A new AI assistant is making waves, and those in the tech world suggest it might finally live up to the expectations set by other apps — a bot that can secure your flight tickets, draft emails, and even snag restaurant reservations.
This assistant, called Instinct, operates within platforms like iMessage or WhatsApp instead of having its own standalone app. Users interact with it as if they were communicating with a real human assistant.
John Borthwick from Betaworks, an early investor in Hugging Face (though he has no stake in Instinct), commented, “You can utilize OpenClaw in iMessage, but those experiences are somewhat clunky — this is the first AI assistant I feel comfortable recommending to my wife and kids, who aren’t exactly tech-savvy.”
Founded by 23-year-old Noah Shinn, the company is reportedly looking to raise $1 billion, which would value it at about $10 billion. That’s a considerable increase from just a month ago when investors estimated its worth at $2.5 billion. This is quite remarkable for a company that just launched in February.
Given its novelty, access to the product is still limited to invite-only, which adds an extra layer of intrigue.
Christopher Rim, who leads Command Education, mentioned that he never hired a personal assistant before because managing someone else’s work can be more effort than it’s worth.
“I generally prefer to handle things myself,” he admitted.
However, after trying out Instinct a few weeks back, he was genuinely impressed. He provided the assistant with his travel details for an upcoming trip to the Middle East, and it proactively arranged an airport transfer — a complimentary benefit of flying first-class with Emirates that he hadn’t even realized he was entitled to.
Instinct also reached out to his hotel to inform them of his arrival, and cleverly suggested rescheduling meetings to optimize his travel route, saving him from potential backtracking through busy Dubai traffic. Essentially, it performed the duties of a dedicated advance team without any costs attached.
“It’s just incredible,” he remarked.
Borthwick highlighted another strong point for Instinct: its ability to communicate effectively. Many bots struggle with this, and users often grow frustrated and tend to dismiss apps that over-explain or miscommunicate.
While rivals like Poke are launching similar services, they haven’t reached the same high valuations, as the competitive AI market makes it challenging to stand out.
However, questions about security and privacy have arisen regarding Instinct. Like any assistant, it needs access to emails, messages, calendars, and location data — yet it remains unclear how much information it stores or what it ultimately does with it. Instinct has not provided comment on these concerns.
Matthew Ammirati, who manages several businesses, expressed caution after encountering issues with other AI models. “I’m not allowing it to delete anything,” he stated.
Nevertheless, he has given Instinct the green light to read and compose emails, which has been a relief considering he receives over 500 daily.
“It’s really helping me to clear my mind and concentrate on what actually needs my attention,” he shared.
When I inquired about the language model it utilizes, Instinct didn’t provide a clear answer.
It did communicate that user data is secured, assuring, “All information about you is encrypted at rest, and any indexed data from your connected accounts is only used to enhance your experience — not for training models.”
This vague answer might raise some eyebrows, but when an assistant works so effectively, it’s hard to resist the temptation of using it.
Another concern arises when considering what will happen when everyone has similar digital assistants working for them. One user’s account was temporarily suspended by Resy after their Instinct assistant attempted to make a reservation at 4 Charles in the West Village 200 times within an hour.
Despite these occasional hiccups, Instinct presents a compelling offering. From an investment perspective, the service is booming, but whether such enthusiasm justifies a $10 billion valuation or signals a potential AI bubble is still up for debate.
