8 Best Tab AI Alternatives in 2026: Agents You Can Text
Tab came out of stealth on October 6 at a $300 million valuation, per TechCrunch. You text it in iMessage or WhatsApp, and with its own phone number, computer and wallet, it calls the hotel, books the flight and pays once you approve. Our Tab AI explainer has the details.
The hard part is getting in: Tab is a private beta with a waitlist and no price. Here is what else does the job, and the pick if your texts are mostly about work.
The quick answer: Carly is the best Tab alternative for work, and you can text it. Tab handles life admin. Carly runs the inbox, the calendar and the clients from your own Gmail or Outlook, and its workflows start on events like a new lead or a finished meeting. Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month. Get started. For Tab-style errands you can start today, Wajo’s Fo is the closest match.
Quick comparison
Tab is the first row, for reference.
| Alternative | Best for | Reaches you by | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tab | Life admin with its own number, computer and wallet | iMessage, WhatsApp | Private beta, no price yet |
| Carly | Work email, calendar, workflows and agents | Text, web, email, ChatGPT and Claude | Free workflows; agents from $35/mo |
| Wajo’s Fo | Errands with a human backstop | Text, email, Slack, phone, web | Free tier; Pro on request |
| Instinct | The most autonomous texting agent | Text, phone call | Free, invite only |
| Poke | A texting assistant you can join today | Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram | Free; Pro $19/mo; Ultra $199/mo |
| Meta Muse | Errands and calls from WhatsApp | WhatsApp, app, web, Mac | Free with limits; $20 and $100/mo |
| szn | An iMessage agent with its own number | iMessage | Free during early preview |
| Martin | Calls and texts on your behalf, plus your inbox | SMS, WhatsApp, phone, email, Slack, iOS | From $21/mo billed yearly; 7-day trial |
| Hark Pro | The same errands from an app | Web, iOS, Android | Free with a cap; $20 and $100/mo |
1. Carly: the work alternative you can text
Carly is an AI assistant and agent builder for the part of your day that runs through email, meetings and clients. You can text it, or use it on the web, by email, through the Carly plugin in ChatGPT or the Carly connector in Claude.
It lives in your Gmail or Outlook, drafts replies in your voice and sends them from your own address. Tab connects through one Google sign-in, with no Outlook support we could find. Carly also finds times, sends invites and moves meetings on your real calendar.
The bigger difference is what starts the work. Tab runs reminders and recurring checks you set up. Carly workflows start on work events: an email lands from a specific sender, a lead form comes in, a meeting ends, or Monday morning arrives. Say a lead fills in Josh’s contact form at 11pm. By morning, Carly has replied from Josh’s address with times from his calendar and added the lead to HubSpot.
The agents you build run those workflows for a whole team, and Tab has no team plan. For a business line, Carly Phone adds a voice agent that answers calls and texts back the ones you miss. Carly connects to thousands of apps, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack and Google Drive.
- Best for: professionals and small teams whose texts are about clients, meetings and follow-up
- Pricing: Free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month
- Limitations: built around work apps rather than restaurant bookings and retail checkouts
2. Wajo’s Fo
Fo is Wajo’s errand agent, public since September 28. Like Tab, it has its own email address, phone number and payment card, and it calls businesses, books and buys. It beats Tab on access: you can sign up today, and when a task needs a person, one of Wajo’s trained assistants finishes it.
The tradeoffs: Fo emails from its own address, never as you, and group chats need the invite-only OG Fo plan. In an independent test in September, it spent 64 minutes on an online hotel booking and never finished. See Wajo Fo alternatives.
- Best for: errands that end in a phone call, starting today
- Pricing: Fo Mini free with 1,000 tasks a day; OG Fo free by invite; Pro priced on request
3. Instinct
Instinct is the agent Tab gets compared with most. You text or call it, and it uses its own phone and computer to dispute a bill, order groceries or book the doctor. Its Concierge feature phones businesses for you. It beats Tab on track record, with two months of beta users posting finished jobs.
The tradeoff is that it is invite-only too. Users report outages with no status page, stalled tasks and a Resy account banned for bot-like traffic. Training on your data is on by default unless you opt out, while Tab’s co-founder says Tab never trains on it. See why people turned on Instinct.
- Best for: maximum autonomy, if a friend has an invite
- Pricing: free, invite only, no price announced
4. Poke
Poke is the texting assistant you can join right now, in Apple Messages, WhatsApp or Telegram. Apple approved it as the first AI agent on Messages for Business, and Cognition, the company behind Devin, bought its maker in July. It beats Tab on certainty: open signup, a published price and a free plan with no card.
The tradeoff is reach. Poke works through connected apps rather than its own browser and phone line, so errands that need a website or a call are where Tab and Instinct go further. Its privacy notice says your data may train its models unless you choose Maximum Privacy. See Instinct vs Poke.
- Best for: email, calendar and reminders by text, today
- Pricing: free; Pro $19/month; Ultra $199/month plus pay-as-you-go usage
5. Meta Muse
Muse is Meta’s personal agent, and the one you can message in WhatsApp. On its own cloud computer it browses, fills in forms, sends email and pays, and it has been calling businesses in a beta since mid-September. It beats Tab on availability: any adult in the US or Canada can sign up today.
The tradeoffs are about trust. Muse opts you in to AI training by default, Amazon blocks it as an unauthorized agent, and even the free tier asks for a card. See Meta Muse alternatives.
- Best for: errands from WhatsApp in the US or Canada
- Pricing: free with weekly limits; Power $20/month; Maximum $100/month
6. szn
szn is the iMessage agent from Nikhil Gupta, who worked on Siri at Apple. Each person gets an assistant with its own name, email address and phone number that makes the call, sends the email and follows up. It is built more like Tab than anything else here, and it is free during the early preview.
The tradeoff is another queue, since early access is by request. The assistant works under its own name, which suits the restaurant, not your clients. And Apple has shut down third-party iMessage services before. See Carly vs szn.
- Best for: iPhone users who want a Tab-style agent in Messages
- Pricing: free during early preview; no price published
7. Martin
Martin is a personal assistant you reach by SMS, WhatsApp, phone call, email, Slack or its iOS app. Its docs say it texts and calls people on your behalf to book reservations, and it handles your inbox, calendar and reminders. It beats Tab on channels, and you can use it today.
The tradeoff is cost. There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial, and Basic gives Martin two tasks at a time with limited proactive actions. The Android app is still a waitlist. See Martin alternatives.
- Best for: people who want calls made for them and will pay from day one
- Pricing: Basic $21/month billed yearly ($35 monthly); Pro $30/month billed yearly ($49 monthly)
8. Hark Pro
Hark Pro is the app pick, launched October 6 by Brett Adcock’s AI lab. Its Handoff agent opens a browser on its own cloud computer to order food, pay a bill or book a table. It beats Tab on access, since anyone can sign up, and like Tab it says it never trains on your data.
The tradeoffs: there is no texting, and no phone calls yet. Asked about calls, Adcock replied, “We’ll get there.” Early users say the free cap runs out fast. See Hark alternatives.
- Best for: Tab-style errands from an app, with no queue
- Pricing: free with a usage cap; Pro² $20/month; Pro³ $100/month
How to choose a Tab alternative
- Email, calendar and client follow-up, by text or for a team: go with Carly
- Errands and phone calls, starting today: Wajo’s Fo
- The most autonomous agent, if you have an invite: Instinct
- A texting assistant with a free plan: Poke
- An agent in WhatsApp, in the US or Canada: Meta Muse
- An iMessage agent with its own number: szn
- Calls made for you, on a paid plan: Martin
- You would rather use an app: Hark Pro
FAQ
Is Tab free, and how do I get off the waitlist?
Tab has no published price, and its terms say the waitlist does not guarantee access, timing or pricing. Friends who sign up through your link move you up. Fo, Poke and Martin take signups today, and Carly offers free Zapier-style workflows; AI agents from $35/month.
What is the best AI agent for iMessage?
For Tab-style errands, Instinct and szn are the closest, though both gate access. Poke is the most established and takes signups now. Tomo and Caddy also live in iMessage and join group chats. For work texts, you can text Carly and it acts in your inbox and calendar.
Does Tab work with Outlook?
Not that we found. Tab connects Gmail, Calendar, Drive and other Google apps through one Google sign-in, and nothing mentions Outlook or Microsoft 365. Carly works in Gmail or Outlook and sends from your own address.
Can I text Carly?
Yes. Carly works by text message, on the web, by email, through the Carly plugin in ChatGPT and the Carly connector in Claude. Text it to answer a client or move a meeting, and it acts in your real inbox and calendar.
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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."
