Chorus vs Ollie
Ollie (ollie.ai, made by Confabulation Corporation and backed by Khosla Ventures and AI2) is a family-focused personal AI assistant that lives entirely in text messages — you text it over iMessage or SMS with no app, login, or credit card required. It connects to Gmail/Outlook and Google, Apple, and Outlook calendars to catch school deadlines and schedule conflicts, handles reminders, shared lists, daily briefings, and meal planning with grocery ordering through Instacart, Walmart, and Amazon Fresh, and can be added to a family group text so a spouse, nanny, or kids stay in sync. It grew out of the still-available Ollie for Meals app and is live and actively developed as of mid-2026.
Chorus is a platform for hiring AI employees — autonomous AI agents that each run on their own always-on computer, connect to 70+ tools, and handle real work end to end. Here’s how the two compare, honestly.
At a glance
| Comparison dimension | Chorus | Ollie |
|---|---|---|
| Always-on computer | Every agent runs on its own dedicated always-on machine (4 vCPU / 8 GB) with a real browser — it keeps working when your laptop is closed. | No — Ollie is a hosted text-message assistant acting through API integrations; the "Always-On" plan name refers to a larger message allotment, not a dedicated machine or browser. |
| Tool integrations | 70+ integrations out of the box — Gmail, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Stripe, and more. The agent handles the auth. | Family-life set of a dozen-plus: Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail plus Google/Apple/Outlook calendars (read-write via OAuth — triage, drafting, briefings), Google Drive, Google Tasks, Notion, WhatsApp, Instacart/Walmart/Amazon Fresh grocery ordering, Yelp local search, weather, web search, and health tracking — no business tooling. |
| Messaging channels | Web chat, iMessage/SMS, Slack, WhatsApp, and Telegram — and it messages you proactively when work is done. | iMessage and SMS are the entire interface (no app or login needed), including family group texts; WhatsApp appears in its integrations lineup. |
| Persistent memory | Persistent memory and files live on the agent's own disk, so it remembers last week's work. | Yes — remembers family schedules, preferences, and details across conversations, with account-tied history and shared context for family members you add. |
| Background automations | Scheduled jobs (crons) and background automations are built in — agents work while you're away. | Proactive built-ins rather than user-programmable jobs: daily briefings, reminders, school-email deadline catching, and follow-ups "at the right time"; no exposed cron-style scheduled tasks. |
| Pricing | Free plan to start (no card). Pro $20/mo for one always-on agent; Max $200/mo; extra agents $50/mo. | Free (50 replies/mo + 6 daily); Everyday $25/mo (150 replies + 10 daily); Always-On $100/mo (1,000 replies + 15 daily); top-ups $0.25–$0.30/message; the separate Ollie for Meals app has its own subscription after a 1-month free trial. |
Where Ollie shines
- Zero-friction onboarding: no app, no account, no credit card — you just text a phone number, and it works on any iOS or Android phone.
- Genuinely family-native: one subscription covers a whole family group chat, so a spouse, nanny, and kids can all coordinate with the same assistant in one thread.
- Proactively watches email and calendars — it scans Gmail/Outlook for school emails, catches permission slips, deadlines, and schedule conflicts, and sends daily briefings without being asked.
- Unusually transparent privacy and security posture: documented OAuth-only delegated access, no training on user data across its Anthropic/Google/OpenAI model providers, and SOC 2 Type 1 certification in progress.
- Deep meal-planning pedigree: personalized generated recipes, auto-built grocery lists, and ordering handoff to Instacart, Walmart, and Amazon Fresh, plus a dedicated Ollie for Meals app.
Where it falls short
- No dedicated computer or browser — Ollie is a hosted chat service that acts through preset API integrations, so it cannot log into arbitrary websites or do work outside its built-in tool set.
- Per-message metering caps sustained work: even the $100/month plan tops out at 1,000 replies before $0.25-per-message overages, which suits quick family asks but not long-running autonomous projects.
- Integrations are family-life focused (email, calendars, groceries, Notion, Google Drive/Tasks, WhatsApp, Yelp local search, weather) — no Slack, GitHub, Linear, Stripe, or other business tooling.
- Scoped to household logistics, not business work: it is not designed for coding, business operations, or running multiple specialized agents.
- No workspace or dashboard of its own — everything happens in text threads, and while it connects to Google Drive and Notion, it has no machine or file system where it produces and stores work artifacts, and no user-programmable scheduled jobs beyond reminders and its built-in proactive briefings.
Choose Ollie if…
- You want a family logistics assistant in your existing group text — school emails, shared calendars, reminders, and lists — with nothing to install or learn.
- Meal planning is the main job: personalized weekly recipes and grocery lists that hand off to Instacart, Walmart, or Amazon Fresh.
- You want the lowest-friction trial in the category: text a number, no account or card, free tier included.
- A whole household (partner, nanny, kids) needs to coordinate through one assistant under a single subscription.
Choose Chorus if…
- You need an agent that can operate a real browser on its own always-on computer — logging into arbitrary websites, not just a preset list of consumer integrations.
- Your work spans business tools: Chorus's 70+ integrations cover Slack, GitHub, Linear, Notion, Stripe, and Google Workspace, and agents reach you on Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, and iMessage/SMS.
- You want scheduled jobs and automations running in the background and long autonomous work sessions, rather than a per-message reply allotment.
- You want to pick models (Claude, GPT, Grok, Gemini), keep files on the agent's own disk, or run multiple specialized agents as a team.
Common questions
Is Ollie AI free?
Ollie has a real free tier: 50 replies per month plus 6 free daily messages, with no credit card or account needed — you just text it. Paid plans are Everyday at $25/month (150 replies + 10 daily) and Always-On at $100/month (1,000 replies + 15 daily), with per-message top-ups if you run out.
Is Ollie better than Chorus?
They solve different problems. Ollie is a family logistics assistant that lives in your texts — school emails, shared calendars, reminders, and meal planning — and it is excellent at that narrow job with zero setup. Chorus gives each agent its own always-on cloud computer with a real browser, 70+ business integrations, and scheduled automations, so it fits when you want an autonomous AI employee doing substantial work rather than a household coordinator.
Does Ollie AI require an app?
No — Ollie works entirely through iMessage or SMS on both iOS and Android, so there is nothing to download and you can add it to a family group chat. The company also offers a separate optional app, Ollie for Meals, focused specifically on meal plans and grocery lists.