This page is written for a person whose job title is also a Nautis feature name, which is awkward. So let's be direct: the Chief of Staff feature doesn't replace a human chief of staff. It can't earn trust, tell your CEO something uncomfortable, or know that two VPs aren't speaking.
What it can do is the part of your morning you probably resent, which is checking six systems to work out what changed overnight. If that's an hour a day, you could spend it on work that only you can do.
Which parts of your job can a tool do?
The Bridgespan Group's overview of the role lists duties in five groups, and a16z's guide to hiring one sums up the job as keeping "the CEO focused, the team aligned, and the priorities moving". Here's that list, sorted by what software can take a first pass at.
| Your work | First pass in Nautis | What stays yours |
|---|---|---|
| Know what changed across teams | Briefing, 7:00 am, grouped into Priorities, Blockers, Approvals, Pipeline, Today and Runway | Deciding which item is really first |
| Prepare and follow up on meetings | Meeting action items sent to a Task Board, when a transcription tool is connected | Knowing who actually agreed and who only nodded |
| Revisit priorities and metrics | Priority sliders, Weekly digest on Mondays, GTM metrics | Getting the CEO to change their mind |
| Draft reports and communications | Investor snapshot, AI drafts for review | Tone, timing and what to leave out |
| Run cross-functional projects | Outcome Workflows that break a goal into a plan and Task Board | The people problems inside the project |
| Bridge teams and handle conflict | Nothing | All of it |
Read the last row twice. a16z calls the role a bridge across teams, addressing miscommunication and conflict. It also warns that if admin takes up most of the job, you probably need an assistant. If you're spending 70% of your time on logistics, a tool will help, and so might a conversation about your role.
A warning about the shared Briefing
This is the most important thing for you to know, and a founder wouldn't notice it. The Briefing is per organization, not per person. Your done, snooze and dismiss actions update it for everyone.
So when you dismiss an item because you're handling it, your CEO won't see it either, and it won't return for two weeks. That may be exactly what you want, since filtering is your job. It may also be how a founder fails to hear about something important. Agree the rules with your CEO in week one.
- Mark done only when it's actually handled.
- Snooze items you're chasing, so they return tomorrow.
- Dismiss only noise. It also teaches the engine what to rank lower, and that training affects everyone.
- Keep a short private note of anything you've taken off the CEO's list, and share it at your regular check-in. a16z's guide says to shield an executive's time without hiding information, and this is where that gets tested.
Your morning, with a first pass already done
Imagine you're the chief of staff at a 22-person company, with a CEO on the road this week and a board meeting in nine days.
- 7:30 am. Read the Briefing. Start with the headline and Critical items. Click into source modules for anything you don't believe. Refresh if data changed since 7:00, since it's otherwise cached for the day.
- 7:50 am. Clear the Approval Center. If you hold an admin role, you can approve or reject here. Without it, your Do it taps just add to the queue for an admin. Check Show details every time.
- 8:00 am. Send the CEO three lines. If WhatsApp is on for your workspace, they get briefings on their own number, so yours should add what the Briefing can't: context, and what you're doing about it.
- 10:00 am. Board prep. Open Startup Health for the numbers, and ask the Chief of Staff chat for what's moved this month. Use it as a starting draft, then check every figure against the source record.
- 4:00 pm. Log decisions from today. The Decision Loop records a decision's confidence, assumptions and a 30, 60 or 90-day review. It means you can ask "did that work?" in March with something to point at.
- Monday. The Weekly digest arrives. It's a start on your leadership team's agenda, not the agenda.
On Voyage and Fleet there's also an Evening debrief at 5:00 pm, which is off by default and which an admin can turn on. If you're the person who closes each day for the CEO, try it for a week.
Getting the access you need
Your role in the system decides how useful it is. Only owners and admins can approve agent actions, change Agent Autonomy settings or connect integrations. A chief of staff without admin rights is reading the news and can't act on it. Admin rights also include managing billing, members and roles, per the roles guide, so make this an explicit decision with your CEO.
Then take over the What matters most right now sliders, which shape tomorrow's Briefing. Revenue at risk, Runway and burn, Deals and fundraising, Team health, Marketing and brand, Everything else. Setting these together is a useful exercise in itself, because it forces a conversation about what really comes first this quarter. Revisit it each month.
Burnout Radar needs care. It's a personal wellness tool, and it isn't for grading anyone. Team health items can appear in the Briefing, but don't try to use it for monitoring people, because you'll lose their trust and the check-ins with it.
Which plan fits, and at what size
a16z ties the role to company size, with a small organization at 20 or more people, a scaling one at 75 or more, and hypergrowth at 150 or more. That creates a real mismatch with Nautis. A company that can justify your salary is often near or past the top plan's limits.
Fleet at $129 a month as of October 2026 allows 25 team members, 2,600 AI credits and 15 routines. Voyage at $99 allows 10 members, 2,000 credits and 10 routines. If the company has 20 to 25 people, or gives seats only to leaders, Fleet works. Routines are worth planning: 15 is plenty, and the Investor Readiness Pulse is an example of one that turns the biggest gap into a monthly task.
Check also that your company actually keeps its work here. The Briefing skips sources with no data, so a pipeline in another CRM won't show up. If the team won't move anything, you'll get a thin list and more work. You can try it for 14 days with no card, but on Launch limits, so a trial won't show you everything.
When you shouldn't bother
- You're at 75 people or more. You work across the leadership team and seats stop at 25. Use tools that fit company-wide systems.
- Your stack works and the data lives elsewhere. Moving records to help one role is rarely worth the disruption for everyone else. A general assistant may serve you better. See Nautis and Claude.
- You mainly need help with inbox and calendar. A focused assistant costs less. Look at Nautis and Fyxer.
- Your company runs on EOS or another formal method. Nautis has no L10 meetings or Rocks and doesn't enforce a framework. EOS® is a trademark of EOS Worldwide.
- Your CEO hoped this would mean not hiring you, or replacing you. It won't, and our human vs AI comparison explains why. If a company has no budget for a chief of staff yet, the founder pages here will fit them better.
FAQ
What are the most useful tools for chiefs of staff?
Those that shorten your first pass across the company: a morning summary, a task and decision record, and meeting follow-up. Keep your personal notes separate from shared systems. Nautis offers most of this in one workspace, while a large company will usually use its existing enterprise tools.
Will the Nautis Chief of Staff replace me?
No. It checks records and drafts next steps, but it can't build trust, handle sensitive conversations, resolve conflict or own a decision. Think of it as a first pass that frees your time for work that needs a person.
Do I need admin rights in Nautis as a chief of staff?
To do the job well, usually yes. Only owners and admins can approve agent actions, change Agent Autonomy settings and connect integrations. Admin rights also cover billing, members and roles, so decide this with your CEO.
If I dismiss a Briefing item, does my CEO still see it?
No. The Briefing is per organization, so your done, snooze and dismiss actions update it for everyone, and a dismissed item stays hidden for two weeks. Agree when you'll use each action, and keep your CEO informed about what you've removed.
Sources
- The Bridgespan Group: What Is a Chief of Staff and When Do You Need One? (checked Oct 31, 2026)
- a16z: How to hire a chief of staff (checked Oct 31, 2026)