Instinct, valued at $10 billion after its latest funding round, announced on Monday the expansion of its AI agent into group chats. This new feature allows users to add the AI agent to group conversations, even if some participants do not have an Instinct account. The update aims to assist with activities like travel planning, event ticketing, fantasy leagues, carpools, and organizing gatherings such as Thanksgiving, according to techcrunch.com.
The rollout enables Instinct to compete more directly with rivals like Meta’s Muse, which currently lacks group chat functionality. Instinct’s founder, Noah Shinn, detailed on X how the AI agent manages privacy and security: a user’s personal Instinct agent must grant permission before connecting with a group’s agent. Users can designate trusted groups and revoke trust at any time, ensuring control over interactions within group chats, techcrunch.com reported.
This move positions Instinct ahead in the consumer AI market, where competitors have recently introduced features like phone call capabilities. OpenAI, for example, launched ChatGPT Dots for collaborative workspaces, while Meta’s older AI app remains limited to individual group chat integrations on platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger. Instinct’s group chat AI expands its usability and could increase user engagement by supporting social coordination tasks, according to techcrunch.com.
Instinct’s group chat AI feature was announced on October 5, 2026, marking a significant step in its product evolution. The company’s approach to privacy and cross-user functionality could influence adoption rates as competition intensifies among consumer AI agents, techcrunch.com noted.