Instinct and Muse from Meta added the ability to call businesses on behalf of users
The assistants Instinct (Instinct Concierge) and Meta Muse can now call businesses on behalf of users – reservations, cancellations, complaints. Both features are in early access; meanwhile, Instinct is in funding talks at a valuation of 10 billion dollars, and Muse reports 730 000 downloads in its first days.
According to TechCrunch, Instinct, an assistant from the San Francisco startup of the same name, and Muse, an assistant from Meta, now compete in their ability to call businesses on behalf of users. Instinct launched a feature called Instinct Concierge, announced by founder Noah Shinn on X – according to him, the agent can book a table at a restaurant that does not accept online reservations, add a user to a waiting list for a canceled dental appointment or resolve a cable TV billing issue. The feature is currently being made available only to some users through early access, with plans to expand it to everyone later.
Muse, the assistant from Meta, gained a similar ability to call US businesses. According to Meta, the feature will initially be made available to users who request calling in Muse themselves – this mechanism is also intended to serve as a way to gauge interest in new features. Both calling features come after several competing assistants presented the ability to make phone calls as an advantage; according to the article, the rollout of Concierge has leveled the playing field among competitors in this respect.
Last week, Instinct also added email addresses for managing account registrations and enabled users’ assistants to contact their counterparts within a so-called trusted network. According to the source, the company raised 350 million dollars last month at a valuation of 2.5 billion dollars and is now in talks for another round of 1 billion dollars at a valuation of 10 billion dollars.
Analytics firm Sensor Tower said that Muse outperformed the launch of the Meta AI app in its first days after launch – in five days, it reached over 730 000 downloads in the US compared with 707 000 downloads for the Meta AI app after its launch, and at one point reached second place in the app charts.
Why it matters
For users, this is a step toward an AI agent that can do more than write text: it can also actively deal with businesses over the phone – handling reservations, waiting lists or complaints, although currently only for a selected group of early access users. For businesses that take customer calls, this means AI agents will increasingly appear among callers in place of people, which could affect how they handle phone calls and their processes.
Two audiences, two different impacts
What this means
For individuals
Users of these assistants will be able to have an AI agent call on their behalf – for example, to book a restaurant, join a waiting list at the dentist or handle a complaint with a cable TV provider – currently only in early access.
For a business
Businesses that take calls from customers (restaurants, medical practices, service providers) may increasingly encounter calls made by an AI agent instead of the customer, which could affect how they handle phone calls.
Processes More business impacts →Check the original
Event sources
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