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Instinct's AI agent saved a WIRED writer $550, and it's chasing a $10bn valuation

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Instinct's AI agent saved a WIRED writer $550, and it's chasing a $10bn valuation

A WIRED writer recounts, in an edition of the Model Behavior newsletter, what happened after she left her full-time job and started handing AI agents access to her personal life. She first gave Claude Cowork access to her email and calendar, hoping for a capable digital assistant, but found it closer to a regular chatbot with extra tools; the one clear win was letting Claude generate a few freelance invoices, saving her about 10 minutes. She then turned to Instinct, an invite-only agent that works entirely through iMessage and WhatsApp rather than an open chat box, connecting to a user's email, calendar and messaging apps. Instinct launched in private beta in February and, according to The Information, is reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion on top of the $350 million it has already raised, which would bring its valuation to $10 billion. The author also tried a competing agent, Lindy, for a week, but deleted it after it texted her every morning and started joining her Zoom meetings without approval. Instinct's rise coincides with Meta's Muse, an AI assistant Meta launched earlier this month that became the most popular free app in Apple's App Store, with more than 900,000 downloads according to third-party estimates, despite rolling out with a security flaw that Ars Technica reported could have let attackers do 'whatever' they wanted on a victim's Mac; 404 Media has also reported that some of Muse's restaurant-booking calls are made by humans in call centers rather than the AI itself. Citing journalist Jasmine Sun's observation that 'most people's problems are not software-shaped, and most won't notice even when they are,' the author set out to find a genuine use case. Instinct booked restaurant reservations for a work trip to Venice, including WhatsApping small spots directly. More strikingly, when the author needed to cancel a saver-fare flight without losing an entire connected trip, Instinct discovered that Alaska Airlines had moved her flight 90 minutes earlier, a change that qualified her for a full refund; it canceled the ticket, saved her roughly $550, and rebooked her return to San Francisco. But the piece also lays out real risks. Users have reported that Instinct kept copies of their inboxes even after they tried to disconnect it from email. One venture capitalist said he was banned from the reservation platform Resy after the bot pinged its API roughly 200 times an hour while trying to book a table; another investor deleted the app after concluding it would be trivially easy to phish. Instinct's Terms of Service allow the company to use at least some user conversations to train its AI models. The author's own mishap: Instinct canceled a delayed DoorDash order she had explicitly told it to cancel only if a refund was available, costing her $64 with no refund, then apologized without offering compensation. On a more positive note, Instinct once warned her 'NOT TO OPEN' an email from a friend inviting her to a backyard barbecue, which turned out to be a phishing scam. The company behind Instinct did not respond to WIRED's requests for comment. Despite the risks, the author says she is sticking with the agent.

Key facts

  • Instinct, an invite-only AI agent reachable only via iMessage and WhatsApp, is reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion on top of the $350 million already raised, which would value it at $10 billion, according to The Information.
  • Instinct detected that Alaska had moved the author's flight 90 minutes earlier, qualifying her for a refund; it canceled the ticket and rebooked her return, saving roughly $550.
  • Meta's Muse assistant, launched earlier this month, became the most popular free app in Apple's App Store with over 900,000 downloads (third-party estimates), despite a security flaw Ars Technica said could let attackers do 'whatever' they wanted on a victim's Mac.
  • Reported Instinct risks include retaining copies of users' inboxes after disconnection attempts, one venture capitalist getting banned from Resy after the bot pinged its API about 200 times an hour, and Terms of Service that allow using conversations to train its models.
  • Instinct canceled a delayed DoorDash order against explicit instructions, costing the author $64 with no refund, though it also correctly flagged a phishing email disguised as a barbecue invite.

Why it matters

The piece captures a moment when consumer AI agents are moving from novelty to genuine utility for some early adopters, even as most people remain unconvinced. The author frames this as a growing divide between agent power-users and everyone else, which she says helps explain why tech executives were caught off guard by public backlash over data center buildouts: the trade-off only looks worthwhile if agents are actually automating meaningful chores.

Who it affects

Anyone weighing whether to hand a personal AI agent access to email, calendar, payment apps or messaging, plus the investors and companies betting large sums on this category; Instinct's reported fundraising talks and Muse's download numbers suggest real market momentum despite unresolved security problems.

How to use it

Instinct is invite-only and operates entirely through iMessage and WhatsApp rather than a chat interface, connecting to a user's email, calendar and messaging apps to handle tasks like restaurant bookings and flight cancellations. Its Terms of Service permit the company to use at least some user conversations to train its AI models, which is worth weighing before granting access.

How solid is it

This is a first-person newsletter account rather than an independent investigation, but its specific claims are attributed to named outlets: the funding and valuation figures to The Information, Muse's security flaw to Ars Technica, and the human-staffed booking calls to 404 Media. The company Instinct did not respond to WIRED's requests for comment.

Risks and caveats

Reported problems include Instinct retaining copies of users' inboxes after they tried to disconnect it, an API abuse incident that got one venture capitalist banned from Resy, a separate investor's concern about how easily the agent could be phished, and the author's own experience of a canceled order that cost her money with no refund and only an apology.

“most people's problems are not software-shaped, and most won't notice even when they are.”

— Jasmine Sun, technology journalist