This Y Combinator-Backed AI Startup Can Replace Your Intern
We all hate repetitive tasks that we have to do on a daily basis. But this Y Combinator-backed AI startup called Tessa Workflows wants to eliminate that pain. The company aims to replace them with AI “employees” that operate entirely in your browser.
While robotic process automation (RPA) tools have long promised to simplify busywork, most users quickly find they fail when real-world tasks involve complex decision-making. Meanwhile, AI agents, especially those strung together over long tasks, often fall apart due to compounding errors. Tessa claims to have found a middle ground that actually works.
AI Workflows That Don’t Break
Instead of giving users another drag-and-drop interface or a clunky co-pilot that needs constant babysitting, Tessa claims to turn plain English prompts into editable, visual workflow graphs. These AI workflows live in your browser and can be tweaked via simple chat commands in what Tessa calls the “omni-bar.”
The company likes to position itself as a full-fledged digital teammate and not just another helping tool. Here’s how it works: For example, saying “Send me a daily stock report” generates an entire automated system that fetches data, formats it, and delivers it on schedule.
Templates for Common Office Drudgery
The company also offers ready-made templates for tasks like:
- Daily stock summaries
- Invoice extraction and processing
- Customer support ticket resolution
The best part is that each workflow is editable in natural language, which makes it accessible to non-technical users. According to the company, Tessa can take over most of what an intern would typically do on a computer without ever needing a break or asking how to open Excel.
However, the company’s future goals are even more ambitious. Tessa says it’s building a system that can watch you do a task once via screen share and then automate it entirely—no prompts, dashboards, or learning curve.
The company envisions a future where you can simply talk to Tessa on Slack, email, video, or even over the phone, and the AI will take it from there.
However, these are quite far-off goals as of now. However, if the company successfully delivers on this promise, it could change how teams approach repetitive knowledge work. The idea of replacing RPA with a natural language interface and dashboards with dialogue could drastically lower the barrier to entry for automation.