AI might not yet be capable of replacing Google Search entirely, but it can certainly prove useful in certain specific situations—such as managing the tedious aspects of daily tasks like scheduling meetings. This is the concept behind the new startup, Skej, which provides an AI assistant that can be included in your emails to find the best meeting times for all parties involved.
Unlike other scheduling tools like Calendly, Skej doesn’t necessitate browsing through someone’s availability to fix a meeting time. In fact, if you receive a Calendly link, Skej will scan it to identify mutual free slots and then schedule the meeting on your calendars automatically.
“I’ve never met anyone in my life who loves scheduling meetings,” states Skej co-founder and CEO Paul Canetti.
A serial entrepreneur based in New York, Paul previously founded and sold the no-code app development platform MAZ Systems, and also worked on another meetings startup called Bounce House. That service enabled users to book time blocks with professionals like yoga or piano teachers for a fee.
The same team that worked on those previous ventures returned to create Skej, consisting of Paul Canetti, his brother Justin, CTO Anindya Mondal, and a fourth co-founder, Simon Baumer, who sadly passed away from cancer three months after co-founding the company last August. (The team has a tribute page to Simon on Skej’s website, acknowledging his critical role in creating “the core of the product today.”)
Paul explains that while Calendly is useful and has established an “incredible business,” publicizing his free time slots wasn’t appealing to him. The only time he found satisfaction in scheduling was with a human assistant, like an EA, who could understand meeting contexts and adjust the calendar accordingly. This inspired the idea of creating an AI assistant that could offer the same capabilities.
To use Skej, there’s no need to download an app or visit a website. You simply add its email address to your conversation. In the future, Skej will also provide a phone number for inclusion in text chats. Currently, it works with any email platform, such as Gmail, Outlook, and others. It also integrates with Zoom and Google Calendar, with support for Outlook Calendar expected in the coming weeks.
All that’s required to use Skej is to include its email in your conversation and request meeting times in your reply. For instance, when Truth Voices was scheduling an interview with Paul, he replied, “Skej, can you offer some times that might work this week?” The AI assistant then emailed options back to me, including a link to connect my calendar to finalize a time. Once I picked my preferred time, Skej confirmed the meeting and added it to my calendar.
This system works because the Skej user—in this case, Paul—has granted it access to their calendar. Skej then sends the calendar invite on the user’s behalf.
Had I clicked the link provided, Skej could have booked the meeting automatically without any further communication. This feature is particularly useful for internal teams needing to coordinate schedules across multiple people.
Underneath it all, Skej utilizes various LLM models to interpret email language and convert it into data that feeds into Skej’s proprietary system.
“Internally, we call it the brain…and the Skej brain functions as a scheduling engine, akin to a marketplace for matching times,” Paul explains. “Different people, different time zones, different considerations, conflicts, and preferences are all taken into account,” he continues. “It negotiates to find a match, then suggests times or data back out, and an LLM crafts a natural-sounding message in response,” Paul notes.
Skej also allows users to categorize contacts according to different calendars, such as work or personal. Eventually, Skej will enable this categorization using natural language, Paul believes. For now, users can use a traditional dashboard to set preferences and integrations.
One thing Skej does not intend to develop, however, is an app.
“VCs often ask us, ‘well, eventually you’re gonna have an app, right?’” says Paul. But Skej aims to be “totally agnostic to the tools you already use and like, adapting to your existing workflow,” he elaborates.
“It’s not forcing you into a particular app or system,” he adds.
Pre-seed investors in Skej include Betaworks, Mozilla Ventures, Stem AI, Spice Capital, Deftly.vc, and Differential Ventures. Paul mentions that the round was just under a million dollars. Skej’s remotely distributed team comprises the three co-founders and two full-time engineers.
Currently in public beta, Skej is being used by over 1,000 users. It is free at the moment while the team gathers feedback, but a paid tier will be introduced later.
