6 Best Free Ollie AI Alternatives for Families
Ollie’s free plan gave you 50 messages a month plus 6 a day. With Ollie shutting down on November 6, 2026, here’s what you can use for free instead.
The quick answer: Carly is the best pick if you want free automations that run on their own. Its free Zapier-style workflows can forward every school email to your partner, add a task or label what matters, and you can step up to AI agents when you want more. Pally is the best free assistant to chat with by text. Fambot is the best free read of Gmail school emails. Cozi is the best free shared calendar.
Free Ollie AI alternatives compared
| Tool | What’s free | Reach it by | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Zapier-style workflows | Web, SMS, email | Rules that run on their own |
| Pally | The whole assistant | iMessage, RCS, WhatsApp | Texting an assistant |
| Fambot | Everything while in beta | Text | Gmail school emails |
| Ohai.ai | Reminders, meal planning, lists | App, SMS | A household app |
| Cozi | Shared calendar and lists | App | A family board |
| ChatGPT | Free plan with scheduled tasks | App, web | Meal ideas and one-off help |
1. Carly
Most free family tools still wait for you to open them. Carly’s free Zapier-style workflows run when something happens, with nobody opening anything:
- Forward every email from the school to your partner.
- Add a task to Google Tasks when the coach emails.
- Label everything from the pediatrician so you can find it.
- Copy a new booking to the family calendar.
You describe it in plain English, and Carly builds it. It works across all of your Gmail and Outlook accounts, and connects to thousands of apps.
When you want an assistant that reads, decides and replies, like your Ollie thread did, AI agents start at $35/month. You can text an agent, and it follows your rules the same way every time. See how it compares with Ollie.
Best for: Families who want reliable automation for free, with room to grow.
Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month
2. Pally
A personal assistant in your messages, entirely free. It connects to Gmail, Outlook, iCloud and Google Calendar, sends what you ask, and checks first on anything else.
Best for: One person who wants the same texting habit at no cost.
The catch: It’s built for one person, not a family group chat. See Pally alternatives.
3. Fambot
Connects to Gmail and Google Calendar and turns school emails into a nightly plan by text. Fambot says it will offer a free tier and a paid tier after beta.
Best for: All-Google families who mainly used Ollie for school emails.
The catch: It doesn’t work with Outlook, and the price will change after beta. See Fambot alternatives.
4. Ohai.ai
A household app whose free version covers reminders, meal planning and lists. You feed it by forwarding emails and uploading photos and PDFs. Premium starts at $9.99/month.
Best for: Families who’ll use a shared app.
The catch: Shared household features sit behind Premium. See Ohai alternatives.
5. Cozi
The classic free family organizer, with a shared calendar, to-dos and shopping lists. The AI Meal Planner and AI Event Import are on Cozi Max at $79.99/year.
Best for: Families who want one shared board.
The catch: Nothing happens unless someone adds it.
6. ChatGPT
The free plan handles meal ideas, a hard email draft and quick questions, and scheduled tasks opened to free accounts in August 2026.
Best for: One-off help.
The catch: You have to go to it. It doesn’t watch the school inbox for you by default. Carly plugs into ChatGPT if you want both.
How to pick a free Ollie AI alternative
If you used Ollie to catch things you’d otherwise miss, start with Carly’s free workflows. They keep running with no one texting them. If you mostly chatted with Ollie, try Pally. On Gmail with a school-email problem, try Fambot. For a shared board, try Cozi. The paid field is in Ollie AI alternatives.
FAQ
What’s the best free alternative to Ollie AI? Carly for automations that run on their own, and Pally for a free assistant you text.
Is there a free AI family assistant? Yes. Fambot is free while in beta, Ohai has a free version, and Cozi’s core app is free. Carly’s free workflows handle the repeat jobs.
Can I keep my Ollie data on a free plan? Yes. Save the export Ollie texts you. The export guide covers what to do with it.
Did Ollie’s free plan end too? Yes. Everything on Ollie ends November 6, 2026. See Ollie AI is shutting down.
More: Best free AI personal assistants · Best AI family assistants · What is Ollie AI? · Carly vs Ollie
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"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
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