Instinct Introduces AI Agent for Group Chats, Including Friends Without Accounts

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Instinct unveils an AI agent for group chats that assists with planning and organizing tasks collectively, while maintaining user privacy and requiring permissions for information sharing.

Instinct, a leading AI startup valued at $10 billion, has launched a new feature enabling its AI agent to participate in group chats. This addition is designed to simplify collaborative tasks such as trip planning, event coordination, managing carpools, and organizing shared responsibilities during occasions like Thanksgiving. Remarkably, the AI agent can engage with group members even if some participants do not have Instinct accounts, broadening its usability.

The feature is currently available to early access users, with plans for a wider rollout soon. Users can add Instinct to their group chats, where the agent helps streamline discussions by collectively exploring options, reaching consensus, and finalizing plans, all within a single conversation thread. This development marks a key advance for Instinct in competition with similar AI services like Meta’s Muse, which has yet to introduce group chat functionalities.

Addressing privacy concerns, Instinct's founder Noah Shinn emphasized that individual users’ personal AI agents are sandboxed from the group agent and cannot access personal account information without explicit consent. Personal agents will request permission before sharing data or taking actions on behalf of users within the group chat. When new members join, any pending responses from a user's personal agent are withheld until shared with the group, ensuring controlled information flow.

This security-first approach aims to provide confidence to users that their information remains protected while enabling collaborative advantages. The feature reflects an ongoing trend in AI services to move beyond one-on-one interactions toward integrated, multi-user environments. Instinct also continues to expand capabilities, having added AI-generated phone calls recently, intensifying its competition with peers like Meta and OpenAI.

Users interested in trying the group chat AI agent can request early access through their personal Instinct agent. The company intends to extend availability to all users following the initial phased rollout, reinforcing its vision of facilitating seamless group coordination through intelligent AI assistance.