Answer email with the power of AI

Giraf

The challenge

When you receive between 100 and 200 emails a day, most requiring similar responses, you might wish you had a personal assistant. But at the same time, you want to stay in control of your inbox. And above all, that assistant needs to do a proper job: no emails slipping through the cracks, no forgotten messages, and responses that are clearly and professionally written.

That’s where the Harborn team came in, to build an AI assistant that not only meets all of the above criteria but even brings a human touch to the table.

The solution

Meet our artificial intelligence email assistant: Giraf. Giraf is the AI-powered solution supporting companies in the real estate and rental sector by handling their daily email traffic. Not as a standalone tool, but as a fully integrated assistant—an AI plugin that can read and respond to most emails automatically. This significantly reduces the pressure on staff and gives them more time for what really matters: offering personal service and showing properties. A tidy inbox leads to more energy and focus.

5000+

emails answered fully autonomously

80%

of emails immediately responded to

emails per day

Rotsvast and Harborn

Rotsvast, active in rentals and property management, deals with a high volume of standard email inquiries. When the company came across an article about AI being used to answer emails in the hospitality industry, they were instantly intrigued. Harborn was a natural fit for the challenge, with a strong background in AI and user-facing platforms. During a series of focused working sessions with Rotsvast, the foundation for the product was laid. That led to an important decision: should the solution be developed solely for Rotsvast, or offered as a broader SaaS solution under license? Rotsvast chose the same path we did: a solution this extensive and sophisticated should benefit the entire industry.

Believing in the right solution

To prove how much we believed in the concept, we began working directly with Rotsvast's specific use case. Their email platform and CRM were used as the starting point for what would become Giraf.During the COVID era, we developed a demo and collaborated closely. Our assistant wasn’t fully trained yet, AI needs lots of data and ongoing training. By meeting every two weeks to discuss progress and fine-tune the system, we launched the first pilot after just six months—ready to test in a live environment.

The numbers

Giraf doesn’t slack off. Since July 2021, it has fully and autonomously handled over 6,000 emails. At Rotsvast Utrecht, Giraf processes around 50 emails per day, instantly replying to 80% of them. The remaining messages are handled by Rotsvast, either manually or semi-automatically. Giraf's reach is no longer limited to Rotsvast, other clients are now successfully using the assistant too. Emails that Giraf doesn’t handle immediately are labeled and re-entered into the system later, feeding new data into its training set. This way, Giraf continues to grow in productivity and capability.

Already feature-rich, and always learning

With input from rental agents across the industry, we continuously enhance Giraf. It’s becoming more complete, more functional, and smarter by the day. Giraf can scan and respond to emails incredibly fast and exactly how you want it to. Messages can be sent automatically or prepared for review. All messages sent by Giraf appear in your own outbox, fully transparent. The system integrates with your CRM and, in the future, even your calendar.

And development moves quickly. Where Giraf used to only handle initial viewing requests, it’s now nearly ready to autonomously manage follow-up replies as well. Because it works silently in the background, you won’t even notice it's there, except in all the time you’re suddenly saving.

And that human touch? Giraf works around the clock, but only sends messages during office hours. It also takes a brief pause after reading and composing a reply. Because no one believes a human can read and respond to an email in under 30 seconds!

Technologies:

AWS
Python serverless programming
AI
Natural Language Processing
Vue frontend framework

giraf.ai/

Ferdinando

Commercial Director

Looking for a smart email assistant?

Tired of spending your day processing emails? Curious about what Giraf can do for you? Giraf is available under license and can be integrated with various email and CRM systems.

Even if your challenge looks different, we’re always happy to brainstorm—whether using AI or our very own HI (Human Intelligence). Want to learn more? Feel free to give Ferdinando, the project lead, a call.

+31 10 436 50 50 ferdinando.vandepanne@harborn.com