AI assistants you can text from an iPhone
Which AI assistants work in iMessage on an iPhone?
Updated · 16 assistants ranked
Sixteen assistants list iMessage as a channel and took at least five of our ten tests, so you can text them from the Messages app on an iPhone. The catalog lists an app channel without saying which phones it runs on, so an app alone does not qualify an assistant here; the Android report uses the same approach with SMS, WhatsApp and Telegram.
Top picks
- 18.1
Tested on 8 of 10Best: Routines10, Purchasing9Time to finish 7m 1s
- 28.1NeoBest free option
Tested on 10 of 10Best: Travel9, Phone calls9
- 37.8
Tested on 8 of 10Best: Online tasks9, Routines9
- 47.6
Tested on 7 of 10Best: Travel10, Email8
- 57.2
Tested on 6 of 10Best: Travel9, Online tasks8
Top pick: highest average here. Best free option: highest among assistants you can use for free. Fastest that's still good: quickest median time to finish among those averaging 7 or more.
Full ranking
| # | Assistant | Online tasks | Travel | Purchasing | Phone calls | Proactive | Routines | Connected apps | Permissions | Memory | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pally | 7 | 7 | 9 | N/A | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 9 | — | 8.1 |
| 2 | Neo | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8.1 |
| 3 | Ollie | 9 | 7 | 7 | N/A | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | — | 7.8 |
| 4 | Tomo | 7 | 10 | 6 | — | 8 | — | — | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7.6 |
| 5 | Caddy | 8 | 9 | 7 | N/A | 7 | — | — | 6 | — | 6 | 7.2 |
| 6 | Wajo / Fo | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7.1 |
| 7 | Waldo | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6.7 |
| 8 | OpenInstinct | 10 | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6.0 |
| 9 | Friday | — | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5.8 |
| 10 | Nessi | — | — | — | — | 7 | 5 | — | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5.4 |
| 11 | Ka | — | 6 | — | 6 | — | — | 5 | 4 | — | 5 | 5.2 |
| 12 | OpenClaw | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5.1 |
| 13 | Persona | 5 | — | 4 | — | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | — | 5.0 |
| 14 | tinyNature | 4 | — | 4 | — | 5 | 8 | 5 | — | — | 3 | 4.8 |
| 15 | Alfi by Text.ai | — | — | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | 5 | 4 | — | — | 4.6 |
| 16 | Lucas | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4.5 |
How this report works
Included are assistants that list iMessage as a channel (checked 2026-10-26) with at least five tests taken, ranked by the average of the tests they took. Scores come from the published score sheet and are dated 2026-10-27. 9 of the 16 ranked assistants carry pre-filled scores, which are placeholder estimates the site has not yet replaced with its own test runs, so treat their places as provisional.
How to choose
- Check the channel list on the assistant's page: iMessage is sometimes one of several, so SMS or WhatsApp may be the fallback.
- Pick by the tests you care about, not only the average; several of these have no Phone calls score because they cannot place calls.
- Check the plan: the list runs from free to monthly prices, and some have trials or a waitlist.
Which AI assistants work in iMessage?
Sixteen ranked assistants list iMessage, among them Ollie, Pally, Tomo, Caddy and Waldo; the ranking table has the full list. iMessage-only entries such as Waldo need an iPhone, while others also offer SMS, WhatsApp or Telegram.
Why not count assistants with an app?
The catalog lists an app channel without saying which phones it runs on, so an app alone does not qualify an assistant for this list.
What users say
Pally asks me before sending each message out to clients but now Pallyai can attend to my photography clients without asking me, it's all automated.
Open sourceMy favorite way to use Caddy is to get it to help me find gallery openings + lectures… then put those on my cal 😎
Open sourceFrequently asked questions
Which assistant is best for this?
Pally leads with an average of 8.1, ahead of Neo and Ollie.
Is there a good free option?
Pally is the highest-ranked assistant with a free plan, averaging 8.1.
How did you test these assistants?
Every assistant got the same published tests, word for word, scored from three checkpoints and the number of corrections it needed. Each test is on the Dimensions page.