Instinct alternatives you can use without an invite

No Instinct invite, or uneasy about its terms? Poke is the closest assistant you text, Lindy the strongest for work, Muse the closest for errands.

Updated Nov 8, 2026

At a glance

At a glance
Assistant	Free plan		Open source	Self-hostable	Trains on your chats by default
Instinct	Yes	–	No	No	Yes
Poke	Yes	$19/mo	No	No	Yes
Lindy	Yes	$49.99/mo	No	No	No
Muse	Yes	$20/mo	No	No	Yes
Grok Bot	No	$30/mo	No	No	No
OpenClaw	Yes	–	Yes	Yes	No

The closest Instinct alternative you can sign up for today is Poke: no app, you text it in iMessage or Telegram, and it has a free plan with no card. If you want an assistant you text for work and that doesn’t train on your data, use Lindy. If what you wanted from Instinct was errands such as booking and shopping, use Muse.

Why people look for Instinct alternatives

Instinct has a simple, appealing idea: no new app, just text or call it, and it uses a phone and computer to book trains, order groceries or send flowers. It raised $1B at a $10B valuation. Yet nothing it offers is generally available. Most people searching for alternatives fall into one of these groups:

They can’t get in. Instinct is invite-only, with no public sign-up and no published pricing. Don’t pay for resold invites.
They read the terms. The terms of service let Instinct train on your materials unless you opt out (and the opt-out only applies going forward), appoint it as your agent to enter agreements and transactions, and require binding arbitration with a class action waiver.
It acted without asking. Testers reported it sending an email without asking and keeping inbox data after Google access was revoked.
No choice of model. The company doesn’t say which models it uses.

How we ranked them

Instinct’s defining trait is that you reach it from a messaging app you already use, with nothing to set up. So we ranked by that first: open sign-up today, reachable from iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack, and no server to run. Then by our rating (in the table above) and price. Waitlisted products such as Claude Duet are left out, since they don’t solve the “can’t get in” problem.

1. Poke: the closest “just text it” assistant

Poke is the same experience without the invite. You sign up with your phone number and text it over iMessage, SMS or Telegram. It connects to Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar and many other apps, runs automations called recipes, and messages you first when something needs attention. The free plan needs no card, and Pro is $19 a month.

What you give up: real-world errands and privacy. Poke is aimed at your inbox, calendar and apps; phone calls and reservations come through Poke Human, people who handle tasks on the $199 Ultra plan. Like Instinct, it trains on your data unless you choose Maximum Privacy, it doesn’t say which models it uses, and it now belongs to Cognition, so its direction may change.

Poke conversation in Apple Messages on an iPhone, with Poke reminding the user about sunscreen on a 100°F day and noting the Airbnb host left some — Texting with Poke in Apple Messagespoke.comNov 8, 2026

2. Lindy: texting assistant for work, no training

Lindy is reachable almost everywhere Instinct is and more: iMessage or SMS, Slack, its own phone number, email, a Gmail extension and the web. It triages email, drafts replies, schedules meetings, records and preps calls, sends daily briefs, and asks for approval before anything with outside impact, the guardrail Instinct’s testers wanted. Lindy says it never uses your data to train models, and you choose the model per task.

What you give up: price and the personal errands. Paid seats start at $49.99 per user a month, free credits expire after 7 days, and Lindy is built for work, not groceries.

iMessage thread where the user asks Lindy to find 30 minutes with Mike and send him the board deck, and Lindy confirms it sent the deck and held 3:00 PM — Asking Lindy to schedule a meeting over iMessagedocs.lindy.aiNov 8, 2026

3. Muse: the closest errand agent

Muse, Meta’s personal agent, is Instinct’s most direct rival for errands. It works on its own cloud computer to send email, book travel and shop, asks before sending email or buying, keeps an audit trail of what it did, and pays with one-time card numbers so it never sees your real card. There is a free tier and apps for iOS, Android, the Mac and the web.

What you give up: the texting. Muse ranks third because you use it in its own app; chatting with it in WhatsApp is only in limited testing in some countries. It is only in the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Mexico, it needs a payment card even for the free tier, and your interactions train Meta’s models unless you opt out. Muse has had its own permission slips, including sharing a user’s home address with a Marketplace buyer.

Muse iPad app suggesting an $80 travel stroller, with a checkout card showing the merchant page, a saved card and Deny and Allow buttons — Muse asking for approval before buying somethingapps.apple.comNov 8, 2026

4. Grok Bot: the most capable, and it makes phone calls

Grok Bot runs named Bots on a persistent cloud computer that sign in to your apps, run scheduled routines and ask for approval before sensitive actions. It can learn a task from a recorded demonstration and can phone US businesses for you, the closest thing here to Instinct’s calls. It does everything on our checklist.

What you give up: simplicity. It ranks below the others because you use it through its apps rather than a text thread (its chat-app channel is Slack), it starts at $30 a month with no free plan, users hit weekly usage limits early over Halloween weekend, and you can’t choose the model.

5. OpenClaw: the private, do-it-yourself route

OpenClaw gives you Instinct’s “just message it” experience on your own terms. It is free and open source, runs on your computer, and takes orders from iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram and 26 other chat channels. You pick the model, including local ones, and your memory and credentials stay on your hardware. OpenClaw itself trains no models.

What you give up: ease and safety by default. It ranks last because it needs your own machine and the command line, sandboxing is off by default, and model bills can climb with expensive models. Maintainers warn it is risky for non-technical users.

WhatsApp chat with an OpenClaw assistant giving casual travel advice to a user in Marrakech — Chatting with OpenClaw in WhatsAppdocs.openclaw.aiNov 8, 2026

Which one should you pick?

You want Instinct’s text-it experience today, free: Poke.
You want a texting assistant for work that doesn’t train on your data: Lindy.
You want errands like booking and shopping: Muse.
You want the most capable agent, including phone calls, and will pay: Grok Bot.
You want control over your data and can handle setup: OpenClaw.

If you do get an Instinct invite, turn off training at app.instinct.com/settings before you connect your email. See also what Instinct is.

Alternatives

Poke
The Interaction Company of California (Cognition)
$19/mo
A personal AI assistant you text in iMessage or Telegram that connects to your email, calendar and apps and messages you first when something needs attention.
Strengths
- Nothing to install: you sign up with a phone number and text it like a contact
- Messages you first, using your connected services and memory
- Free plan with no credit card, and email and calendar included
- Connects to Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Notion, GitHub, Linear and many more apps, plus custom integrations through MCP
- Shareable automation recipes, and developers can build their own
Weaknesses
- Uses your data to train its AI models unless you choose Maximum Privacy
- WhatsApp support is limited to some markets
- Only one phone number per account
- Does not say which AI models it uses, and does not publish how many credits each plan includes
- Now owned by Cognition, so the product's direction may change
Visit Poke
Lindy
Lindy
$49.99/mo
An AI assistant for work that runs your inbox, calendar and meetings, takes requests by iMessage, Slack, phone or browser, and sends you daily briefs.
Strengths
- Texts you first: a personalized first message, alerts on time-sensitive email, and daily briefs
- Reachable almost anywhere: iMessage or SMS, Slack, its own phone number, Gmail via a Chrome extension, and the web
- 1,500+ integrations plus any hosted MCP server, and a browser for tools without one
- Asks for approval before anything with outside impact
- Says it never uses your data to train models, with SOC 2 Type II, GDPR and PIPEDA compliance
Weaknesses
- Expensive for individuals: paid seats start at $49.99 per user a month, and free credits last only 7 days
- Credit-based usage is hard to predict, from 2 credits for a simple ask to 2,500 for a big build
- One shared Lindy per team rather than separate assistants for different jobs
- No mobile app; on phones you use iMessage, SMS or calls
- Plan names differ between its pricing page and its docs, so it is hard to tell what each tier includes
Visit Lindy
Muse
Meta
$20/mo
Meta's personal AI agent that sends email, books travel and shops for you from its own cloud computer, in the Muse app or on the web.
Strengths
- Free tier, and no technical setup: you message it like a person in the app or on the web
- Runs on its own cloud computer and keeps working after you close the app
- Asks before sending email or buying, and shows an audit trail of what it did and plans to do
- Purchases go through a one-time card number with Link's purchase protections, so the agent never sees your real card
- Connects to email, calendar and Instagram, and can use a browser for sites without an API
Weaknesses
- Only in the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Mexico so far, and Meta says Muse is still in limited testing
- Requires a payment card even for the free tier, and the stronger Muse Wonder model is for paid plans only
- Your interactions train Meta's AI models unless you opt out
- Free usage limit is not published, so it is hard to know when you will hit it
- Early users and press reported it overstepping permissions, such as reading messages it was not meant to
- Requires a Meta account and asks for broad access to email, calendars and payments
Visit Muse
Grok Bot
SpaceXSI (formerly xAI)
$30/mo
Always-on AI agents from SpaceXSI that run on a shared cloud computer, sign in to your apps and finish multi-step work while you're away.
Strengths
- Bots work on their own cloud computer, so tasks keep running when your laptop or phone is closed
- Can operate websites and apps that have no API, using saved logins it never sees in plain text
- Several Bots can run in parallel, message each other and share one workspace
- Routines can run on a schedule or after an event, and a Bot can learn a task from a recorded demonstration of up to 10 minutes
- Can place phone calls to US businesses for you and send a summary afterwards
- Native apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, plus Slack
Weaknesses
- No free plan and no standalone price: the cheapest way in is the $30/month Premium plan
- Usage comes from a weekly pool shared with Grok and Cursor, and SpaceXSI does not publish how much work that pool covers
- No model picker: Grok Bot chooses the model for each task and does not show which one it used
- All Bots on an account share one computer, files and logins; the docs say not to use separate Bots as a security boundary
- Users report Amazon blocks it from shopping as an unauthorized AI agent; Amazon hasn't commented
- Still labelled beta, with no browser version
Visit Grok Bot
OpenClaw
OpenClaw Foundation
–
Free, MIT-licensed personal AI agent that runs on your own computer and takes orders from WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, Slack and 20+ other chat apps.
Strengths
- Free and MIT licensed, with no paid tier
- Runs on your own hardware; state, memory and credentials stay local, and it sends nothing home except an optional daily version check
- Works in 29 chat channels, including WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, Slack, Discord and Microsoft Teams
- Model-agnostic: 64 model and media providers, plus local models
- Large ecosystem of skills and 142 official plugins, and very active development
Weaknesses
- Model costs are on you and can run high: testers and users have reported spending over $100 in a day with expensive models
- Sandboxing is off by default and the agent can run commands on the host unless you turn on approvals
- Setup and upkeep expect comfort with the command line; maintainers warn it is risky for non-technical users
- Broad access to email, messages and the system makes prompt injection and malicious third-party skills a real risk
Visit OpenClaw

Features

Features
	Instinct	Poke	Lindy	Muse	Grok Bot	OpenClaw
Web search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Image generation	Unknown	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Voice mode	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
File uploads	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Memory	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Takes actions for you	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
App integrations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Works on its own	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Messages you first	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Runs several bots	Unknown	Unknown	No	Unknown	Yes	Yes

Sources

At a glance

Why people look for Instinct alternatives

How we ranked them

1. Poke: the closest “just text it” assistant

2. Lindy: texting assistant for work, no training

3. Muse: the closest errand agent

4. Grok Bot: the most capable, and it makes phone calls

5. OpenClaw: the private, do-it-yourself route

Which one should you pick?

Alternatives

Poke

Strengths

Weaknesses

Lindy

Strengths

Weaknesses

Muse

Strengths

Weaknesses

Grok Bot

Strengths

Weaknesses

OpenClaw

Strengths

Weaknesses

Features

Sources

Instinct

Poke

Lindy

Muse

Grok Bot

OpenClaw