Poke vs Your Own AI Assistant: which texting assistant is right for you?
You text both of them. Poke is a free, friendly assistant for reminders, your calendar and your inbox. Our assistant has its own email address and its own computer, so it can go out and do the job.
Side by side
| Poke | Your Own AI Assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A personal AI assistant that lives in your text messages and connects to your email, calendar and apps. | 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. |
| Price | Free: $0; Pro: $19/month; Ultra: $199/month | Free trial (no card); then from $99 a month |
| Free to try | Free plan (most features) | Free trial, no card: up to $250 of use or 14 days |
| Does the task itself | partly acts in your connected apps and runs automations; real-world tasks go through Poke Human on paid plans | Yes on its own computer and browser, end to end |
| Its own email address | no it works with your own Gmail or Outlook (no Poke address found on the pages we checked) | Yes its own address people can write to |
| You can text it | yes Apple Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram | Yes you text it like a person |
| Its own computer and browser | no not described on the pages we checked | Yes its own cloud computer with a browser |
| Remembers you | Keeps memories about you and uses them with your apps to help at the right time | Keeps notes about you and your jobs between conversations |
| Where it lives | Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram; settings on poke.com | Text (iMessage, SMS) and email; no app to install |
Getting real tasks done
Poke acts in the apps you connect: Gmail or Outlook, Google Calendar, Notion, Todoist and others. It sets reminders, starts tasks from a text or voice message, runs automations, and reaches out first when something needs you. On paid plans, Poke Human sends real-world tasks to people who help.
Our assistant has its own cloud computer with a web browser, so it can work in ordinary websites itself: look things up, compare prices, fill in forms, open accounts. It can also phone a business. We found no computer or browser of Poke's own described on its pages.
Email and texting
Poke lives in Apple Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram. Cognition, which bought Poke's maker in July 2026, says it is the only AI agent approved to text natively on Apple Messages. It works with your own Gmail or Outlook; iCloud and Yahoo Mail are not supported. We found no Poke email address of its own.
You text our assistant over iMessage or SMS, or email it. It has its own email address, so people and companies can write to it directly while it works on your behalf.
What it costs
Poke's free plan covers most features, with no card. Pro is $19 a month (frontier models, background automations, Poke Human) and Ultra is $199 a month. Limits are described only as higher or highest, with no numbers.
Our assistant is free to try with no card, for up to 14 days or $250 of use. Then plans run from $99 to $999 a month.
Who each suits
Poke suits people who want nudges and quick help without opening an app: what's on tomorrow, remind me to call Mom at six, what did the accountant say.
Our assistant suits people who want things finished: get three quotes for the gutter repair, book the one with the best reviews, and remind me the day before.
Pick Poke if
- You want a free texting assistant
- Reminders, calendar and inbox help are most of what you need
- You use WhatsApp or Telegram
- You want it to reach out first when something matters
Pick Your Own AI Assistant if
- You want the job done, not just a reminder about it
- People and companies should write to your assistant directly
- It needs to work in websites: forms, accounts, support pages
- It needs to phone a business
Questions people ask
- Is Poke free?
- Mostly. Poke says most features are on its free plan. Pro is $19 a month and Ultra $199 a month.
- Does Poke have its own email address?
- Not that we found. It works with your own Gmail or Outlook. Our assistant gets an address of its own that anyone can write to.
- Can both send texts on iPhone?
- Yes. Poke works in Apple Messages (plus WhatsApp and Telegram). Our assistant works over iMessage and SMS.
Updated 2026-11-08. Product facts from each maker's own pages: see Poke and Your Own AI Assistant for sources.
Want an assistant that does the job, not just the draft?
Our pick gets its own email address and its own computer. You text it the job; it does the work and texts you back.
Start free Free to try, no card. Ready in about a minute.