Instinct, the AI-agent startup valued at $10 billion after its latest funding round, is adding support for group chats. The company announced on Monday that users can add their Instinct agent to group conversations — a feature intended to help with tasks such as travel planning, securing event tickets, running fantasy leagues, organizing carpools, or coordinating who brings what to a holiday.
The company emphasized that the group chat capability functions even if other participants in the chat have not signed up for Instinct.
Competition and context
With this launch, Instinct advances its position in the consumer AI market against competitors like Meta’s Muse. Meta’s Muse does not yet offer the same group chat functionality; Meta’s older app, Meta AI, can be added to group chats on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook. Instinct and Muse have both recently added the ability to make phone calls.
Separately, OpenAI last week introduced ChatGPT Dots, personal AI agents that can also operate inside ChatGPT Spaces, collaborative workspaces where Dots and humans coordinate — part of broader expansion in personal and group AI agents.
How the group Instinct works — privacy and controls
- As of October 5, 2026, early access users can add Instinct to group chats; when added, a new Instinct joins the chat and serves the entire group.
- Noah Shinn, Instinct’s founder, explained on X how privacy and security are handled: a user’s personal Instinct agent must request permission before connecting to the group’s Instinct.
- The company says the group Instinct is siloed from users’ personal accounts and cannot access them. The personal agent will always ask the user for permission before sharing information or taking actions on their behalf.
- If new members join a group chat, any pending replies from a user’s personal Instinct are held back until they are approved for sharing with the group.
In his X post, Noah Shinn wrote: “Making plans with friends usually turns into a frustrating back-and-forth over times and places. With Instinct in the group, you can explore options together, agree on a plan and get it done, all in one thread.”
Availability
The feature is rolling out initially to Instinct’s early access users and will expand to all users “soon.” Users who want access to the new feature or other recent additions can ask their Instinct agent to add them to the trial list.
