Instinct
A general agent that acts before asking, and is criticised for exactly that
Instinct is an AI agent you reach on iMessage. To start, invite only. It acts before asking for confirmation.
At a glance
| Channels | |
|---|---|
| How you start | Invite only |
| Who starts it | Acts without asking |
| Is there an app | Optional app An app exists but is not how you start |
| Categories | Personal assistants |
| Can do | Email,Calendar and scheduling,Bookings and reservations,Travel,Task management,Web research,Phone calls,Persistent memory |
| Connects to | Gmail |
| Pricing | Unknown |
| Number type | Unknown |
| Contact number | Unknown |
| First message, pre-written | None published |
| Runs on | Not disclosed |
| Browses with | Not disclosed |
| Number carrier | Unknown |
| Status | Live |
Who is behind it
| Company | Spear Street Technology |
|---|---|
| Founders | Noah Shinn |
| Based in | San Francisco, US |
| Funding | ~$350M raised at a $2.5B valuation |
| Investors | Benchmark, Index Ventures |
| Traction | Unknown |
Data and policy
| Trains on your conversations | Policy not yet reviewed |
|---|---|
| Data of people who never signed up | Policy not yet reviewed |
| If you cancel | Policy not yet reviewed |
| Model providers named | Policy not yet reviewed |
| Jurisdiction | Policy not yet reviewed |
| Availability | Not stated |
We have not yet reviewed this product’s policy. Blank rows here mean we have not looked, not that the product is silent.
How it works
Instinct is a general-purpose agent whose defining choice is acting without waiting for confirmation. Its valuation rose roughly fivefold within weeks of launch.
The most frequently cited complaint about it is the direct consequence of that choice, "it acted without asking me", and it reportedly breaks down when handling concurrent tasks inside a single thread. Both are useful signals for anyone designing an agent's approval model, since they show where the autonomy dial becomes a liability rather than a feature.
No official URL confirmed. Checked 2026-09-06. Channel support is inferred from public descriptions rather than stated by the vendor. How we source this.