Text-message AI agents are becoming the new personal assistant
A growing number of startups let users text an AI agent like an ordinary contact to handle scheduling, research and everyday errands, with Instinct drawing the most attention after reaching a $10 billion valuation.
A wave of AI agents now lets people get things done simply by sending a text message, without installing a dedicated app. These assistants can retain context from earlier conversations, connect to the apps people already use, and carry out tasks on their behalf, such as adding an appointment to a calendar, organizing a schedule, researching a trip, sending an email, booking a reservation, or setting a reminder for later.
General and specialized assistants
The field includes general-purpose assistants such as Poke, Martin, Rene and Caddy, alongside more specialized tools. Fambot, Ohai, Ollie and Orbits focus on organizing family life, including school updates, chores and meal planning. Miso is built around travel, Stanley targets content creators, and Town is aimed at professional work tasks. Many of these tools operate across multiple channels, including iMessage, RCS, WhatsApp and Telegram.
Instinct draws the spotlight
Instinct has become one of the most closely watched names in the space, after first raising $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation and then securing $1 billion in September 2026 at a $10 billion valuation. Users can interact with Instinct by voice or text, and the assistant has its own dedicated email address, allowing it to sign up for services and contact businesses directly on a user's behalf. That level of autonomy has also raised privacy and security concerns.
Another notable case is Poke, which became the first AI agent approved on Apple's Messages for Business platform in June 2026, before its parent company was acquired by AI coding startup Cognition a month later. Some competitors differentiate themselves through security credentials, such as Ollie's SOC 2 compliance, while Wajo's assistant, Fo, has its own email address, phone number and payment card so it can handle transactions independently.
