The best Grok Bot alternatives

Agents that live in your messages and work through your apps directly: iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack and email, with 1,000+ apps plus any MCP server, each set to Full, Ask first or Read-only. Where there's no app, it has its own browser with logins from your vault, which you can take over. And it joins your calls.

What it is

AI agents you text on iMessage and WhatsApp, mention in Slack or email, and add to your group chats, where they keep every message and file and follow up on what people promised.

Where it works

iMessage and WhatsApp (one-to-one and group chats), Slack, email and a web app

What it costs

300 free credits to start with a card at sign-up, then $25 for 200 credits when you run low, or plans from $99 a month. Credits are shared across the workspace and roll over.

Worth knowing

Built for work rather than personal shopping and errands, and phone calls are switched off for now.

OpenAI's always-on agent with its own cloud computer and browser, which can also use your laptop if you allow it; on ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium.

What it is

OpenAI's always-on agents inside ChatGPT, each with a cloud computer of its own, launched in September 2026.

Where it works

ChatGPT on desktop, web and mobile, Slack and Microsoft Teams; texting (iMessage or RCS, one-to-one) in a US beta for some Pro users since 28 October

What it costs

Included with ChatGPT Pro (from $100 a month) and Business Premium seats; Enterprise in beta

Worth knowing

One primary dot per person today, texting only in a one-to-one US beta for some Pro users (no group messages), and it needs a $100-a-month plan to start.

Anthropic's proactive agent with its own cloud computer and browser, in a $20 Claude Pro plan, if you're in the US and off the waitlist.

What it is

Anthropic's proactive agent in its own app: a morning brief, then a check of your apps every few hours.

Where it works

Its own app on iOS and Android, and claude.ai on the web

What it costs

Included in Claude Pro ($20 a month), Max ($100) and Ultra ($200), sharing their usage limits; US only, by waitlist

Worth knowing

US-only waitlist, you message it in its own app rather than your texts, and it isn't on Team or Enterprise plans yet.

Free software that runs on your own machine, with the model you choose, reached from 29 chat apps.

What it is

A free, open-source AI assistant you install on your own machine or server and reach from the chat apps you already use.

Where it works

29 chat apps, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal and iMessage, in DMs and group chats

What it costs

Free and open source (MIT), with no hosted or paid tier; you pay for your model, your machine and any extra services

Worth knowing

You install, secure and update it yourself, there is no hosted version, and its docs say people who don't trust each other need separate gateways.

An open-source agent you run on your computer, a server or Nous Research's cloud, with natural-language scheduling and skills it writes itself.

What it is

A free, open-source agent that runs on your computer or server, keeps a memory, writes its own skills and talks to you through your chat apps.

Where it works

Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, SMS, email, Microsoft Teams and more; iMessage through BlueBubbles or Photon

What it costs

Free and open source (MIT) with your own model; Nous Portal plans from $20 a month for model and tool credits, and optional cloud hosting

Worth knowing

You set it up and keep it running yourself, and iMessage goes through a third-party bridge.

Perplexity's Computer can run around the clock on a Mac mini through its Mac app, working your apps, your files and its Comet browser.

What it is

An answer engine that searches the web and answers with citations, plus Computer, an agent that builds documents and apps and can run on your Mac.

Where it works

perplexity.ai, its Mac and iPhone apps, and its Comet browser

What it costs

Free; Pro from $17 a month and Max from $167 a month, billed yearly; Enterprise plans for teams

Worth knowing

Built for answers and research rather than your chats, and its Pro and Max plans are for personal use.

For a Slack or Teams workspace: one shared AI employee with its own login seat and cloud computer, from $50 a month.

What it is

One shared AI employee for a Slack or Microsoft Teams workspace.

Where it works

Slack and Microsoft Teams, web chat for Slack workspaces, its own email address and an API

What it costs

Up to $100 of free credits; Team plan from $50 a month per workspace, credits shared rather than per seat

Worth knowing

Not in iMessage or WhatsApp that we could find, and it reads notes from notetaker apps rather than joining calls.