Instinct expands its AI agent into group chats with friends

Instinct, the AI agent now valued at $10 billion as of its latest funding round, is expanding into group chats. The startup announced Monday that users will be able to add the agent to chats with friends, which the company says could be helpful in scenarios such as travel planning, snagging event tickets, running fantasy leagues, organizing carpools, or managing who’s bringing what to Thanksgiving. 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 competition with rivals such as Meta’s Muse, which doesn’t yet offer group chat functionality, though Meta’s older app, Meta AI, can already be added to group chats on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Facebook. Instinct and Muse have been running neck and neck recently, with both adding the ability to make phone calls over the past couple of weeks as their agents compete for a larger share 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 the company handles privacy and security in group chats. He said a user’s personal Instinct agent will ask permission before connecting with a group’s Instinct agent, and that users can choose which groups they trust and remove that trust at any time. Shinn also said the group’s Instinct is siloed from users’ personal accounts, which it cannot access, and that the personal agent will always ask a user’s permission before sharing information or taking any action. If new members join a group chat, any pending replies from a user’s personal Instinct agent are held before they are shared with the group.

“Making plans with friends usually turns into a frustrating back-and-forth over times and places,” Shinn wrote. “With Instinct in the group, you can explore options together, agree on a plan and get it done, all in one thread.” The feature is rolling out initially to Instinct’s early access users and will expand to all users “soon”; users can ask their Instinct agent to add them to the waitlist for this or other recent features.

Why it matters

As consumer AI agents race to make themselves useful for everyday coordination, the ability to work inside group chats without requiring everyone to sign up could be a meaningful edge in the fight for daily engagement against Meta and OpenAI.