Instinct

Instinct is the most impressive new AI product I've used since my first experience with Claude Code. It is the buzziest incarnation of a new category of computer-use agents (LLMs that can call a browser and achieve similar capability to a human using a computer). This level of intelligence is something the AI labs have been working on for some time and it feels like we have reached a tipping point.

You treat instinct as if you had a trustworthy, dedicated (though slightly naive and perhaps not very bright) employee who would only communicate via text message. You can ask instinct to plan a day for you on Nantucket (not very interesting as it just tool-calls an LLM). What is more interesting is that Instinct could also book a restaurant (including leaving a reservation deposit with your credit card), a hotel, and flights. No more spending 15 minutes on a janky airline website!

I also use Instinct for relatively low value but high pain personal admin which I don't want to do like replacing my driver's license and submitting health expenses to my FSA account.

It's also rather proactive in my email inbox giving me a heads up and suggesting actions it can actually take. It makes me optimistic about a future with more time to read Dylan Thomas and less time clicking through web flows and emails.

It makes mistakes occasionally but will get better and can often fix them. It was struggling to book a flight for me on Delta and asked me to complete the transaction which resulted in my purchasing two flights. It recognized the mistake when it saw the confirmation emails come through and canceled the extra flight (did I mention it can also check you in?)

Relying on SMS for its interface, Instinct's success is a reminder of the economic benefits from and importance of robust, open, protocols. Something like this would not quite work on the Apple store. The economics of the business would be under pressure and you'd be constantly updating the app and logging back into it. The ability to use Instinct asynchronously is part of its appeal.

My hunch is that this capability is going to become ubiquitous and that seamless, secure, integrations to digital accounts and forms of payments will decide the winners. I am curious to see if this is something Google or Apple attempts to copy. Their password security features would make the onboarding seamless for non tech-savvy users. The cyber security risks for products like this are obvious as the value instinct can provide for you is a function of the number of logins you give it.