An increasing number of AI personal assistants can be used like ordinary contacts: you send a text, the assistant keeps context, connects to the apps and services you already use, and carries out tasks on your behalf. Tasks include adding calendar events, setting reminders, planning trips, composing emails, making reservations, shopping online or reminding you about something days later.
Notable players and what they do
Below is a concise overview of the most notable text-accessible AI agents, from general-purpose personal assistants to family, travel and work-focused options.
Caddy
Caddy runs inside iMessage on iPhone and RCS on Android, avoiding a separate app or inbox. It identifies actionable items from scattered phone content (for example, appointment details in an email or a shopping list in a chat), connects to calendars and conversations, adds events, sets reminders, tracks follow-ups and performs research. Caddy has been in public beta since April 2026.
Comma
Comma manages tasks across work and daily life, carries tasks through to completion, checks its own work and flags results that need user review or approval. It operates across a user’s browser, computer and files and is reachable remotely through messaging apps such as Signal, Telegram and WeChat. Comma keeps context and memory across devices and conversations, provides daily briefings, flags urgent matters and summarizes recorded calls. It is free to start and open source.
Fambot
Fambot is designed as a family "chief of staff," consolidating school communications, sports schedules, meal planning, calendars and day-to-day responsibilities into organized plans. It works via an app and SMS, is available on iOS, Android and the web, and sends nightly summaries of the next day (events, to-dos and details like school uniform or packing needs). Parents can reply to update or change calendars. Fambot connects to Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook and WhatsApp now, with Apple Calendar support planned. 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 and is expected to charge roughly the equivalent of a Netflix subscription later.
Folk
Folk is reachable via iMessage, WhatsApp and Telegram, can remember personal context, manage reminders, research topics, track flights, handle email and make real-world bookings. It runs on its own private cloud computer and can execute code and multi-step tasks rather than only replying conversationally. Folk launched its beta in May 2026; it’s free to start and offers a Pro subscription for $8.33/month for unlimited background tasks.
Instinct
Instinct received wide attention after raising $350 million at a $2.5 billion valuation, and in September 2026 raised $1 billion, valuing the company at $10 billion. The always-available agent can take actions on users' behalf, communicates by text or voice and connects to apps such as email, calendar and Google Workspace. Early users have used Instinct for planning trips, buying groceries, booking tickets and canceling subscriptions. In September it began giving users dedicated email addresses for their assistants so the agent can create and manage accounts without filling the user's personal inbox — a capability that raises privacy and security concerns. Instinct has also started rolling out support for placing calls. The company remains in private beta.
Iris
Powered by Hermes Agent, Iris lets users delegate tasks via iMessage: a user sends a simple message, connects apps, and the assistant executes required steps while retaining relevant context and proactively following up.
Martin
Martin is a general-purpose personal assistant accessible via SMS, phone, WhatsApp, email, Slack and an iOS app. It helps manage calendars, email, reminders, tasks, notes and communications, can send messages or make calls on the user's behalf, and provides daily summaries. Subscriptions start at $21 per month.
Miso
Miso focuses specifically on travel. Operating through iMessage, it combines AI trip planning with support from a dedicated travel team, considers travel preferences and loyalty points, arranges flights via messaging, and provides trip details and flight updates along with personalized recommendations.
Ohai
Ohai is a family assistant that converts messages, forwarded emails or voice requests into schedules, reminders and plans, and coordinates calendars, chores and meals across household members. It offers a free basic option and subscription tiers starting at $9.99 per month.
Ollie
Ollie consolidates school messages, calendars and task lists, keeping family information in sync and delivering relevant details via text. A notable differentiator is that Ollie has achieved SOC 2 compliance, a common security standard. Launched in June 2026, Ollie has a free tier and paid plans starting at $25 per month for 150 messages; a $100/month plan includes up to 1,000 messages.
Orbits
Orbits provides a household-focused assistant through its app and SMS, uniting calendars, lists and conversations and performing tasks such as web searches, purchases, restaurant bookings, appointment changes and requesting quotes for household services. It can remind family members about chores and coordinate with service providers. Orbits is backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Speedrun fund, N49P and Garage Capital.
Pally
Pally interacts like a friend while accessing apps users already rely on (WhatsApp, Gmail, calendars, Google Drive) to track plans, receipts, dates, files and other details. There is a free plan with 15 minutes of calls per month; paid plans include $25/month for 30 minutes of calls and $100/month for 60 minutes.
Poke
Poke launched in March 2026 as a general-purpose assistant reachable by text, handling calendars, planning, health and fitness, smart-home controls, photos and similar tasks. In June 2026 Apple approved Poke as the first AI agent on the Apple Messages for Business platform, and a month later The Interaction Company of California (Poke's parent) was acquired by AI coding startup Cognition in a deal valued in the low nine figures.
Rene
Rene positions itself as a user’s "best contact": a text-based assistant that turns natural-language conversations into tasks, reminders and summaries, maintains context and can surface items that need attention later. It includes a browser, can write code, shop, and create slides and images. Rene is available on iMessage, Telegram and WhatsApp.
Skye
Skye functions as an "agentic homescreen" for iPhone, analyzing connected services and surfacing relevant information via contextual cards, suggestions and daily briefings. It can generate audio briefings, prepare meeting materials, surface reminders and identify useful information. 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.
Stanley
Stanley is an AI content assistant for creators, available via iMessage, Telegram and the web. It helps generate ideas, turn them into posts, maintain a publishing schedule, connect to Instagram to suggest content based on actual activity, and convert voice notes into scripts, captions and other social assets.
Szn
Szn coordinates tasks and follow-ups in a single conversation thread: users can send texts, voice notes, photos or forwarded emails and the assistant can make calls, send emails and manage follow-ups. According to the company website, Szn has served more than 7,500 businesses across 16 countries, completed over 10,000 jobs and handled 95 hours of calls.
Tab
Tab lets users delegate everyday tasks via familiar messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), handling requests from grocery orders to gift-finding. The company emerged from stealth in early October with a roughly $300 million valuation; investors include SV Angel, Valar Ventures and American Spirit.
Tomo
Tomo’s assistant can participate in group conversations rather than only being a private contact. It helps with goals, accountability, scheduling and everyday organization, can send reminders, search the web, work with calendars and email, watch videos and edit photos. The basic plan starts at $19.99 per month.
Town
Town is aimed at professional life, offering a "Townie" assistant that learns how a user works and handles recurring professional tasks across email, calendars, documents and Slack. In June 2026 the company raised a $55 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz and Forerunner.
Underdog
Underdog is a privacy-focused assistant that launched an invite-only beta in early October 2026. Unlike cloud-based services, its model runs entirely on the user's device so personal data stays on the hardware the user already owns. The initial release supports Mac and Windows, with Linux, iPhone and Android versions planned. The company intends to offer the app free initially and says it will never include advertising.
Wajo (Fo)
Wajo’s consumer agent Fo can call businesses, send emails, join group chats, make bookings and purchases and coordinate with people to complete tasks. Fo has its own email address, phone number and payment card so it can interact with businesses without the user providing personal credentials. If Fo cannot finish a task alone, Wajo says a human assistant can step in. Fo launched publicly in September 2026 with a free tier; heavier workloads and custom agents are available in a paid Pro offering.
Takeaways
The market for text-first AI assistants is diverse and rapidly evolving: generalist agents, family organizers, travel specialists and privacy-centric options coexist. Several companies are still in beta while others have raised substantial funding, enabling fast feature development and integrations — but the same automation and account-management capabilities that make these agents useful also heighten privacy and security concerns that users and regulators will likely scrutinize further.
