24 AI Agents You Can Text for Work, Travel and Family Tasks
Text based AI agents now book trips, manage families and handle work across SMS and chat, as Instinct hits $10 billion amid privacy and security risks.
Summary
As of October 24, 2026, messaging has become an AI agent interface for 24 services that remember context, connect apps and execute tasks. Instinct remains in private beta after raising $350 million at $2.5 billion, then $1 billion in September 2026 at $10 billion; dedicated agent email and support for placing calls expand autonomy but raise privacy and security concerns. Ask Proxy costs $1 daily, or $15 to $23 per employee monthly. Caddy entered public beta in April 2026; Comma is free and open source; Hermes-powered Iris uses iMessage; Martin starts at $21 monthly.
Fambot raised $3.5 million pre-seed and launched a free beta in early September 2026, with Netflix-like pricing and Apple Calendar support planned. Folk's May 2026 beta is free, or $8.33 monthly; Maverick's free iMessage beta asks permission before acting, while €27, about $30.25, buys 500 tasks and 20 apps. Miso specializes in travel; Ohai starts at $9.99 monthly; SOC 2-compliant Ollie, launched June 2026, charges $25 for 150 messages or $100 for 1,000; Orbits handles household errands; Pally is free across iMessage, RCS and Telegram.
Poke launched in March 2026, became Apple's first Messages for Business AI agent in June, then parent The Interaction Company of California was acquired by Cognition in July for low nine figures. Rene browses, codes and shops. Signull Labs raised about $3.6 million in 2025 for Skye, privately tested since April 2026 without a release date. Stanley serves creators. Szn claims 7,500 businesses across 16 countries, 10,000 jobs and 95 calling hours. Tab emerged in early October at $300 million. Tomo starts at $19.99 monthly; Town raised $55 million in June 2026; Underdog's invite-only early October beta runs locally, initially free and ad-free; Wajo's Fo launched publicly in September 2026 with agent credentials, human fallback and free or Pro tiers.
Positives
- Instinct raised $1 billion in September 2026 at a $10 billion valuation, demonstrating strong investor demand for autonomous personal assistants.
- Poke became Apple's first Messages for Business AI agent in June 2026 before Cognition acquired its parent for low nine figures.
- Ollie achieved SOC 2 compliance, giving its family-focused assistant a recognized security credential.
- Underdog processes data entirely on users' devices and plans to remain free of advertising.
- Szn says it has served 7,500 businesses in 16 countries and completed more than 10,000 jobs.
Risks & concerns
- Instinct's dedicated email accounts and expanding call capabilities have raised privacy and security concerns about agent autonomy.
- Instinct, Skye, Fambot, Folk, Caddy, Maverick and Underdog remain in private, public or invite-only beta stages.
- Ollie's paid plans reach $100 monthly, while Maverick Pro costs about $30.25 and Martin starts at $21 monthly.
- Underdog initially supports only Mac and Windows, with Linux, iPhone and Android versions still planned.
- Fambot does not yet support Apple Calendar, and Skye has no announced public release date.