Instinct brings its AI agent to group chats, even for friends without an account

Instinct, the AI agent now valued at $10 billion as of its latest funding round, is expanding into group chats. The startup announced on Monday that users will be able to add the agent to chats with friends, which could be helpful in certain scenarios like travel planning, snagging event tickets, running fantasy leagues, organizing carpools, or managing who’s bringing what to Thanksgiving.

Notably, the group chats with the AI agent will work even if a user’s friends haven’t joined Instinct, the company said.

With the launch, Instinct moves ahead in its battle with top competitors in the space, like Meta’s Muse. The latter doesn’t yet offer the group chat functionality, though Meta’s older app, Meta AI, can be added to group chats on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook.

Instinct and Muse have been running neck-and-neck recently, with both of them adding the ability to make phone calls over the past couple of weeks, as their agents try to win more of the consumer AI market. Last week, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Dots, personal AI agents that can also be used in ChatGPT Spaces, collaborative workspaces where the Dots and humans work together.

On X, Instinct founder Noah Shinn explained how Instinct handles users’ privacy and security in group chats. He said a user’s personal Instinct agent will ask permission before connecting with the group’s Instinct agent, and that users can also choose which groups they trust and can remove that trust at any time.