Chorus vs Poke
Poke is a proactive personal AI assistant from The Interaction Company of California, a roughly 10-person Palo Alto startup, that you use entirely by texting. It launched publicly in March 2026 and in June 2026 became the first AI agent Apple approved on its Messages for Business platform; it also works over Telegram and SMS/RCS, with WhatsApp limited to Brazil and Italy. It connects to 20+ apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion, Linear, GitHub, Strava, Philips Hue, and more), keeps layered memory across conversations, and texts you first with briefings, alerts, and the results of background automations.
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 | Poke |
|---|---|---|
| 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 — Poke is a hosted assistant service; automations run on Interaction's shared infrastructure through API/MCP integrations, with no per-user VM, browser, or file system. |
| Tool integrations | 70+ integrations out of the box — Gmail, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Stripe, and more. The agent handles the auth. | 20+ app integrations (Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, Notion, Linear, GitHub, Vercel, Asana, Todoist, Oura, Strava, Fitbit, Philips Hue, Sonos, and more) plus custom MCP servers and webhooks, set up via one-tap shareable "recipes". |
| Messaging channels | Web chat, iMessage/SMS, Slack, WhatsApp, and Telegram — and it messages you proactively when work is done. | Apple Messages/iMessage (first Apple-approved AI agent on Messages for Business), Telegram, and SMS/RCS; WhatsApp available only in Brazil and Italy. Texts you proactively; no app needed. |
| Persistent memory | Persistent memory and files live on the agent's own disk, so it remembers last week's work. | Layered memory: recent conversations at full fidelity with older context compressed, per-task agent logs, and your email inbox used as ambient external memory. No user-visible files or disk. |
| Background automations | Scheduled jobs (crons) and background automations are built in — agents work while you're away. | Yes — scheduled triggers checked every minute plus "real-time background automations" on Pro and above; prebuilt recipes cover digests, email filtering, reminders, and daily briefings. |
| Pricing | Free plan to start (no card). Pro $20/mo for one always-on agent; Max $200/mo; extra agents $50/mo. | Free ($0, no card, basic app/email/calendar connections); Pro $19/mo (frontier models for complex tasks, background automations, higher rate limits); Ultra $199/mo (frontier models on every action, highest limits, pay-as-you-go beyond included credits). |
Where Poke shines
- Best-in-class texting-native experience: the first and only AI agent Apple has approved on Messages for Business (June 2026), so it appears as a verified account in iMessage with no app to install.
- Genuinely proactive: layered memory plus integrations let it text you first with daily planning, email alerts, and reminders — one week-long Product Hunt review called it the most promising AI assistant the reviewer had tested since ChatGPT's consumer launch.
- One-tap "recipes" make automations approachable for normal users, while power users can wire in custom MCP servers and webhooks.
- Multi-model backend not locked to a single AI vendor, with frontier models available on paid tiers.
- Strong consumer coverage (health via Oura/Strava/Withings/Fitbit, smart home via Philips Hue/Sonos, email, calendar) and real traction: 100 million messages relayed and a $300M valuation backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst.
Where it falls short
- No dedicated computer or browser per user: Poke works through API and MCP integrations on Interaction's hosted infrastructure, so it can't log into arbitrary websites or operate software the way an agent with its own machine can.
- Still early-stage polish: a week-long Product Hunt review praised its proactivity but flagged occasional bugs, lag in some third-party integrations, an onboarding "bouncer" persona that may alienate some users, and pricing that felt inconsistent.
- Advanced custom automations required technical tinkering in reviews (Cloudflare Workers, iOS Shortcuts, webhooks), limiting depth for non-technical users.
- Presented as one assistant, not a staff: although it spawns internal execution agents for parallel tasks, you can't hire or configure multiple distinct specialized agents, and no Slack or team-channel presence appears in its published channel lineup.
- Channel and model gating: WhatsApp is restricted to Brazil and Italy after Meta barred general-purpose chatbots, and frontier models are reserved for the $19 and $199 tiers.
Choose Poke if…
- You want an assistant that lives natively in iMessage with Apple's formal approval — a verified presence in Messages for Business, no app or dashboard required.
- Your use cases are personal-life logistics: calendar management, email triage, daily briefings, health and fitness tracking, and smart home control.
- You want the lowest-friction start — a free tier with no card, one-tap recipes, and a texting interface non-technical family members can use.
- You value a single polished assistant personality over configuring and managing multiple agents.
Choose Chorus if…
- You need agents that do real work on a computer: each Chorus agent runs on its own always-on VM (4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM) with a real Chromium browser it can log into websites with — Poke's published product has no per-user machine or browser.
- You're delegating business work across Gmail, Slack, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Stripe and 70+ integrations, or need multiple specialized agents working in parallel (Chorus Max includes 3 agents; extras $50/mo).
- You want your agents reachable everywhere your team is — web chat, Slack, WhatsApp (without country restrictions), Telegram, and iMessage/SMS — not just personal texting channels.
- You want explicit multi-model choice per task (Claude Opus 4.8/Sonnet 5, GPT-5.6 family, Grok 4.5, Gemini 3.1 Pro) plus image generation, with transparent usage credits.
Common questions
Is Poke better than Chorus?
They solve different problems. Poke is a polished personal assistant that lives in your texts — strongest at proactive life admin like briefings, email triage, health tracking, and smart home control over iMessage. Chorus gives each agent its own always-on cloud computer with a real browser, files, and 70+ business integrations, so it fits better when you're delegating substantial business or technical work rather than personal logistics.
How much does Poke cost?
Poke has a free plan with no credit card required, covering basic app, email, and calendar connections. Pro is $19/month and adds frontier models for complex tasks, real-time background automations, and higher rate limits; Ultra is $199/month with frontier models on every action and pay-as-you-go usage beyond included credits.
Does Poke work on iMessage and WhatsApp?
Yes on iMessage — in June 2026 Poke became the first AI agent Apple approved on its Messages for Business platform, appearing as a verified account in the Messages app, and it also works over Telegram and SMS/RCS. WhatsApp support is currently limited to Brazil and Italy because of Meta's restrictions on general-purpose chatbots.