The AI assistants moving into your text messages

A growing number of AI agents no longer require a separate app - you simply text them like an ordinary contact. Send a request, and they can remember context, connect to services you already use, and carry out tasks such as booking appointments, managing calendars, researching trips, sending emails, making reservations, shopping, or setting reminders days ahead.

Instinct is among the most talked-about, having raised $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation before a $1 billion round in September 2026 valued it at $10 billion. It acts on users' behalf through text or voice, connects to email, calendar and Google Workspace, and has begun issuing assistants their own email addresses and rolling out call support. It remains in private beta, and its autonomy has drawn privacy and security concerns.

Others target specific niches. Ask Proxy aims to anticipate needs and costs $1 per day for personal use, with business plans from $15 per employee monthly. Caddy, in public beta since April 2026, turns scattered phone information into calendar events and reminders for iMessage and RCS users. Fambot serves as a family chief of staff, sending nightly summaries of the next day's events and to-dos. Miso focuses on travel, Folk runs on its own private cloud computer, and Ollie markets itself as one of the first mainstream family assistants with SOC 2 compliance.

Poke became notable in June 2026 as the first AI agent approved on Apple's Messages for Business platform, and its parent company was acquired by Cognition a month later. Underdog keeps its model entirely on the user's device, while Wajo gives its agent Fo a separate email address, phone number and payment card, and can bring in a human assistant when needed.