From WIRED · Zoë Schiffer · · 3m
I Finally Found an AI Agent Worth the Risk
A writer discovers Instinct, an AI agent that texts through iMessage and actually solves problems, but the security risks are real.
In brief
A writer discovers Instinct, an AI agent that texts through iMessage and actually solves problems, but the security risks are real. An AI agent called Instinct proved useful enough to justify its risks by automating travel bookings and catching phishing scams, though it has serious security flaws. Originally reported…
Claude Cowork disappoints
After leaving WIRED, the writer gave Claude Cowork access to her email and calendar, hoping for a hyper-capable digital assistant. It turned out to be just a regular chatbot with extra tools.
Instinct arrives in the Bay Area
Instinct, an invite-only AI agent that communicates through iMessage and WhatsApp, started gaining popularity. It launched in private beta in February and is reportedly in talks to raise one billion dollars on top of the three hundred fifty million it has already raised, bringing its valuation to ten billion dollars.
Meta's Muse also takes off
Meta launched Muse, an AI assistant that became the most popular free app in Apple's App Store with more than nine hundred thousand downloads. It rolled out with a serious security vulnerability that would have let attackers do whatever they wanted on a victim's Mac.
“let attackers do 'whatever' they wanted on a victim's Mac”
The divide over AI agents widens
Tech CEOs who believe agents can automate administrative work see data center costs as acceptable. But people using chatbots as fancy Google find that deal much less appealing, explaining why CEOs were caught off guard by data center backlash.
The real problem with agents
Technology journalist Jasmine Sun writes that most people's problems are not software-shaped, and most won't notice even when they are. AI agents still require a lot of input and direction from users.
“most people's problems are not software-shaped, and most won't notice even when they are”
Instinct gets the form factor right
Instinct's strength is its form factor: no open text box, just iMessage and WhatsApp with helpful prompts. The agent suggests what it can do and then does it, unlike competitors like Lindy that text too much and pop into meetings without approval.
Instinct books Venice restaurants
For her first project, the writer gave Instinct her itinerary for a work trip to Venice, Italy. It booked reservations based on where she was going to be, including WhatsApping hole-in-the-wall spots. Restaurant reservations proved to be a gateway drug for agent-curious people.
Instinct saves her five hundred fifty dollars
When WIRED asked the writer to attend the WIRED World Fair in Miami the day before her New York trip, she faced a problem: her saver fare couldn't be moved. Instinct detected that Alaska had moved her flight ninety minutes earlier, qualifying her for a full refund. It canceled her ticket and rebooked her return, saving her roughly five hundred fifty dollars.
Instinct has serious security flaws
People reported that Instinct retained copies of their inboxes even after disconnecting. One venture capitalist was banned from Resy after the bot pinged its API roughly two hundred times per hour. Another investor said it would be trivially easy for Instinct to be phished.
The writer accepts the risks
Instinct canceled a delayed DoorDash order without offering a refund, costing the writer sixty four dollars. But last week it warned her not to open a phishing scam email from a friend inviting her to a backyard BBQ. She is staying with Instinct despite the risks because she is busy and everything feels like a security nightmare.
The bottom line
An AI agent called Instinct proved useful enough to justify its risks by automating travel bookings and catching phishing scams, though it has serious security flaws.
