What is the best AI personal assistant?

For getting errands done, our pick is Your Own AI Assistant, because it has its own email address and computer and follows up for days. For a free assistant in your texts, Poke. For voice at home, Alexa+.

Is there a free AI personal assistant?

Poke covers most features free. Alexa+ is included with Prime. Muse is free with usage limits in the US. Our assistant has a free trial with no card.

Is it safe to give an AI assistant my accounts?

Give it only what the job needs, and read the maker's privacy terms. Some, like Instinct, allow training on your materials by default. Our assistant asks before spending your money.

The best AI personal assistants in 2026

A good personal assistant does the things you keep putting off: gets the refund, books the dentist, renews the parking permit, reminds you about your sister's birthday and the car's registration. An AI personal assistant should do the same, without you having to learn a new app.

Some of the assistants below go out and do those jobs. Others remind you, answer questions or run your calendar. We've said which is which.

Short answer. For getting life admin done, our pick is Your Own AI Assistant: you text it, it has its own email address and computer, and it follows through for days. Poke is the best free option for reminders and calendar help, and Alexa+ is the easiest choice for people who'd rather talk out loud at home.

The list

Your Own AI Assistant · Best for getting life admin done

Text it what you'd ask a person: "the airline still owes me for the cancelled flight, please sort it out". It has its own email address and its own computer with a browser, so it can fill in the claim form, write to the airline, wait for their answer and chase until it's settled. It can phone a business too.

It remembers notes about you between jobs, so you don't explain twice, and it can remind you or follow up at a time you set. There's nothing to install.

Good for: Busy people, families and anyone who'd rather text than learn an app.
Watch out for: Plans start at $99 a month after the free trial (no card, up to $250 of use or 14 days); some websites ask for a code sent to your phone, which you'll need to pass on.
Price: Free trial (no card); then from $99 a month

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Instinct · Closest rival for errands

Instinct is a personal assistant you text or call. It orders groceries, books trains, sends flowers and handles returns, and since September 2026 it can have its own email address for contacting businesses. TechCrunch reports partnerships with 1Password and Stripe for signing in and paying.

Good for: People who want errands done, including payments.
Watch out for: No published price, and by default its terms allow your materials to train AI unless you opt out.
Price: Not published: not published

Poke · Best free personal assistant

Poke lives in Apple Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram. It connects to your Gmail or Outlook, calendar and to-do apps, sets reminders from a text or voice message and reaches out when something needs you. Poke says most features are free.

Good for: Reminders and calendar help from the texting app you already use.
Watch out for: No email address or computer of its own on its pages, and iCloud and Yahoo Mail aren't supported.
Price: Free: $0; Pro: $19/month; Ultra: $199/month

Muse · Newest errand agent, in WhatsApp (US only)

Muse, from Meta, is a personal agent on its own cloud computer with a full browser. It keeps your logins in a store it can't read, makes a one-time card number when shopping so your real card stays hidden, and asks before sending email or buying. You can use it in WhatsApp chats in the US.

Good for: US users who want errands handled from WhatsApp, with strong card safeguards.
Watch out for: US only; Amazon has blocked it from shopping on Amazon.com, and Meta suspended conversation sharing after shared links exposed personal details.
Price: Free: $0; Power: $20/month (reported); Maximum: $100/month (reported)

Martin · Best for calendar and inbox by text or call

Martin manages your calendar, email, to-dos and reminders over SMS, WhatsApp, phone calls, email or its iOS app. It sends briefings, drafts replies, does wake-up calls and can text and call people for you. From $35 a month, with a 7-day free trial.

Good for: People juggling several Gmail or Outlook accounts.
Watch out for: No email address of its own, and the Basic plan takes only 2 tasks at a time.
Price: Basic: $35/month ($21/month billed yearly); Pro: $49/month ($30/month billed yearly)

Alexa+ · Best for talking out loud at home

Alexa+ talks naturally on Echo speakers, Fire TV and the Alexa app. It runs the smart home, orders groceries and food, books restaurants and appointments through partners such as OpenTable and Vagaro, and remembers things like family recipes and dates. It's included with Prime, or $19.99 a month without.

Good for: Households with Echo devices, and people who'd rather speak than type.
Watch out for: Bookings and orders go through Amazon's partner list, not any website, and the free version is limited.
Price: Free: $0; Prime: Included with Prime; Standard: $19.99/month

ChatGPT · Best for questions and planning

For working out a holiday plan, understanding a letter from the bank or writing a complaint, ChatGPT is quick, clear and free to start. On paid plans, agent mode clicks through websites for you.

Good for: Anyone who wants answers and drafts.
Watch out for: You can't text it, it has no email address of its own, and you do the sending and chasing.
Price: Free: $0; Go: $8/month; Plus: $20/month

The top picks side by side

	Your Own AI Assistant	Instinct	Poke	Muse
What it is	A personal AI assistant with its own email address and its own computer: you text or email it a job, it does the work and writes back.	A personal AI assistant you text or call, which then does errands and tasks for you.	A personal AI assistant that lives in your text messages and connects to your email, calendar and apps.	Meta's personal AI agent that does tasks for you on its own secure cloud computer, launched in the US in September 2026.
Price	Free trial (no card); then from $99 a month	Not published: not published	Free: $0; Pro: $19/month; Ultra: $199/month	Free: $0; Power: $20/month (reported); Maximum: $100/month (reported)
Free to try	Free trial, no card: up to $250 of use or 14 days	No price published; the terms say some features cost money	Free plan (most features)	Free with usage limits; TechCrunch reports a payment card is needed to start
Does the task itself	Yes on its own computer and browser, end to end	yes it books, orders, signs up and contacts businesses for you	partly acts in your connected apps and runs automations; real-world tasks go through Poke Human on paid plans	yes browses and finishes jobs on its own computer, asking before sending email or buying
Its own email address	Yes its own address people can write to	yes each user can claim an address for the assistant (since Sept 2026)	no it works with your own Gmail or Outlook (no Poke address found on the pages we checked)	no announced as coming soon; not confirmed live
You can text it	Yes you text it like a person	yes you text or call it	yes Apple Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram	yes inside WhatsApp chats (US)
Its own computer and browser	Yes its own cloud computer with a browser	partly its home page says it can use a phone and computer the way you do; it does not say how	no not described on the pages we checked	yes Muse Secure VM, its own lasting cloud computer with a browser
Remembers you	Keeps notes about you and your jobs between conversations	Its home page says it learns what you are working on and what matters to you; its Vault keeps materials you add	Keeps memories about you and uses them with your apps to help at the right time	Remembers things about you across chats; you can ask it to forget
Where it lives	Text (iMessage, SMS) and email; no app to install	text messages and phone calls; web workspace at app.instinct.com	Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram; settings on poke.com	iOS, Android, web (muse.ai), WhatsApp chats, Mac app; US only

How we chose

For every assistant we asked: if I hand it a real errand, does it finish it or give me homework? Can I reach it without a new app (by text, email or voice)? Will it remember me next month? Does it follow up when the other side goes quiet? And what does it really cost, and what does it do with my data?

We took every fact from the maker's own pages, or from TechCrunch, GeekWire and Ars Technica where we say so, and dated the page.

Questions people ask

What is the best AI personal assistant?: For getting errands done, our pick is Your Own AI Assistant, because it has its own email address and computer and follows up for days. For a free assistant in your texts, Poke. For voice at home, Alexa+.
Is there a free AI personal assistant?: Poke covers most features free. Alexa+ is included with Prime. Muse is free with usage limits in the US. Our assistant has a free trial with no card.
Is it safe to give an AI assistant my accounts?: Give it only what the job needs, and read the maker's privacy terms. Some, like Instinct, allow training on your materials by default. Our assistant asks before spending your money.

Updated 2026-11-08. Every product fact is from the maker's own pages, linked on each tool's page.

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