SMS, Slack, a dashboard chat, a Chrome extension, and Claude or ChatGPT over MCP |
| Scheduling | Finds open time, creates and edits Google Calendar events and drafts scheduling emails | Core strength: books meetings from email threads, with booking pages and group scheduling |
| Integrations | Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Todoist, Asana, HubSpot and more, plus custom MCP servers | A very large catalog, including CRMs such as Attio, Pipedrive and Zoho, accounting tools such as QuickBooks and Xero, and support desks such as Zendesk |
| Workflow automation | Multi-step workflows on a schedule or triggered by Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, GitHub and more | Workflow templates, scheduled tasks and custom skills, with AI steps metered in credits |
| Phone calls | No phone calls | Business calling and an AI receptionist as paid add-ons for teams |
| Memory | Long-term memory of your preferences and people that you can view, edit and delete in settings | Persistent memory for each agent |
| Source-available | Source-available (PolyForm Noncommercial) with self-hosting via Docker; for-profit organizations self-host under an enterprise license | Proprietary and cloud-only |
| Pricing | Hosted Pro at $30/month per person; GAIA Enterprise priced on request | A free tier with MCP access and basic workflows, then a Personal plan and per-seat Organization plans with usage metered in credits; Enterprise on request |
Why Choose GAIA
- +Text it from iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Discord
- +A web app and a desktop app for longer work
- +One subscription instead of credits that run out
- +Memory you can see, edit and delete
- +Source-available, with self-hosting via Docker
Where Carly Excels
- +Nothing new to learn: you CC an agent on the email you were already writing
- +A far larger catalog of business apps, from CRMs to accounting and support desks
- +Phone handling for teams, with business calling and an AI receptionist
The Verdict
Choose Carly if you want agents that live in email, need its CRM, accounting or support integrations, or want an AI receptionist on the phone. Choose GAIA if you want one personal assistant you can text from your chat apps, with a web and desktop app, workflows across your tools, memory you control and code you can inspect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for the best Carly alternative? See our complete guide → Best Carly Alternative in 2026
Compare More AI Assistants Tools
GAIA for Your Role
GAIA for Executives
Surface the emails that matter and walk into every meeting briefed. GAIA triages your inbox, preps briefings, and tracks follow-ups. See how it works.
GAIA for Sales Professionals
Spend less time logging calls and chasing replies. GAIA keeps your HubSpot pipeline current, drafts follow-ups, and preps account briefs. See how it works.
