Instinct Adds Group-Chat AI Agent After $10 Billion Valuation

Instinct, valued at $10 billion, is adding a permissioned group-chat agent while remaining invite-only and competitive with Muse and Dots.

Instinct, a consumer AI-agent startup founded by Noah Shinn and last valued at $10 billion in late September, is rolling out group-chat support first to early-access users, with a wider release planned soon. The shared agent can help with planning and works even when friends do not have Instinct accounts; Shinn said personal agents stay siloed from group agents, request permission before sharing data or taking action, and let users revoke trust. The Verge describes Instinct as an invite-only, text-based agent reached by iMessage, WhatsApp, or email, with no app or subscription yet, that can book appointments, send email, and complete web tasks via a virtual machine and connected accounts. In hands-on testing it was roughly as capable as Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s ChatGPT Dots, though it missed a prerequisite for preschool swim lessons. TechCrunch says the group-chat launch follows recent phone-call features from Instinct and Muse and that Muse lacks this group feature, while OpenAI launched ChatGPT Dots for ChatGPT Spaces the prior week; The Verge does not dispute those claims but frames Muse and Dots as similarly capable rivals. Site logins go into a secure vault, with optional links to email, calendar, Google Workspace, Slack, and Notion.

• Instinct, founded by Noah Shinn (formerly of Sierra), was valued at $10 billion in late September 2026.
• Group-chat support is rolling out first to early-access users, with a wider release planned soon, and works for friends without Instinct accounts.
• Personal agents stay siloed from group agents, request permission before sharing data or acting, and users can revoke trust in groups.
• The product remains invite-only and text-based via iMessage, WhatsApp, or email, with no app or subscription yet.
• It can book appointments, send email, and complete web tasks through a virtual machine; site logins go in a secure vault, with optional links to email, calendar, Google Workspace, Slack, and Notion.
• The Verge found it roughly as capable as Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots, though it missed a required preschool swim-class prerequisite.
• TechCrunch says the launch follows phone-call features from Instinct and Muse, that Muse lacks the group-chat feature, and that OpenAI launched ChatGPT Dots for ChatGPT Spaces the week before Oct. 5, 2026.