Martin is designed to be your personal digital assistant, akin to Jarvis from the Iron Man movies, but with a more realistic set of capabilities. Unlike the fictional AI, Martin integrates directly with your calendar, email inbox, and to-do lists, allowing you to manage tasks such as scheduling appointments, deleting entries, and listing pending tasks. This makes Martin a useful tool for managing everyday work activities, albeit not as demanding as those of Tony Stark.
Martin offers flexibility in interaction, providing both a web interface and an iOS app. The web interface allows users to chat, view their calendar, tasks, reminders, and emails all in one place. The iOS app enables voice interaction with Martin, although currently, it only supports English for voice commands. The app can read out upcoming appointments and summarize the meeting descriptions.
Martin’s voice mode is expected to support more languages in the future. Users can choose between a male or female voice and select a British, American, or Australian accent for the AI’s responses. Besides the apps, Martin can also be accessed via WhatsApp, text message, or email. There’s even an option to connect Martin with the team messenger Slack, allowing messages to be sent through the Martin app or WhatsApp to Slack.
In practical tests, Martin has been efficient and helpful in summarizing emails and creating calendar entries. While there are other email clients with similar AI features, Martin’s voice control is less error-prone compared to Apple’s Siri, at least in English. However, Apple is also working on improving its voice control capabilities, raising questions about Martin’s long-term competitiveness against major tech companies.
Despite having fewer resources, Martin’s founder, Dawson Chen, believes the startup can succeed by being agile and responsive to user feedback, potentially finding a product-market fit before larger companies do. Martin’s pricing is $21 per month for individual users when paid annually, while businesses will later pay $45 per user per month, with the option to integrate company data. The business offering is currently accessible via a waiting list.
Martin is a promising tool for those looking to streamline their daily tasks with the help of AI. While it may not yet rival the capabilities of larger tech companies’ offerings, its agility and focus on user experience may carve out a niche in the market.