The Verge hands-on tested Instinct, the invite-only, low-marketing text-message AI agent that launched in August 2026 and can book DMV appointments, email an eye doctor's office, and find swim lessons for a preschooler. The review found it solid at handling vague instructions and proactively surfacing relevant details like a calendar conflict, but prone to missing key facts buried in human-made web data, such as a prerequisite class requirement. Founder Noah Shinn says Instinct is focused solely on everyday personal assistance and remains free for invited users; the report says the startup was valued at $10 billion in late September even after Meta's Muse and OpenAI's Dots arrived.