What is Poke?
Poke is a proactive AI assistant that lives in iMessage, WhatsApp and Telegram and handles your email, calendar and connected apps by text. It is built by The Interaction Company in Palo Alto, which has announced it is joining Cognition. Poke went viral in 2025 for feeling like texting a capable friend rather than opening an app.
What makes Poke different is that it does not wait to be asked: it summarises your inbox, reminds you of meetings and flags things that need a reply, all inside the messaging app you already use. It connects to 30+ services including Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Todoist and Outlook, and developers can add their own integrations through Poke Kitchen. People use it for email triage, scheduling, reminders and quick actions across work tools.
Main Features
- Chats with you inside Apple Messages, WhatsApp and Telegram.
- Summarises your email and flags messages that need a reply.
- Reads and creates calendar events and reminders.
- Connects to 30+ apps such as Notion, GitHub, Linear and Todoist.
- Runs background automations on a schedule on Pro.
- Lets developers build custom integrations with Poke Kitchen.
- Uses frontier models for all actions on the Ultra plan.
How to Get Started with Poke
- Visit poke.com and start a chat in Messages, WhatsApp or Telegram.
- Connect your email and calendar when Poke asks.
- Link other apps such as Notion or Linear from the integrations list.
- Text Poke a request, such as summarising today's emails or booking a meeting.
Poke Pricing
The Free plan includes app connections and email and calendar access. Pro costs $19 per month and adds advanced AI models, background automations and higher rate limits, and Ultra costs $199 per month with frontier models for all actions, the highest limits and priority support.
Who Should Use It?
- Busy professionals who want inbox summaries by text.
- Founders juggling email, calendar and task tools.
- People who prefer messaging apps to new dashboards.
- Developers building custom assistant integrations.
- Heavy users who want an assistant that acts proactively.
Poke Alternatives
- Lindy AI: more configurable agents for business workflows
- Fyxer AI: focused on drafting email replies inside your inbox
- ChatGPT: general assistant with its own app and connectors
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Poke free?
Yes, Poke has a free plan with email and calendar access and app connections. Pro costs $19 per month and Ultra $199 per month.
What is Poke used for?
Poke is used as a personal assistant over text message. It summarises email, manages your calendar, sends reminders and takes actions in connected apps.
Does Poke work on WhatsApp?
Yes, Poke works in WhatsApp as well as Apple Messages and Telegram. You chat with it like any other contact.
Is Poke private?
Poke describes itself as private, but it needs access to your email, calendar and connected apps to work. Review its privacy policy and only connect the accounts you are comfortable sharing.