Instinct, a $10 Billion Text Assistant, Between Muse and Advertising

Instinct has captured attention with an AI agent via SMS, without an app and by invitation only. In the face of Muse (Meta) and Dots (OpenAI), the startup claims to focus on the personal assistant for everyday use. Its valuation reached $10 billion at the end of September, while monetization paths, from subscriptions to advertising, are being outlined.

Advertising and Free Access: Analysts Predict Indirect Funding

Noah Shinn indicates that Instinct is free for invited users and aims to keep it as affordable as possible. According to Avi Greengart, the goal of a venture capital-funded startup like Instinct is primarily rapid growth, with revenues potentially coming from its customer base and/or an acquisition. In the neighboring ecosystem, OpenAI's Dots is only available to paying subscribers, while Meta's Muse remains free to use. Greengart theorizes that if a service is free, goods and services could pay for access to the user's agent, reminding us that we pay indirectly when we do not pay directly. Greg Ireland believes that the transactional nature of agents lends itself to advertising. Instinct has also begun promoting recommended products. According to Ireland, companies will have incentives to make these ads acceptable, and advertising will play a role, "all paths" in the consumer market ultimately leading there.

Against Meta and OpenAI, Instinct Claims a Focused Assistant Direction

Following the launch of Muse at Meta and Dots at OpenAI, Instinct emphasizes its exclusive orientation towards the personal assistant. Noah Shinn asserts that AI assistants are the core competency of his team and that this focus distinguishes it from platforms targeting broader audiences. He argues that the absence of a traditional app interface is a differentiator, with the ambition to transform conversation into action as closely aligned with daily usage as possible.

An App-Free Interface, All Messaging and Integrated with Tools

Instinct does not offer an app and operates through message exchanges via iMessage, WhatsApp, or email. The interface relies on text, without a mascot or visual personification, featuring brief, execution-oriented responses. To access sites, users can provide their credentials via a secure vault. The agent connects to services like Google Workspace, Slack, and Notion, and can link to emails and calendars. The agents have a virtual machine and remain reachable wherever messaging is available, including in CarPlay or on a smartwatch.

Use Cases: Household Tasks, Proactive Initiatives, and Blind Spots

The agent tackles everyday administrative tasks, such as finding age-appropriate classes for a child or confirming appointments. In one example, Instinct listed relevant options but omitted a prerequisite mentioned on a center's website, illustrating the challenges related to the uneven quality of online data and information hidden in pop-ups. The tool was able to send an appointment email to an ophthalmology office and initiate a product return at Ikea. It interpreted a vague item description as referring to the Tjusig model. The agent also highlighted a confirmation email for 2024 to validate a contact address and flagged a potential calendar conflict while executing another task.

Invitation-Only Access, Discreet Launch, and Product Differentiation

Instinct is accessible by invitation, following a launch conducted without marketing and with a minimal website. The service quickly established itself in industry conversations, praised for its text-based interface and its management of tasks such as appointment scheduling and email follow-ups. Like Muse and Dots, it is operated conversationally, but while the latter rely on mainstream visual codes, Instinct diverges from that. In the landscape of agents, it appears as a more accessible version of tools already used by developers, such as Codex and OpenClaw for the past year.

Governance and Valuation: A Founder from Sierra, $10 Billion in September

The founder, Noah Shinn, honed his skills as an early employee at Sierra, a highly valued Silicon Valley startup. At the end of September, Instinct was valued at $10 billion, following the launch of Muse. The service does not charge a monthly subscription for now and remains accessible via invitation or approval on a waiting list.