For two years, “AI assistant” meant a chat box. You asked, it answered, and the work was still yours. This summer that changed. Meta, xAI and the startup Instinct each launched an agent that signs into your apps, clicks through websites and keeps going after you close the tab.

Publisher disclosure: Sharick is one of the products below, and we build it. This guide compares official product information; it is not a hands-on benchmark. Muse, Grok Bot and Instinct are new, and their details may change quickly.

The four at a glance

What changed this summer: the agent got a computer

The common thread is a new piece of infrastructure. Grok Bot gives each bot a cloud machine with a desktop, file system and terminal. Muse runs tasks in a secure virtual machine with its own browser. Reporting on Instinct describes a persistent cloud desktop. None of them needs an official integration to use an app; they operate it the way a person would.

That unlocks real chores: forms, reservations, CRMs without an API. It also raises the stakes of one question every buyer should ask first: what can it do without asking me? All three vendors say sensitive actions come back to you for approval. How each one draws that line is worth testing with low-risk tasks before you connect anything important.

An agent that can do anything still has to know what is worth doing. That is the part you cannot delegate by accident.

Where each one starts

Useful help moves through three steps: notice something that needs you, understand why it matters and what changed, then act. Each product puts its weight on a different step. The map below reflects each vendor's own emphasis, not a measured score.

Muse
Grok Bot
Instinct
Sharick
Darker bars mark where a product's published description puts its emphasis; gold marks Sharick's focus. Editorial reading of vendor pages, September 28, 2026.

Muse: Meta's agent for everyday life

  • LaunchedSept 2026, US
  • Lives iniOS, Android, web, WhatsApp
  • Approvalbefore emails and purchases
  • Pricefree, with paid plans

Muse is the broadest bet of the three. Meta pitches it for everyone: sending an email, booking travel, turning saved recipes into a grocery list, or building a plan toward a bigger goal. It remembers what matters to you and makes suggestions unprompted. A separate “Sentinel” agent reviews actions that touch the internet, Muse checks with you before sensitive steps, and you get an audit trail of everything it did.

A soft, fluffy cream-colored character with a round smiling face
Muse's friendly character, a signal of Meta's consumer-first pitch.

Try it for: personal errands where a mistake is cheap and the time saved is obvious. Read the audit trail after the first few tasks. See Meta's announcement.

Grok Bot: a team that never logs off

  • LaunchedAug 11, 2026, beta
  • Lives indesktop, iOS
  • Approvalreturns when needed
  • Pricewith SuperGrok or Cursor plans

Grok Bot treats agents like colleagues in a group chat. You can run several at once, have them coordinate, and show one a workflow so it can repeat it. xAI's pitch is end-to-end work: bots handle a job and “only come back when something needs your approval.” Access currently comes with SuperGrok and eligible Cursor subscriptions, on a separate usage allocation.

Try it for: a repetitive, well-defined workflow you can describe in one sentence, such as a weekly report pulled from three tools. See xAI's announcement.

Instinct: the assistant that texts you first

  • Statusinvite access
  • Lives intext messages and calls
  • Readsemail, messages, screen, audio, location
  • Pricenot published

Instinct has no new app to learn. You text it or call it. Its site describes following up on threads you have dropped, calling or texting you proactively, arranging a ride to the airport, or booking a handyman. The trade is breadth of access: to be that proactive, it asks for email, messaging, screen, audio and location.

Try it for: life logistics that fall through the cracks. Decide in advance which of those data sources you are comfortable sharing. See Instinct's site.

Sharick: see what matters, then move

  • Availablenow
  • Lives inweb, desktop, mobile
  • ApprovalAI proposes, you commit
  • Pricesee pricing

We built Sharick around a different bottleneck. For many founders the problem is not clicking through a booking form. It is losing sight of the promise made in Tuesday's meeting, or spending a week on busy work while the one hard question waits. Sharick gathers meeting notes, messages and tasks into daily briefings and follow-up tracking, shows the source behind each suggestion, and lets you correct it. It proposes; you decide what becomes a commitment.

That makes it a complement to an action agent more than a replacement. An agent that can do anything works best when it is pointed at the right thing. See the proactive assistant overview.

Side by side

Published details as of September 28, 2026
ProductMain strengthHow it is proactiveWhere you step in
MuseErrands, bookings, goal plansUnprompted suggestions from memorySensitive actions; audit trail
Grok BotRepeatable work across any appRoutines that run around the clockWhen a bot asks for approval
InstinctLife logistics by text and phoneFollows up and contacts you firstOver text, as it reaches out
SharickCommitments, context, prioritiesBriefings and open follow-upsEvery commitment is yours

Which to try first

Start from the job, not the demo.

Choose Muse if

you want help with personal life admin and already live in Meta's apps.

Choose Grok Bot if

you can name a repeatable workflow and already pay for SuperGrok or Cursor.

Choose Instinct if

you would rather text than open an app, and accept broad access in exchange.

Choose Sharick if

your problem is keeping promises and priorities straight, not the clicking.

Sources and limitations

We reviewed official announcements and product pages on September 28, 2026. These describe what vendors advertise, not measured performance. Muse is US-only; Grok Bot is in beta; Instinct is invite-only and does not publish pricing.