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AI agents you can text like a person, from Instinct to Poke

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AI agents you can text like a person, from Instinct to Poke

TechCrunch has published a roundup of AI agents that need no new app: you text them like an ordinary person. According to the article, such an agent can remember context, connect to the apps and services you already use, and complete tasks on your behalf, such as scheduling an appointment, organizing a calendar, researching a trip, sending an email, making a reservation, shopping online or reminding you about something days later.

The piece opens with Instinct, which it calls one of the buzziest AI agents at present. Instinct first made headlines by raising $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation; in September 2026 it raised $1 billion, valuing it at $10 billion. The agent takes actions rather than just answering questions, can be reached by text or voice, and connects to email, calendar, Google Workspace and more. The company says early users have used it for planning trips, buying groceries, booking tickets and canceling subscriptions. In September it began giving users dedicated email addresses for their assistants, so the agent can sign up for services and contact businesses without filling the user's personal inbox; TechCrunch notes this level of autonomy has raised privacy and security concerns. It is also rolling out support for placing calls, and the company remains in private beta.

The general-purpose assistants come next. Ask Proxy works over SMS, aims to anticipate needs and reach out proactively, and says it 'thinks like a woman'. It costs $1 per day for individuals; the work version starts at $15 per employee per month for large companies and $23 per employee per month for teams under 49 people. Martin is reachable through SMS, phone, WhatsApp, email, Slack and its own iOS app, can send messages and make phone calls, and starts at $21 per month. Poke launched in March 2026, and in June 2026 Apple approved it as the first AI agent on the Apple Messages for Business platform. A month later its parent, The Interaction Company of California, was acquired by AI coding startup Cognition in a deal valued in the low nine figures. Maverick calls itself an 'AI companion who lives in your texts', asks permission before acting, and offers hundreds of integrations including Discord, Gmail and Slack. It is in beta and free on iMessage, with a Pro version at 27 euros per month (about $30.25) covering 500 tasks a month, 20 connected apps, scheduled tasks and memory. Rene is meant to be a user's 'best contact' rather than another productivity agent; it has a browser, writes code, shops, makes slides and images, and runs on iMessage, Telegram and WhatsApp. Folk runs on its own private cloud computer, can run code and multi-step tasks, launched its beta in May 2026, and is free with a Pro tier at $8.33 per month for unlimited background tasks. Pally works over iMessage, RCS and Telegram, links services such as WhatsApp, Gmail, calendars and Google Drive, and has a free plan. Iris, powered by Hermes Agent, lets users hand off tasks through iMessage and follows up proactively. Caddy lives in iMessage on iPhone and RCS on Android, turns scattered emails and messages into calendar events and reminders, and has been in public beta since April 2026.

Family-focused agents form another group. Fambot, an AI 'chief of staff' for families, works through an app and SMS and sends a nightly summary of the next day. It connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook and WhatsApp, with Apple Calendar planned. It launched in beta in early September 2026, has raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding, is free during the beta, and expects to eventually charge roughly the equivalent of a Netflix subscription. Ohai turns messages, forwarded emails and voice requests into schedules, reminders and plans; it has a free basic option and subscriptions from $9.99 per month based on family size. Ollie, launched in June 2026, is described as one of the first mainstream, family-focused AI assistants to achieve SOC 2 compliance; it has a free tier, paid plans from $25 per month for 150 messages, and a $100-per-month plan with up to 1,000 messages. Orbits works through an app and text messaging, can search the web, make purchases, book restaurants and request quotes for household services, and is backed by investors including the Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Speedrun fund, N49P and Garage Capital.

The rest are more specialised. Miso applies the idea to travel through iMessage, combining AI trip planning with a dedicated travel team, and accounts for preferences and loyalty points when arranging flights. Comma handles tasks across work and daily life, checks its own work, and can use a user's browser, computer and files while staying reachable through messaging apps such as Signal, Telegram and WeChat; it is free to start and open source. Skye is an 'agentic homescreen' for the iPhone that surfaces contextual cards, suggestions, audio briefings and pre-meeting information; its maker, Signull Labs, raised about $3.6 million in seed.

Key facts

  • TechCrunch profiles AI agents you text like a person, including Ask Proxy, Caddy, Comma, Fambot, Folk, Instinct, Iris, Martin, Maverick, Miso, Ohai, Ollie, Orbits, Pally, Poke, Rene and Skye.
  • Instinct raised $1 billion in September 2026 at a $10 billion valuation, after an earlier $350 million raise at $2.5 billion; it is still in private beta and now gives assistants their own email addresses.
  • Poke became the first AI agent approved on Apple Messages for Business in June 2026, and a month later its parent company was acquired by Cognition in a deal valued in the low nine figures.
  • Prices run from free tiers (Comma, Folk, Maverick, Ohai, Ollie, Pally) to $21 per month for Martin and $100 per month for Ollie's top plan; Ask Proxy charges $1 per day.
  • Several agents target families (Fambot, Ohai, Ollie, Orbits), and Ollie says it has achieved SOC 2 compliance.

Why it matters

The article describes a shift from standalone apps to agents that sit inside the channel people already use, such as SMS, iMessage, RCS, WhatsApp and Telegram. The money around the category is large: Instinct is valued at $10 billion after a $1 billion round in September 2026, and Poke's parent company was bought by the AI coding startup Cognition for a sum in the low nine figures. Apple's approval of Poke as the first AI agent on Messages for Business shows the platform owner is letting such agents onto its messaging surface.

Who it affects

Individuals who want a personal assistant without installing anything are the main audience. The list also covers parents and households (Fambot, Ohai, Ollie, Orbits), frequent travellers (Miso), and workers or companies (Ask Proxy's work version, Martin, Comma). Developers and tinkerers may look at Comma, which is open source. Both iPhone and Android users are covered, via iMessage or RCS in Caddy's case.

How to use it

Most of these agents start with a text message or a free tier. Ask Proxy works over SMS: text 'start' to 820-732-2625; it costs $1 per day, with business pricing from $15 per employee per month (large companies) or $23 (teams under 49). Free or free-to-start options include Comma, Folk (Pro at $8.33 per month), Maverick (Pro at 27 euros per month, about $30.25), Ohai (paid from $9.99 per month), Ollie (paid from $25 per month for 150 messages, $100 per month for up to 1,000), and Pally. Martin starts at $21 per month. Caddy, Fambot, Folk and Maverick are in beta, and Instinct is in private beta. Channels differ, so check which one you use: Rene runs on iMessage, Telegram and WhatsApp; Pally on iMessage, RCS and Telegram; Fambot on an app plus SMS.

How solid is it

This is a roundup in which most features, prices and funding figures come from TechCrunch's description of each product and the companies' own claims, for example Instinct's account of what early users do with it and Ask Proxy's description on its website. The article gives no user numbers for any agent and does not say which are best, safest or most popular; it calls the list 'the most notable options so far'. Prices and plans are as listed in the article and may change, especially for products still in beta.

Risks and caveats

TechCrunch flags that Instinct's autonomy, including dedicated email addresses it can use to sign up for services and contact businesses, has raised privacy and security concerns. These agents are given access to email, calendars, files and messaging, so the data exposure is a real consideration. Several products are in beta or private beta, and Fambot has not yet set its eventual price, which it expects to be roughly the equivalent of a Netflix subscription. Ollie's SOC 2 compliance is one of the few security credentials mentioned; the article does not report comparable claims for the others.

“AI companion who lives in your texts”

— Maverick's self-description, as quoted by TechCrunch