A Guide to AI Agents You Can Use Directly Through Text Messages

Table of Contents

• You might want to know
• AI Agents That Live in Your Messages
• Key Insights Table
• Afterwards...

You might want to know

• What can an AI agent accomplish when you contact it through a regular messaging app?
• How do these services differ in their focus, availability, pricing, and approach to privacy?

AI Agents That Live in Your Messages

Instead of downloading another app, users can increasingly text an AI agent as if they were contacting a person. A request might be as simple as asking it to remember a detail, organize a calendar, or research a trip. Depending on its integrations and capabilities, an agent may also send email, make a reservation, shop online, schedule an appointment, or follow up days later. The appeal is straightforward: it can connect tasks and information across services people already use, then act through a familiar messaging interface.

These products vary considerably. Some are general-purpose assistants, while others concentrate on family organization, travel, work, or content creation. Their levels of autonomy also differ: one may primarily summarize information and suggest next steps, while another can carry out actions on a user’s behalf. The defining feature is not simply conversation, but the ability to retain context, connect services, and move a task toward completion.

Instinct is among the most prominent names in this emerging category. It first drew attention after raising $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation. In September 2026, it raised $1 billion, reaching a $10 billion valuation. The always-available agent can communicate through text or voice and connect to services such as email, calendars, and Google Workspace. The company says early users have relied on it for tasks including planning trips, buying groceries, booking tickets, and canceling subscriptions.

In September, Instinct began giving users dedicated email addresses for their assistants. Those addresses are intended to let the agent create and manage accounts, contact businesses, follow up on requests, and handle tasks that require email, without filling a user’s personal inbox. The company has also started rolling out support for placing calls. These features illustrate how an assistant can move beyond answering questions, but they also raise privacy and security concerns. Instinct remains in private beta.

Several assistants emphasize personal organization across everyday conversations. Caddy works in iMessage for iPhone users and RCS for Android users, without requiring a separate app or inbox. It connects calendars and conversations to identify information that may need action. For example, it can turn an appointment mentioned in an email into a calendar event, or help keep track of items from a friend’s shopping list. Other capabilities include reminders, follow-ups, and research. Caddy has been available in public beta since April 2026.

Comma is designed to manage work and personal tasks through completion. It checks its own work, identifies when a task is finished, and surfaces completed work for review when a decision or approval is needed. It can also send proactive notifications and recommend next steps. Comma works across a user’s browser, computer, and files, and can be reached remotely through messaging services such as Signal, Telegram, and WeChat. Its features include maintaining context across devices and conversations, producing daily briefings, flagging urgent matters, and summarizing recorded calls. Comma is free to start and open source.

Folk is another general-purpose assistant, accessible through iMessage, WhatsApp, and Telegram. It can remember personal context, manage reminders, research topics, track flights, handle email, and make restaurant reservations. A distinguishing feature is that Folk runs on its own private cloud computer and can run code or execute multi-step tasks, rather than only responding conversationally. Its beta launched in May 2026. Folk is available for free, with a Pro subscription for $8.33/month that offers unlimited background tasks.

Other assistants aim to become a consistent point of contact across communication channels. Martin is reachable through SMS, phone, WhatsApp, email, Slack, and its own iOS app. It helps manage calendars, email, reminders, tasks, notes, and communications. It can also send messages or make phone calls for users and provide daily summaries of items needing attention. Subscriptions start at $21 per month.

Pally connects information across services such as WhatsApp, Gmail, calendars, and Google Drive. Users can talk to it naturally and give it access to the tools they already rely on, enabling it to help track plans, receipts, dates, files, and other details. A free plan includes 15 minutes of calls per month. Paid plans include $25 per month for 30 minutes of calls and $100 per month for 60 minutes.

Poke launched in March 2026 as a general-purpose assistant available through text messaging. It can handle tasks involving calendars, planning, health and fitness, smart-home controls, photos, and other everyday needs. In June 2026, Apple approved Poke as the first AI agent on the Apple Messages for Business platform. A month later, its parent company, The Interaction Company of California, was acquired by AI coding startup Cognition in a deal valued in the low nine figures.

Rene is designed to be a user’s “best contact” rather than simply another productivity tool. Through text-based conversations, it can turn natural-language requests into tasks, reminders, summaries, and follow-up actions. Rene retains context between conversations and can surface details that may need attention later. It also has a browser, can write code, shop on a user’s behalf, and create slides and images. Rene is available on iMessage, Telegram, and WhatsApp.

Some agents are built around households and the many obligations shared by family members. Fambot describes itself as an AI-powered “chief of staff” for families. It brings together school communications, sports activities, meal planning, calendars, and other daily responsibilities to create an organized plan. The service works through an app and text messages and is available on iOS devices, Android devices, and the web. Families can also interact with Fambot directly over SMS.

Each night, Fambot automatically sends a summary of the following day, including upcoming events, to-dos, and details such as school uniform or packing requirements. Parents can reply to ask questions, check information, or update the calendar. Fambot currently connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, and WhatsApp, with Apple Calendar support planned for the future. The company launched in beta in early September 2026 and has raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding. The service is free during beta, but Fambot expects eventually to charge roughly the equivalent of a Netflix subscription.

Ohai also helps households manage the steady flow of family information and tasks. Users can send messages, forward emails, or make voice requests, which the assistant can turn into schedules, reminders, and plans. It can coordinate calendars, chores, and meals across family members. Ohai has a free basic option and subscriptions based on family size, starting at $9.99 per month.

Ollie aims to combine information that already exists across school messages, calendars, task lists, and group chats, then keep it synchronized. It tracks calendars, emails, reminders, tasks, and other household details and delivers relevant information through text. Its key distinction is that it is one of the first mainstream family-focused AI assistants to achieve SOC 2 compliance, a widely used security standard. Launched in June 2026, Ollie has a free tier and paid plans starting at $25 per month for 150 messages. A $100-per-month plan includes up to 1,000 messages.

Orbits also focuses on household coordination. It works through both the Orbits app and text messaging, bringing together calendars, lists, and conversations while taking action for users. Tasks can include searching the web, making purchases, booking restaurants, changing appointments, and requesting quotes for household services. Orbits can also remind family members about chores, communicate with service providers, and coordinate responsibilities beyond the immediate household. Its investors include Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Speedrun fund, N49P, and Garage Capital.

Tomo takes a different approach to personal assistance by allowing its agent to participate in group conversations, rather than remaining a private assistant that only one user can contact. It can help with goals, accountability, scheduling, and everyday organization. Other capabilities include reminders, web searches, calendar and email support, watching videos, and editing photos. Its basic plan starts at $19.99 per month.

Travel is the focus for Miso, which combines AI trip planning with support from a dedicated travel team. It operates through iMessage and can help users arrange flights through messaging, taking travel preferences, loyalty points, and other priorities into account. Miso also provides access to trip details and flight updates, along with personalized recommendations. This specialized approach contrasts with general-purpose assistants that handle travel alongside many other types of work.

Several tools target professional tasks or specific forms of work. Town offers users a “Townie,” an assistant intended to learn how they work and handle recurring professional tasks. It can work with email, calendars, documents, Slack, and other platforms. In June 2026, Town raised a $55 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz and Forerunner.

Comma also bridges work and personal life, while Stanley focuses specifically on content creators. Available through iMessage, Telegram, and the web, Stanley acts as an AI head of content. It can help generate ideas, turn them into posts, and maintain a consistent publishing schedule. For example, it can connect to a user’s Instagram account and use that context to suggest content based on the user’s actual activities. Voice notes can be converted into scripts, captions, and other social assets. Stanley includes a content calendar and can schedule posts, with the broader aim of making content creation a more continuous process.

Szn is designed to coordinate tasks and follow-ups through a single conversation thread. Users can send text messages, voice notes, photos, or forwarded emails. The assistant can act on their behalf by making calls, sending emails, and managing follow-ups. According to the company’s website, Szn has served more than 7,500 businesses across 16 countries, completed over 10,000 jobs, and handled 95 hours of calls.

Tab lets users delegate everyday tasks through familiar messaging platforms. Requests can arrive through iMessage or WhatsApp and range from ordering groceries to finding birthday gifts. Tab handles the process on the user’s behalf. The company emerged from stealth in early October with a valuation of $300 million. Its investors include SV Angel, Valar Ventures, and American Spirit.

Skye takes a less conversation-first approach. Described as an “agentic homescreen” for iPhone, it analyzes information from connected services and presents what it considers relevant through contextual cards, suggestions, and daily briefings. It can produce audio briefings, prepare information before meetings, surface reminders, and identify potentially useful information. Its creator, Signull Labs, raised about $3.6 million in seed funding in 2025. Skye entered private testing and beta in April 2026 and has not announced a public release date.

Privacy and security are important considerations as assistants gain access to more services. Underdog is a privacy-focused assistant that launched an invite-only beta in early October 2026. In contrast with cloud-based AI services, its model runs entirely on the user’s device, keeping personal data on hardware they already own. The initial release supports Mac and Windows computers, with Linux, iPhone, and Android versions planned for the future. The company plans to offer the app for free initially and says it will never include advertising.

Wajo’s first consumer agent, Fo, can call businesses, send emails, join group chats, make bookings and purchases, and coordinate with people to complete everyday tasks. Fo has its own identity, including an email address, phone number, and payment card. This is intended to let it interact with businesses without requiring users to share their own credentials. Wajo says that when Fo encounters a task it cannot complete independently, it can bring in a human assistant. Fo launched publicly in September 2026 with a free tier; heavier workloads and custom agents are available through a paid Pro offering.

Across these products, the balance between convenience and control is a recurring issue. Connecting calendars, inboxes, files, payment methods, and messaging accounts can allow an assistant to complete more tasks, but also gives it access to more sensitive information. A product’s messaging interface does not, by itself, explain where data is stored, which actions require approval, or how users can review and undo actions. These are practical questions to consider alongside the advertised features and subscription terms.

Availability and maturity differ too. Some products are free, open source, or in beta; others have paid tiers or remain in private testing. A listed capability may depend on a particular platform or integration, and a planned feature should not be confused with one that is already available. As a result, users comparing services may want to check the current product terms, supported channels, and permissions before relying on an assistant for important work.

Key Insights Table

Afterwards...

Text-based AI agents are developing from conversational tools into services that can connect information, coordinate people, and carry out multi-step tasks. Their potential value depends on how reliably they understand context and complete actions, as well as how clearly they communicate what they have done. Over time, comparisons may turn less on whether an assistant can answer a question and more on whether it can safely handle a complete workflow.

For users, the most useful starting point is to match an agent to a real need: household coordination, travel planning, professional work, creative publishing, or general personal assistance. It is also worth checking supported messaging platforms, integrations, pricing, and approval controls. As these services become more capable, transparent permissions and dependable oversight will be central to earning trust. The promise is a simpler way to get things done through conversations people already know; the challenge is making that convenience secure, dependable, and genuinely useful.