AI Agents That Operate Inside Your Text Messages

A rundown of the most prominent AI agents that operate inside your text messages, from broad-purpose assistants to agents built for households, travel, and workplace tasks.

General-Purpose Assistants

Poke is one of the most accessible entry points into text-based AI agents. You simply text a number, and it handles daily planning, calendar management, health tracking, smart home control, and photo editing . Poke became the first AI agent approved on Apple's Messages for Business platform in June 2026, which means it can now operate directly inside iMessage alongside SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp in some markets . Backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst, the company is valued at $300 million and has processed around 100 million messages .

Instinct has generated significant buzz for its ability to complete tasks end-to-end rather than stopping at the "here's how you do it" stage. Available via SMS and WhatsApp on an invite-only basis, it can book and rebook travel, monitor fares, apply forgotten airline credits, and keep families seated together . The company raised $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation in September 2026 . It has begun issuing dedicated email addresses for user assistants so they can create accounts and contact businesses without flooding personal inboxes .

Folk runs on its own private cloud computer and can execute code and multi-step tasks. It works through iMessage, WhatsApp, and Telegram, and is free with an $8.33-per-month Pro tier for unlimited background tasks .

Martin is a pricier general-purpose option reachable through SMS, phone, WhatsApp, email, Slack, and its own iOS app. Subscriptions start at $21 per month, and it can manage calendars, email, reminders, and even send messages or make calls on your behalf .

Iris, built on the open-source Hermes agent, lets users delegate tasks through iMessage. It retains context from previous interactions and follows up proactively. The free plan includes persistent memory, while a $19 monthly tier adds higher limits and scheduled skills .

szn, from a former Siri engineer, is expected to launch more widely in October. Each assistant gets its own name, email address, and phone number, allowing it to contact people and coordinate with vendors. It can tap into shared Apple Notes, Find My location data, and iCloud files .

Family Agents

Fambot is an AI "chief of staff" for families that launched in beta in September 2026. It sends a nightly summary of the next day's events, to-dos, and details like school uniform requirements. Parents reply to that message to make changes. It currently connects to Gmail and Google Calendar, with Outlook and Apple Calendar planned . The company raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding and expects to eventually charge roughly the price of a Netflix subscription .

Ohai lets users send messages, forward emails, or make voice requests to manage household schedules, reminders, meal plans, and chores. The free tier covers basic lists and reminders; premium plans start at $9.99 per month and scale with family size .

Ollie focuses on privacy and is described as one of the first mainstream family-focused assistants to reach SOC 2 compliance. It connects to email and calendar via delegated access and offers free, $25, and $100 tiers .

Travel Agents

Miso applies the personal-assistant model specifically to travel. Operating through iMessage, it combines AI trip planning with support from a dedicated travel team. It arranges flights while accounting for travel preferences, loyalty points, and other priorities, and provides trip details, flight updates, and personalized recommendations .

Instinct also plays in this space with its end-to-end booking capabilities, though it is a generalist agent rather than travel-specific .

Workplace and Group Agents

Tomo differentiates itself by joining group conversations rather than operating as a one-to-one assistant. It learns your goals, handles reminders and web searches, and can participate in iMessage group chats. Basic pricing is $19.99 per month .

Convos takes a different approach entirely: users create small agents with names and jobs, then drop them into group chats. A "Pickler" agent can coordinate pickleball games, while a "Homebase" agent handles family logistics. Agents can be shared with friends like contacts .

Pally connects to Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Google Calendar, Notion, and other tools, and promises it "never does anything big without asking first." It offers a free tier with 15 minutes of calls per month, then $25 and $100 tiers .

Town targets professional work with a per-user "Townie" that handles recurring tasks across email, calendars, documents, and Slack. It raised a $55 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in June 2026 .

Pricing Overview

The category splits sharply on price. At the low end, Folk offers unlimited background tasks for $8.33 per month, and Ohai starts at $9.99 . Mid-range options include Tomo at $19.99 and Martin at $21 . At the high end, Pally charges $100 for 60 minutes of calls, and Ollie offers a $100 tier . Fambot remains free during its beta period .