Emily vs the Alternatives
An honest comparison of parliamentary monitoring options — from established players like Dods and TheyWorkForYou to the spreadsheet-and-Hansard approach that most teams still rely on.
1. The monitoring landscape
Public affairs professionals in the UK have historically had limited options for parliamentary monitoring. At one end, enterprise platforms like Dods offer comprehensive but expensive coverage. At the other, free tools like TheyWorkForYou provide basic tracking. Most teams fall somewhere in between, cobbling together a mix of tools, email alerts, and manual Hansard searches.
Emily represents a different approach: an AI-first platform that combines monitoring, analysis, and action — briefing drafting, stakeholder tracking, and proactive alerts — in a single conversational interface. This comparison aims to help you understand which tool best fits your needs.
A note on honesty:We built Emily because we saw gaps in the market, but that doesn't mean it's the right fit for everyone. Each tool has genuine strengths. We'll be straightforward about where alternatives may serve you better.
2. Feature comparison
| Feature | Emily | Dods | TWFY | Manual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real-time Parliament monitoring | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | — |
| AI-powered chat & Q&A | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Automated daily briefings | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Stakeholder CRM & tracking | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Document/briefing drafting | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Bill stage tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MP voting records | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Written question monitoring | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | ✓ |
| Committee evidence tracking | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Proactive alerts & notifications | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Hansard search & analysis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross-reference amendments with stakeholders | ✓ | — | — | — |
3. Emily — AI-first monitoring
Emily is built on the premise that parliamentary monitoring shouldn't require a dedicated analyst. It's an AI employee that ingests Parliament data, understands your priorities, and delivers actionable intelligence.
Strengths
- Ask questions in plain English and get sourced answers
- Automated briefing drafting saves hours per week
- Stakeholder CRM built in — no separate tool needed
- Proactive alerts based on your tracked issues and MPs
- Fixed, transparent pricing at £69/month
Considerations
- Newer entrant — less established than Dods
- AI-generated content should always be verified
- Currently UK Parliament focused (EU/international coming later)
- Smaller support team than enterprise competitors
4. Dods Political Intelligence
Dods is the established incumbent in UK political intelligence, serving large corporations, trade associations, and government affairs teams for decades. It offers comprehensive monitoring, deep contact databases, and human-curated analysis.
Strengths
- Decades of experience and established reputation
- Human-curated political intelligence and analysis
- Comprehensive contact database for engagement
- Covers UK and EU parliamentary activity
- Dedicated account managers for enterprise clients
Considerations
- Expensive — typically £10,000-£25,000+ per year
- Traditional interface — not AI-native
- No automated briefing drafting or AI chat
- Long-term contracts often required
- Can feel over-engineered for smaller teams
5. TheyWorkForYou
Run by the charity mySociety, TheyWorkForYou is a free tool that makes parliamentary data more accessible to the public. It tracks MPs' voting records, speeches, and attendance, and offers email alerts for keyword mentions in Parliament.
Strengths
- Completely free
- Excellent MP profiles and voting record summaries
- Simple email alerts for keyword mentions
- Good for civic engagement and campaign groups
- Open source and transparent
Considerations
- Not designed for professional public affairs use
- No stakeholder management or CRM features
- No briefing generation or document drafting
- Alerts are keyword-only — no contextual intelligence
- Limited analysis capability
6. Manual monitoring
The reality for many public affairs teams — especially smaller ones — is a combination of Hansard searches, Parliament website checks, spreadsheet-based stakeholder tracking, and news aggregation. This approach has its place, but comes with significant trade-offs.
Strengths
- No subscription costs
- Full control over what you track and how
- Human judgement at every step
- Flexible — can adapt to any requirement
Considerations
- Time-intensive — often 2-3 hours daily
- Easy to miss important developments
- Doesn't scale — each new client multiplies the workload
- No automated alerts or proactive intelligence
- Briefing drafting is entirely manual
7. Pricing comparison
| Platform | Price | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Emily | £69/month or £690/year | Month-to-month, cancel anytime |
| Dods | £10,000–£25,000+/year (custom quotes) | Annual contracts typical |
| TheyWorkForYou | Free | No contract |
| Manual | Staff time (2-3 hours/day ≈ £30,000–£45,000/year equivalent) | N/A |
8. Who should use what?
Choose Emily if…
You want comprehensive monitoring plus AI analysis, briefing drafting, and stakeholder tracking in one tool — without the enterprise price tag. Ideal for consultancies, in-house PA teams, NGOs, and solo practitioners.
Choose Dods if…
You need human-curated analysis, EU coverage, a comprehensive political contact database, and dedicated account management. Enterprise budget required.
Choose TheyWorkForYou if…
You need basic MP research and simple keyword alerts at no cost. Great for civic engagement, campaign groups, and journalists on a budget.
Stick with manual monitoring if…
You have dedicated research staff, track a very narrow set of issues, and prefer full manual control. Be realistic about the time cost.
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