Instinct is a personal agent you text or call, and it is still in early access. If you want an assistant you can text today, these are open to sign up, each with a published price.
alfred_ is our product. Every other product is described from its own website and pricing page, checked October 28, 2026.
Same criteria, four alternatives
| Product | What it is | How you reach it | Price from |
|---|---|---|---|
| alfred_ | AI assistant for client-facing teams: the emails that need you, replies you owe and replies you're waiting on | Text, web, iPhone, Claude and ChatGPT | $29.99 a month; teams $49.99 a seat |
| Poke | A proactive personal assistant in your texts | Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and more | Free; Pro $19 a month |
| Martin | A personal assistant for calendar, inbox, calls and messages | Call, text or email | $21 a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) |
| dots (OpenAI) | An always-on agent you give goals to | ChatGPT, Slack and Teams; texting coming soon | With ChatGPT Pro, from $100 a month |
alfred_
alfred_ is an AI assistant for client-facing teams, and each person on the team gets their own. It reads your email across up to six Gmail, Outlook and IMAP accounts, flags the emails that need your answer, and keeps one list of the replies you owe and the replies you’re waiting on. It manages your calendar, prepares you for meetings, and sends a morning brief by email or text. You can ask it for things by text, on the web, on iPhone, or from Claude and ChatGPT, and nothing is sent until you approve it.
- What it does not do: it is not a new email app, it does not send anything without your approval, and it does not run personal errands or make phone calls.
- Price: plans start at $29.99 a month with a 7-day free trial. The team plan is $49.99 a seat on one bill.
alfred_ is the best alternative to Instinct when your work runs on client email: the replies you owe, the people who haven’t answered you, the meeting you walk into unprepared.
Poke
Poke describes itself as “the proactive AI assistant on Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram, and more,” that “texts like a human.”
- How it is priced: Free, with email and calendar connections included; Pro at $19 a month for frontier models and background automations; Ultra at $199 a month.
Martin
Martin describes itself as an assistant that “manages your calendar, inbox, SMS, phone calls, WhatApp, Slack, and more,” reached by call, text or email.
- How it is priced: Basic is $21 a month billed yearly or $35 monthly, with limited proactive actions and two tasks at a time. Pro is $30 a month billed yearly or $49 monthly.
dots (OpenAI)
OpenAI describes dots as “always-on agents,” each with its own cloud computer. You message it in ChatGPT, Slack and Microsoft Teams; OpenAI says texting is coming soon.
- How it is priced: included with ChatGPT Pro (from $100 a month) and ChatGPT Business Premium seats ($100 a seat a month billed annually), per OpenAI’s pricing page.
The short answer
If your work runs on client email, alfred_ is the best alternative to Instinct: it keeps the list of what you owe and who owes you, across the accounts you already use, and lets you reply by text today. The two side by side are in alfred_ vs Instinct.
