Instinct AI is For Real. What You Need to Know.

Instinct AI is For Real. What You Need to Know.

Inside Instinct AI: An Overview

Introduction to Instinct AI

  • Instinct AI is an invite-only personal agent app rumored to be valued at $10 billion, sparking curiosity about its functionality and use cases.
  • The app claims to assist users in various tasks, such as saving money on phone bills or facilitating visa approvals with minimal communication.
  • The hosts aim to provide insights into how the app operates, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses.

User Experience and Features

  • The overall impression of Instinct AI is that it serves as a personal assistant suitable for a wide audience, including those unfamiliar with technology.
  • The hosts express hope that their review will encourage engagement from the audience and potentially lead to more invites being distributed.

Key Insights on Functionality

  • A comprehensive overview of the product will be provided, discussing what works well and what could be improved.
  • Users can expect insights into different use cases, advantages, disadvantages, and reasons for interest in the app.

Positive Aspects of Instinct AI

  • Effective dialogue management is noted; the app avoids verbosity while utilizing reactions efficiently for user interactions.
  • It leverages Apple iMessage features effectively, enhancing user experience through familiar functionalities like voice notes and message reactions.

Unique Capabilities

  • A standout feature includes playing games via iMessage (Game Pigeon), showcasing advanced interaction capabilities that surprised users.
  • Proactive assistance was highlighted when the app reminded users about deadlines related to booking services.

Market Positioning

  • Unlike other complex agents aimed at power users, Instinct AI targets general consumers by simplifying access to personal assistant features.
  • While individual tasks may not seem life-changing, cumulative time savings can significantly enhance productivity over time.

Invite-only Strategy Discussion

  • The invite-only model draws comparisons to Clubhouse's early days; it creates exclusivity which may drive interest but raises questions about sustainability.
  • Concerns are raised regarding whether Instinct AI can maintain its valuation compared to past platforms that failed after initial hype.

Network Effects and Future Potential

  • A new feature called "trusted person network" allows instinct-to-instinct communication among users, potentially enhancing network effects within the platform.
  • This approach represents a novel take on network effects in personal agents; effective coordination between agents could redefine user experiences in this space.

Discussion on AI Personal Assistants

Performance Comparison of AI Tools

  • The speaker notes that while GrokBot can handle certain tasks, its performance is notably slow compared to Instinct's fast and seamless operation.
  • Instinct effectively fills the role of a personal assistant AI, particularly for non-business tasks like booking haircuts and restaurants.

Unique Features of Instinct

  • Each Instinct user has a dedicated email address (e.g., remy.lastname@mail.instinct.com), allowing it to manage bookings without cluttering the user's inbox.
  • Users are advised to utilize Hermes, OpenClaw, or GrokBot for business tasks while reserving Instinct for personal assistance.

User Experience and Setup Challenges

  • The speaker expresses satisfaction with Codex but highlights the complexity involved in setting up Hermes for less tech-savvy users, such as their mother.
  • Setting up a VPS with Docker was necessary for Hermes, indicating that simpler solutions are preferable for general consumers.

Concerns Regarding Security and Privacy

  • Despite some operational issues with food ordering in Indonesia, the speaker emphasizes security and privacy concerns regarding Instinct's data handling practices.
  • Instances were cited where users reported unauthorized indexing of emails by Instinct after disconnection from Google services.

Trust Issues with Startups vs. Established Companies

  • The speaker expresses a preference for Apple over startups like Instinct due to trust issues related to data privacy.
  • They acknowledge that despite potential risks, the time-saving benefits of using Instinct could significantly enhance productivity.

Onboarding Experience and Usability

  • The onboarding process is praised for its simplicity; users only need to log in with their phone number to get started quickly.
  • Unlike many AI products targeting mass consumers, which often have complicated onboarding processes, Instinct offers an intuitive experience right from the start.

Interaction Features and Capabilities

  • The use of native iMessage features enhances user interaction; animations make communication feel more human-like.
  • Initial interactions include practical demonstrations such as booking flights or ordering food, showcasing its capabilities immediately upon setup.

Workspace Integration and Functionality

  • Users can connect various communication methods (iMessage, WhatsApp), email accounts, and payment options within a simple workspace interface.
  • A vault feature allows users to securely store sensitive information like login credentials and credit card details.

This structured summary captures key insights from the transcript while adhering strictly to your formatting guidelines.

Exploring the Role of Personal AI Assistants

Initial Interaction with AI

  • The user expresses uncertainty about what tasks to assign to the AI, indicating a desire for personal assistance rather than work-related tasks.
  • The user envisions the AI as a personal assistant for scheduling appointments and other non-work-related activities, such as getting a perm.

Task Execution and Challenges

  • The user requests the AI to message a salon in Bali via WhatsApp, but it directs them to do it themselves when unable to send messages.
  • After researching places in Copenhagen, the user asks the AI for more options and reviews before selecting one.

Booking Process Insights

  • The AI attempts to book an appointment but encounters issues due to needing a Danish phone number; it resorts to emailing instead.
  • The user receives confirmation from the salon after providing their email address, reflecting on how human-like the communication felt.

User Experience and Learning Curve

  • The user acknowledges that initial interactions involved trial and error as they learned how to effectively communicate with the AI.
  • They note improvements in confidence over time, realizing that silence from the AI often means it's processing tasks rather than malfunctioning.

Expanding Tasks Beyond Haircut

  • While at their haircut appointment, the user asks for restaurant bookings, demonstrating trust in the AI's capabilities.
  • The booking process becomes more complex when requiring credit card information for reservations, marking a significant step in using an AI assistant.

Financial Safety Measures

  • To mitigate risks associated with sharing financial information, the user creates a new digital card with spending limits before providing details to the AI.

Human-Like Interactions

  • The user appreciates how well the AI balances responses and reactions during interactions, enhancing its human-like quality.

Seamless Booking Experience

  • Despite needing additional steps like adding payment details, overall booking experiences are smooth and efficient through effective communication from both parties.

Complex Requests: Visa Management

Handling Travel Documentation

  • As travel plans evolve towards Bali, the user requests assistance with visa arrangements while also signing up for Emirates Skywards for benefits during flights.

Efficient Information Gathering

  • After sending necessary documents like passport photos, users receive timely feedback from the AI regarding their visa application status.

Trusting Technology

  • Upon arrival in Bali, there is palpable tension regarding immigration processes; however, successful entry reinforces trust placed in technology handling critical tasks.

Final Thoughts on Using Instinct

Encouraging Broader Adoption of Technology

  • Remy emphasizes that this technology can help those who are not yet familiar or comfortable using agents by showcasing its practical applications.

Invitation Opportunities

  • There is mention of limited invites available for accessing this technology; engagement through comments may lead to more opportunities being shared within communities.

Turn any video into a summary like this

YouTube links, meetings, lectures — with transcripts, search, and chat.

Video description

I sit down with Remy to go through Instinct, the new invite-only personal agent that runs inside iMessage. Remy shares his raw chat history on screen: a haircut booking in Copenhagen, a restaurant reservation, a Bali visa on arrival, and an Emirates Skywards sign-up. We cover the parts that impress us, the points where the agent hits a wall, and the privacy questions that stay open. By the end of this episode you understand what Instinct does today, and you get fresh ideas for personal agents in general. Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 02:08 – Instinct Pros 11:18 – Instinct Cons 13:16 – Simple Onboarding 15:19 – Tools and Connectors 17:43 – Example 1: Booking a Haircut in Copenhagen 20:24 – Example 2: Restaurant Booking and Calendar Entry 23:03 – Example 3: Bali Visa on Arrival and Emirates Skywards 26:00 – Closing Thoughts Key Points • Instinct hides the agent complexity behind a phone number and iMessage, so a first-time user starts in seconds. • Remy gets it to book a haircut, hold a restaurant table, file a Bali visa on arrival, and open an Emirates Skywards account. • A spend-limited virtual card keeps the blast radius small when the agent pays for things. • The agent stalls when a task needs a phone app or an Indonesian checkout page. • Users report that Instinct keeps copies of email after they disconnect Google, so treat privacy as an open risk. • The trusted person network lets one Instinct talk to another, which builds network effects into the agentic era. Numbered Section Summaries 1. The Invite-Only Launch Remy first sees Instinct on X, where large AI accounts talk about it. The site shows a wait list, so he grabs an invite code from a public tweet. Scarcity drives the curiosity, and Remy reads the rollout as a marketing play as much as a compute limit. 2. Onboarding Built for the Mass Market Remy signs in with a phone number and lands straight in iMessage. The agent opens with photo examples: flight bookings, check-ins, smoothie orders, subscription cancellations. Remy teaches founders AI for a living, so he values a flow that skips MCPs, CLIs, and markdown files. 3. The Workspace, the Connectors, and the Vault A simple web workspace sits beside the chat. It holds contact methods, connectors for email, Slack and Granola, and a vault for logins, cards, and addresses. Remy connects his email accounts and stays impressed by how much context Instinct pulls about him. 4. Real Tasks: Haircut, Restaurant, Visa Remy asks for salons in Copenhagen. Instinct researches spots, pulls reviews, sends photos, emails the salon, and confirms the booking hours later. It then holds a table at Bistro Central, files the Bali visa on arrival and the arrival card, and opens an Emirates Skywards account with a saved password. 5. Human Touches: Reactions, Memory, and Game Pigeon Instinct reacts to messages, reads a thumbs-up as approval, and uses loud effects and confetti. It recalls the monitor from an earlier chat and adds it to the visa arrival card. It even plays a round of Game Pigeon Cup Pong, which surprises us both. 6. Network Effects, Privacy, and the Ten-Billion Question The founder Noah announces a trusted person network, so one Instinct can talk to another. I compare the invite rollout to Clubhouse in 2020, which raised at $4vbillion. Meanwhile Claire Vo and Peter Yang report that Instinct keeps copies of their email after they disconnect Google, and the terms raise the same flag. The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/ FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Instagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/ FIND REMY ON SOCIAL X: https://x.com/remy_gaskell Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aiwithremy AI with Remy: https://www.aiwithremy.com/