Poke, a startup that makes using AI agents as easy as sending a text message, has become the first AI agent approved to run on Apple’s Messages for Business platform. Previously, the platform was designed to help companies like airlines, retailers, and hotel chains communicate with their customers through iMessage, offering a standardized interface that supported both automated chat and live agents. Previously, it was not exposed to standalone third-party AI agents.
Poke, released in March, was one of the first AI agents designed to be accessible to casual users without the technical skillset or inclination to work with command-line tools or more complex agent systems such as OpenClaw. Now, Poke can help with common activities like daily planning, managing your calendar, tracking your health and fitness, controlling your smart home, and editing photos, all via text message. About 100 million messages have been relayed to date, the company told TechCrunch.
The AI service works on SMS, Telegram, and in some markets, WhatsApp. Poke will now be able to add iMessage to supported platforms.
The news that Poke is launching into Apple’s Messages for Business comes just days before Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled for Monday. An AI-optimized version of Siri is expected to be announced there, along with other AI tools and services for app developers. There are also rumors that Apple will open up its App Store for AI agents.
This is not the case with Poke. Apple’s Messages for Business platform does not provide consumer-facing mobile apps, but rather a way for consumers to interact directly with businesses through the iMessage interface. This allows consumers to contact businesses for information, support, schedule appointments, and more without having to call the business. When a Poke user asks an AI agent a question or request, the AI agent responds with text.
A more interesting detail for founders and investors may be the business model it opens up. Marvin von Hagen, co-founder of The Interaction Company of California, the Palo Alto-based startup that developed Poke, says his startup pays Apple on a per-user basis. Although he can’t reveal the exact price, he notes that it is significantly cheaper than Meta AI because it increased its prices in response to EU regulations mandating allowing the use of third-party AI agents on WhatsApp. This per-user pricing structure will be applied at scale, creating a potentially meaningful new revenue stream for Apple, as well as new distribution costs that AI agent startups will need to consider.
“I think Apple is just realizing that this is the best way to deliver AI, and it’s actually good for them, because they charge us a fee. They charge us a fee per user on the platform, and they’re actually making money on this, especially if it gets really big,” von Hagen says. He believes Apple’s support for AI agents will also grow over time.
To gain Apple’s approval, we needed to ensure that we could provide live support when needed and that our AI agents were clearly identified as such. Poke also submitted testimonials from messaging providers and customized its user interface to align with Apple’s guidelines.
For example, Poke on iMessage now requires link previews instead of inline links as before, and uses Apple’s style guide for things like buttons and interface elements.
“It took several months to comply with all of these standards, and those who want to build on this will also take several months to go through this approval process,” von Hagen said. What about being the first? It had a lot to do with trust.
“It was also important that we were very aligned when it came to positioning the company,” he said, explaining that many of today’s consumer products are aimed at hitting numbers through questionable tactics. “We care about quality and having a brand that stands for trust,” von Hagen said.
It’s unclear whether Apple will announce any news related to AI agents on its Message for Business platform at WWDC next week, and von Hagen is in the dark about Apple’s plans. However, Poke is currently rolling out an invitation to existing users to optionally migrate to the iMessage experience if they wish.
Backed by Spark Capital, General Catalyst, and other angels, the 10-person startup recently added another $10 million to its coffers on top of last year’s $15 million seed round. Its current value is $300 million post-money.
Apple could not be reached for comment.
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