AI assistants you can text: the rise of iMessage agents

The newest AI assistants do not ask you to open an app. You text them, and they reply in the same thread as your friends and colleagues. Some can then go and do the thing you asked: book the table, send the email, chase the reply. This guide covers why that is happening, the main ones worth knowing, and what each is suited to.

Why are AI assistants moving into iMessage?

Because that is where people already are. Most of us open our messages dozens of times a day without thinking about it. An assistant that lives there needs no download, no new habit and no interface to learn. You write to it in plain words and it writes back.

Texting also suits the way these assistants work now. They are less like a search box and more like someone you hand a job to. You send a request, carry on with your day, and get a message when it is done or when it needs a decision. That rhythm is exactly what a message thread is built for.

There is a practical reason too. A text is short. It pushes the assistant to answer in a line or two, and pushes you to ask for one clear thing. For many everyday jobs, that is all you want.

What are the main ones, and what is each good for?

Four are worth knowing about. They differ in who makes them, where you reach them, and what they can actually act on.

Instinct

Instinct describes itself as "a personal assistant that understands what you're working on and what's important to you." You text it or call it. TechCrunch reports that you reach it by text message or WhatsApp, that it connects to your email, messaging apps and calendar, and that it is operated by Spear Street Technology in San Francisco. Its own examples are personal errands: disputing a bill, sending birthday gifts, ordering groceries, booking a doctor's appointment, planning a weekend away.

It is still in private access. Suits: individuals who want a capable assistant for personal admin.

Poke

Poke is made by The Interaction Company of California, which the AI coding company Cognition acquired in July 2026; TechCrunch reports that nothing will immediately change for Poke through the end of the year. Poke calls itself "your new favorite contact" and lists Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram as the places you use it. It sets reminders, starts on tasks from a text or voice message, and connects to your email, calendar and other apps.

In June 2026 it became, per TechCrunch, the first AI agent approved to run on Apple's Messages for Business platform. It has a free plan, Pro at $19 a month and Ultra at $199 a month (pricing). Suits: anyone who wants a friendly, proactive assistant for reminders and everyday tasks, in the messaging app they already use.

Meta Muse

Muse is Meta's personal AI agent, launched on 8 September 2026. In Meta's words, talking to it "works just like messaging another person, in the Muse app or directly in WhatsApp." It can send emails, book travel and keep working on longer tasks after you close the app, and Meta says it checks with you before sensitive actions such as sending an email or making a purchase. It is rolling out in the US on iOS, Android and muse.ai.

Meta says it is free for most of what people need. The Next Web, citing Axios, reports subscriptions at $20 and $100 a month. Meta has since added Muse for Small Business, with connectors such as Shopify, QuickBooks, Slack and Stripe. Suits: WhatsApp users in the US who want a broad personal agent, and small businesses already working in those tools.

Grok Bot

Grok Bot launched on 11 August 2026 as "your team of always-on agents." Each bot has its own computer, signs into the tools you use, such as inboxes, CRMs and websites, and keeps working around the clock. You message it from the Grok Bot app on desktop or iPhone. Despite the chat-style look, it is its own app rather than something inside Apple's Messages.

Beta access is included with SuperGrok and some Cursor plans rather than sold on its own. 9to5Mac has since reported it reaching iPad and Android. Suits: teams who want agents to do repeatable work inside their software, such as outbound sales or operations.

How do they compare?

Prices and availability change quickly in this category, so check each site before you decide.

What can't a texting assistant do yet?

Two things stand out.

It cannot show you much at once. A text thread is good for one request and one answer. It is a poor place to compare twelve options, review a long document or see a whole week laid out. Most of these products add an app or a web page for exactly that reason.

Most are built around tasks, not relationships. You ask, it does, the job ends. That is ideal for errands. It is less suited to the things that run for weeks: a customer who needs three follow-ups, an investor who moves from email to WhatsApp, a supplier who goes quiet. Those need something that remembers the person and keeps the thread moving.

Which one is suited to running a business?

If you need help with personal admin, Instinct, Poke and Muse are all aimed squarely at it. If your team wants agents working inside its software, Grok Bot and Muse for Small Business are built for that.

If you run a business, Mira is the one to choose. It is the autonomous assistant for your business: for founders, investors and business owners whose work happens across a dozen conversations at once. You text Mira, and it works inside Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Slack, iMessage, Google Calendar, HubSpot and Attio.

The difference is that Mira does not wait for a task. The others act when you ask; Mira keeps your business moving on its own. Hand it a person and it owns that relationship, keeping up with them in every app, following up when things go quiet and having the reply ready. It reads every conversation and only brings you the ones that need you. It briefs you every morning, preps you before every meeting, checks in through the day and wraps up each evening. Ask once for a repeat job, such as a CRM update after every call, and it runs from then on, and as it learns how you work it suggests what else it can take on.

Nothing is sent as you until you say yes. Your messages are never used to train AI models, everything Mira reads is encrypted in transit and at rest with AES-256, and Mira is CASA Tier 2 certified; the privacy policy has the detail. Mira is free to start.