6 Best Ka AI Alternatives in 2026
Ka (textka.com) is “the friend who runs your life,” an AI assistant you text on iMessage. It moves meetings on Google Calendar, tells you what in Gmail needs a reply, writes up docs and sheets, and sends reminders. Its party trick: when your friends have Ka too, the assistants talk to each other to find a night that works.
It’s friendly and simple. The limits show up as you lean on it:
- The free plan is small. 10 messages a day, two connected apps and two live reminders.
- It’s Google-first. Its connections are Google Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive.
- It’s built for iMessage. Android works over plain texts, minus the iMessage extras.
The quick answer: Carly is the best Ka alternative if your calendar and inbox carry real work. It covers Gmail and Outlook, every account you own, follows your rules the same way every time, and calls and texts other people for you. You can text it too.
Ka alternatives compared
| Alternative | Where you use it | Email and calendar | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Text, web, email, ChatGPT, Claude | Gmail and Outlook, all of your accounts | Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/mo |
| Poke | iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram | Connects your email and calendar | Free; Pro $19/mo |
| Nessi | Any phone, by text | Connects your email and calendar | Free |
| Brea | iMessage | Gmail, Outlook and 2,000+ apps | Free |
| Friday | iMessage | Drafts replies, daily audio brief | No published price |
| Meta Muse | WhatsApp, iOS, Android, web | Sends email from its cloud computer | Free with limits; $20/mo |
Ka for reference: Free (10 messages a day, two connected apps, two reminders, cheaper models); Pro $14.99 a month (fair-use messaging, any number of apps, multiple accounts per app). Prices from each vendor’s site, checked October 19, 2026.
1. Carly
Ka is a friend you text. Carly is closer to an executive assistant you can also text, one that knows your rules and sticks to them.
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Text it like Ka. Message Carly from a US or Canadian number: “move my 3pm to Friday,” “anything urgent in my inbox?” It does it and tells you what changed.
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Every account, both providers. Connect all of your Gmail and Outlook accounts, work and personal, at carlyassistant.com/integrations. Carly works across all of them at once.
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Email labeling and sorting. Your labels, your rules, applied to every message. Write a rule.
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Advanced calendar work. It checks every calendar before booking, sorts out times with people over email and gives you booking pages.
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Calls and texts other people. Carly can text a friend the new plan, call to confirm a reservation or answer your business line. Book a call to set up the line.
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Free workflows. A new email, form or booking can trigger a Zapier-style workflow, like texting you when a specific sender writes.
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Inside your AI. Add the Carly plugin in ChatGPT, or the Carly connector in Claude, Grok Bot, Meta Muse or Perplexity. Carly connects to thousands of apps from there.
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Best for: people with more than one inbox and a calendar that runs their workday.
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Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started.
2. Poke
Poke, from The Interaction Company (now part of Cognition), connects your email and calendar and texts you over iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp or Telegram, often before you ask.
- Best for: a proactive assistant outside iMessage too.
- Pricing: Free; Pro $19 a month; Ultra $199.
- Limitations: one assistant in one thread. See Poke alternatives.
3. Nessi
Nessi is a number you text, with no app or account. It handles reminders, lists, a 7am morning text and, once connected, your email and calendar. It asks before it sends anything.
- Best for: a free, no-setup alternative.
- Pricing: free.
- Limitations: a personal helper without workflows. See Nessi alternatives.
4. Brea
Brea is an iMessage assistant with more than 2,000 app connections, including Gmail and Outlook, plus a browser for sites without one. It asks before it sends, deletes or pays.
- Best for: iMessage users who want broader app reach than Ka.
- Pricing: free, with every feature included, according to its site.
- Limitations: young product. See Brea alternatives.
5. Friday
Friday (askfriday.io) is an iMessage agent that sends a personalized audio brief each morning, drafts replies and holds you to your goals.
- Best for: people who want accountability with their reminders.
- Pricing: no published price.
- Limitations: few published details on connections. See Friday AI alternatives.
6. Meta Muse
Meta Muse is Meta’s agent on WhatsApp, the web, mobile and the Mac. It books, buys and sends email from its own cloud computer.
- Best for: consumer errands in the US and Canada.
- Pricing: free with usage limits; Power $20 a month; Maximum $100.
- Limitations: your chats train Meta’s models by default. See Meta Muse alternatives.
How to pick a Ka alternative
- Use Outlook, or more than one inbox? Go with Carly.
- Want it on WhatsApp or Telegram? Poke.
- Want free with nothing to install? Nessi.
- Want errands in a browser too? Brea.
FAQ
What is the best Ka AI alternative?
Carly. You can text it like Ka, and it covers every Gmail and Outlook account you own, follows your rules, and calls and texts other people for you.
How much does Ka cost?
Free for 10 messages a day with two connected apps and two reminders. Pro is $14.99 a month.
Does Ka work with Outlook?
Ka’s listed connections are Google Calendar, Gmail, Sheets, Docs and Drive. Carly works with Gmail and Outlook, all of your accounts at once.
Does Ka work on Android?
Yes. Ka says it falls back to regular texts on Android and works the same way, without iMessage extras like read receipts. Carly also works by plain text from any US or Canadian number, plus on the web and inside ChatGPT and Claude.
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"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
