Best AI personal assistant app
Which AI personal assistant app is best?
Updated · 25 assistants ranked
This report ranks the AI personal assistants that have their own app, across all ten of our tests, from booking and email to memory and privacy. It covers assistants with an app as one of their channels; many of them also work in iMessage, WhatsApp or by text.
Top picks
- 19.0MuseTop pick
Tested on 7 of 10Best: Purchasing10, Email10
- 28.6
Tested on 9 of 10Best: Email10, Routines10
- 38.5HarkBest free option
Tested on 6 of 10Best: Purchasing10, Memory10
- 48.4TownFastest that's still good
Tested on 5 of 10Best: Connected apps10, Email9Time to finish 6m 30s
- 58.0
Tested on 7 of 10Best: Email10, Online tasks9
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 | Muse | 8 | 7 | 10 | — | 10 | — | 10 | 9 | 9 | — | 9.0 |
| 2 | Instinct | 9 | 8 | 9 | — | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 8.6 |
| 3 | Hark | 8 | 9 | 10 | — | 9 | — | — | 5 | — | 10 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Town | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8.4 |
| 5 | Dots | 9 | 6 | 7 | N/A | 10 | 9 | — | — | 7 | 8 | 8.0 |
| 6 | Poke | 4 | — | — | — | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | — | 8 | 7.5 |
| 7 | Luke | 6 | 9 | — | 8 | 7 | — | 7 | — | — | 6 | 7.2 |
| 8 | Wajo / Fo | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7.1 |
| 9 | Norton Family Assistant | — | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6.7 |
| 10 | Familiar | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6.5 |
| 11 | Buoy | 7 | 6 | 8 | — | — | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6.3 |
| 12 | Asmi | 7 | 6 | 4 | N/A | 9 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 9 | — | 6.1 |
| 13 | Vellum | 4 | — | 4 | — | — | 6 | 8 | — | 7 | 7 | 6.0 |
| 14 | OpenInstinct | 10 | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | 6 | 7 | 4 | 6.0 |
| 15 | Friday | — | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5.8 |
| 16 | Today | 8 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5.6 |
| 17 | Gemini Spark | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 18 | Nessi | — | — | — | — | 7 | 5 | — | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5.4 |
| 19 | The Shadow | — | 6 | 8 | — | 4 | — | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5.3 |
| 20 | OpenClaw | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5.1 |
| 21 | Manus | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5.0 |
| 22 | Persona | 5 | — | 4 | — | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | — | 5.0 |
| 23 | AVA | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | — | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4.7 |
| 24 | Alfi by Text.ai | — | — | 4 | 4 | 6 | — | 5 | 4 | — | — | 4.6 |
| 25 | Lucas | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4.5 |
How this report works
Only assistants that list an app as a channel, tested on at least five of the ten tests, are included. They are ranked by their average across the tests they took.
How to choose
- Decide what you want the app for. If you only chat, a general assistant is enough; if you want it to book, buy and call for you, weight the Doing scores in the table.
- Check the free plan before you commit. Several apps give a short trial or a monthly message allowance; the plan is on each assistant's page.
- Read Permissions & privacy and Memory first. An app that remembers everything and reads your inbox should let you see and delete what it keeps.
What users say
The agent detected that Alaska had moved my flight 90 minutes earlier, a fact I'd completely missed, which qualified me for a full refund.
Open sourceOne day, Instinct canceled a DoorDash order that was seriously delayed, forcing me to forfeit $64. (I'd explicitly told it to cancel only if I could get a refund.)
Open sourceThe agent, which Meta launched on September 8, booked a Friday date night and made a packing schedule for my upcoming move. It also emailed a friend about a trip next month and made a planning document with places we want to visit.
Open sourceWhen I asked for a list of places to go for date night, it pulled up two options in my neighborhood that had been closed for years.
Open sourceFrequently asked questions
Which assistant is best for this?
Muse leads with an average of 9.0, ahead of Instinct and Hark.
Is there a good free option?
Muse is the highest-ranked assistant with a free plan, averaging 9.0.
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.