Best AI assistant on iMessage
Which AI assistant works best inside iMessage?
Updated · 16 assistants ranked
Neo and Pally tie for first among the AI assistants you can text in iMessage, both averaging 8.1; Neo took all ten tests and Pally eight. Ollie (7.8) and Tomo (7.6) follow. 21 assistants in our catalog list iMessage and 16 of them took at least five tests, ranked below.
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
Only assistants whose catalog entry (checked 2026-10-26) lists iMessage as a channel, tested on at least five of the ten tests, are included; the other 5 iMessage assistants have fewer scores and are left out. They are ranked by the average of the tests they took, and ties go to the one with more tests. Scores come from the published score sheet and are dated 2026-10-27. 9 of the 16 ranked assistants (Neo, Waldo, Friday, Nessi, Ka, OpenClaw, Persona, Alfi by Text.ai and Lucas) 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. Pally, Ollie, Tomo, Caddy, Wajo / Fo, OpenInstinct and tinyNature are not pre-filled.
How to choose
- Check whether iMessage is the only way in. Waldo is iMessage-only, Ollie and Caddy are iMessage and SMS, and others such as Pally and OpenClaw add WhatsApp and Telegram.
- Remember that iMessage is only the chat window. Tests of phone calls, booking and purchasing still depend on the assistant's own integrations, so compare Wajo / Fo (Connected apps 10, Phone calls 9) with Tomo (Travel booking 10).
- Mind the places in the middle of the table. Six of the top eight are not pre-filled (Pally, Ollie, Tomo, Caddy, Wajo / Fo and OpenInstinct), while Neo and Waldo are, so their positions may move.
Which AI assistants work in iMessage?
21 assistants in our catalog list iMessage as a channel. 16 have at least five test scores and are ranked above; the rest, Orchid, Folk, Asaply, Brea and Orbits, have fewer scores.
What is the best AI assistant for iMessage?
Neo and Pally both average 8.1, Ollie 7.8 and Tomo 7.6. Pally, Ollie and Tomo are not pre-filled; Neo is, so its tie for first is provisional.
Do I need an iPhone to use an iMessage assistant?
For iMessage itself, yes. Pally, Nessi, Friday and others also list SMS, which works from any phone, and some list WhatsApp or Telegram or an app as well; each assistant's page shows its channels.
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.