Will Ordaily take away the mental load?

Not all of it, and we will not pretend otherwise. The planning and the worrying are still yours. What Ordaily takes off you is the remembering, the sorting and the reminding: it keeps track of the dates, sorts the school emails and tells you on WhatsApp before something is due.

Does it read the class WhatsApp group?

Only on Lite Plus, at R499 a month. Verify your WhatsApp number with a PIN and add Ordaily’s group number (it’s different from the number you chat with) to the class group. Then ask “what’s happening in the class group?” in your own chat for a private catch up, since yesterday or further back, though never from before Ordaily joined. You get a private alert when someone tags you or writes your full name, and Ordaily never posts in the group.

Can I set reminders by voice note?

Yes. Send a voice note such as “remind me on Thursday to pay the tour money” and Ordaily sets the reminder and sends it to you on WhatsApp at the time you asked.

Does it work with the school app or with Outlook?

Not the school app. Ordaily reads Gmail and Google Calendar, and Outlook mail and Microsoft Calendar are in beta. It does not read school apps such as D6 or Schoolsbuddy.

My school’s app (like D6) doesn’t notify me properly. Can Ordaily help?

Not inside the app. Ordaily cannot see D6 or other school apps, so it cannot fix their notifications. But if the same notice also comes to your email, forward it or paste it into your Ordaily chat: it spots the date (one date per email) and adds it to your calendar on your yes. You can also ask it to remind you, by text or voice note.

Can my partner and I share one plan?

No. Each plan is for one person, with your own WhatsApp chat and, on Lite, one inbox and calendar. If you both want help, you each take a plan.

Will it send anything without asking me?

No. Ordaily never sends, books or changes anything without your yes: every email reply and every invite waits on a card in WhatsApp for your yes, and after you approve you have 30 seconds to undo. It is built for POPIA, and your content is never used to train AI.

An AI assistant for parents in South Africa

Last updated 30 October 2026

By Josh Macdonald, founder of Ordaily

Yes. Ordaily is an AI PA (personal assistant) that lives in WhatsApp. It sorts the school emails in your Gmail, keeps your Google Calendar, reminds you by text or voice note and drafts replies that it sends only after you say yes. Lite costs R299 a month, and Lite Plus, at R499 a month, adds your WhatsApp groups. Your school and family admin, out of your head and into WhatsApp.

Start now See pricing

If you are the one who remembers everything

Most homes have a default parent: the one who knows when the swimming gala is, which form still needs signing and whose turn it is to drive the lift club. That mental load lives in your head, between the school emails, the class WhatsApp group and the extramurals calendar on the fridge.

Ordaily will not carry all of it for you. The planning and the worrying are still yours. What it does is remember, sort and remind: it keeps the dates, sorts the school emails and tells you on WhatsApp before something is due, so you can stop keeping it all in your head.

What Ordaily does for parents

The school email pile

Ordaily reads your Gmail and sorts every email as urgent, priority, must read or FYI, so the newsletter waits and the note about Friday’s early pickup does not. It drafts replies, in your own style on Lite Plus, and sends one only after you say yes.

The family calendar

Tell it “dentist for Sam on Thursday at three” and it books it in your Google Calendar. It moves and cancels things too, with invites. Got a school email with a date in it? Forward it or paste its text into your Ordaily chat: it spots the date (one date per email) and asks “Add it to your calendar? Reply yes”, and on yes it goes in. Every morning or evening you can get your briefing as a text or a voice note, so a clash between extramurals and the lift club shows up before Tuesday, not on the day. More in turning school emails into calendar events.

Reminders by voice note

Driving and remembered the civvies day money? Send a voice note and Ordaily sets the reminder, or adds it to your to do list. Each morning you get a short briefing of the day as text or a voice note.

The class WhatsApp group, on Lite Plus

Lite Plus adds your WhatsApp groups: catch up and get mention alerts. Verify your WhatsApp number with a PIN and add Ordaily’s group number (it’s different from the number you chat with) to the class group. Then ask “what’s happening in the class group?” in your own chat and get a private catch up, since yesterday or further back if you ask, though never from before Ordaily joined. You get a private alert when someone tags you or writes your full name, and Ordaily never posts in the group. More in school WhatsApp group overload.

What it does not do

It does not read school apps such as D6 or Schoolsbuddy. It reads your Gmail and Google Calendar.
Outlook mail and Microsoft Calendar are in beta.
Each plan is for one person, with your own WhatsApp chat. It is not a shared family account.
It does not make phone calls or run errands, and it does not send anything without your yes.
It will not carry the whole mental load. It remembers, sorts and reminds; the decisions stay with you.

What it costs

Lite: R299 a month

Was R500. One Gmail inbox and calendar: school emails sorted, replies drafted, calendar, reminders and briefings, all in WhatsApp.

Lite Plus: R499 a month

Was R699. Everything in Lite, plus up to 5 WhatsApp groups (catch up and get mention alerts), replies in your own style, an evening briefing and 10 web look-ups a month.

Both prices are locked for 12 months, billed monthly in rand, and you can cancel any time. Not sure you need a plan at all? See a little help for R299 a month, or how Ordaily compares with family organiser apps such as Cozi and Skylight.

How to start

Pick Lite, or Lite Plus if you want the class group too, on the pricing page.
Sign up online and connect your Google account.
Message Ordaily on WhatsApp: ask what is on this week, or send a voice note with your first reminder.

Questions

Is there an AI assistant for busy parents in South Africa?: Yes. Ordaily is an AI PA (personal assistant) that lives in WhatsApp. It sorts the school emails in your Gmail, keeps your Google Calendar, reminds you by text or voice note and drafts replies that it sends only after you say yes. Lite costs R299 a month, and Lite Plus, at R499 a month, adds your WhatsApp groups.
Will Ordaily take away the mental load?: Not all of it, and we will not pretend otherwise. The planning and the worrying are still yours. What Ordaily takes off you is the remembering, the sorting and the reminding: it keeps track of the dates, sorts the school emails and tells you on WhatsApp before something is due.
Does it read the class WhatsApp group?: Only on Lite Plus, at R499 a month. Verify your WhatsApp number with a PIN and add Ordaily’s group number (it’s different from the number you chat with) to the class group. Then ask “what’s happening in the class group?” in your own chat for a private catch up, since yesterday or further back, though never from before Ordaily joined. You get a private alert when someone tags you or writes your full name, and Ordaily never posts in the group.
Can I set reminders by voice note?: Yes. Send a voice note such as “remind me on Thursday to pay the tour money” and Ordaily sets the reminder and sends it to you on WhatsApp at the time you asked.
Does it work with the school app or with Outlook?: Not the school app. Ordaily reads Gmail and Google Calendar, and Outlook mail and Microsoft Calendar are in beta. It does not read school apps such as D6 or Schoolsbuddy.
My school’s app (like D6) doesn’t notify me properly. Can Ordaily help?: Not inside the app. Ordaily cannot see D6 or other school apps, so it cannot fix their notifications. But if the same notice also comes to your email, forward it or paste it into your Ordaily chat: it spots the date (one date per email) and adds it to your calendar on your yes. You can also ask it to remind you, by text or voice note.
Can my partner and I share one plan?: No. Each plan is for one person, with your own WhatsApp chat and, on Lite, one inbox and calendar. If you both want help, you each take a plan.
Will it send anything without asking me?: No. Ordaily never sends, books or changes anything without your yes: every email reply and every invite waits on a card in WhatsApp for your yes, and after you approve you have 30 seconds to undo. It is built for POPIA, and your content is never used to train AI.

Out of your head and into WhatsApp, for R299 a month

Start now See pricing

Built for POPIA · Nothing sent without your yes · Your content is never used to train AI