Cicada vs Instinct
Cicada is built for work: every person on your team gets agents that work together, in your messages and group chats, your team's apps, on the phone and in your meetings. Instinct is a personal assistant you text or call to run your own errands.
Cicada is built for work: every person on your team gets their own agents that work together, act in the company's apps with the permissions you set, sit in your group chats and Slack, call businesses and join meetings. Instinct is a personal assistant for one person's errands: shopping, travel and bookings.
A team of agents for a team of people.
Instinct is a personal assistant for one person: its terms allow personal use only. Cicada is built for a team.
Agents for every person
Each person in your workspace gets their own agents. The apps the team shares are connected once; personal ones, like your inbox, stay under your own login.
A coordinator and specialists
A big job is split between specialists that work at the same time, and you get one answer back from the agent you asked.
Agents that work together
Teammates' agents know what each other covers, use each other's fresh figures and check with each other through the apps you share, never through anyone's private notes.
Know-how the whole team shares
What one agent learns about the business, every agent in the workspace knows, and a skill one agent proves is shared with the rest.
Cicada and Instinct, feature by feature.
| Feature | Cicada | Instinct |
|---|---|---|
| Agents across your team | Every person gets their own agents, a coordinator running specialists, and they work together across the team | One assistant per person |
| Where you use it | iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, email and a web app | Text or call it (reviewers describe iMessage and WhatsApp), plus a web workspace for settings |
| Who it's for | You and your team: a workspace with agents for each person | One person: its terms allow personal use only |
| Group chats and Slack | Works in iMessage and WhatsApp groups (speaks when named) and Slack channels | Not that we could find |
| Works on its own | Schedules, app events and proactive checks | Works through what you text it and follows up on your requests |
| Real phone calls for you | Yes, in a natural voice, from your number if you like | Rolling out, per TechCrunch (October 2026); you can call Instinct |
| Joins your meetings | Yes, Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex, notes by text | Not that we could find |
| Connected apps | 1,000+, plus any MCP server | Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Tasks) |
| Sites with no app | Its own browser with logins from your vault, which you can take over | Uses a computer the way you do, with its own email address for signing up to services |
| Permissions | Per app: Full, Ask first or Read-only, plus the autonomy level you set | Acts as it judges responsive to your request; its terms say confirmation steps aren't guaranteed |
| Training on your data | Your workspace content isn't used to train models | Used for model training by default, with an opt-out (Google Workspace data excluded) |
| Access and price | Free to start with 300 credits, no card; credit packs, or plans from $99 a month. Credits are shared across the workspace and roll over. | Private beta with a waitlist; no public pricing |
Instinct details checked against its own site and docs on 16 October 2026. Products change fast; see the sources below.
Your errands, or your company's work
Instinct is a personal assistant: its terms license it for personal use only, and its own examples are ordering groceries, booking a train home and sending flowers. Cicada is built for work: a workspace where each person has agents, apps the team connects once alongside personal logins that stay personal, and agents that can check with each other through the apps you share.
Where the conversation happens
Both are something you text. Cicada also sits in your iMessage and WhatsApp group chats, speaking when someone names it, and in Slack channels and DMs and email, so it answers in the thread the team is already in. We couldn't find group chats or Slack on Instinct's site or in its terms.
Calls, meetings and control
Cicada calls suppliers, venues and support lines today in a natural voice, from your own number if you like, and sends the transcript and recording; TechCrunch reports Instinct is rolling out calls. Cicada also joins your Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex calls. And you decide how far it goes: any member can set each app to Full, Ask first or Read-only, for every agent.
Where Cicada is stronger
- Every person on the team gets their own agents, and they work together.
- A coordinator splits big jobs between specialists that work at the same time.
- What one agent learns about the business, every agent in the workspace knows.
- Real phone calls to businesses today, and a notetaker that joins your meetings.
- Works in your iMessage and WhatsApp group chats and in Slack.
- 1,000+ apps with a Read-only or Ask-first lock, open to sign up, and your content isn't used to train models.
Choose Cicada if you want agents for your work: in your team's apps, group chats and Slack, on the phone and in your meetings, with a lock on what each app can do.
Where Instinct fits
- Built for your personal life: groceries, travel, gifts and bookings.
- Uses a phone and computer the way you do, with its own email address to sign up for services.
- A partnership with Shopify for shopping through its agent.
Instinct may suit you if you want a personal assistant for your own errands, shopping and travel.
Cicada vs Instinct, answered.
Is Cicada an Instinct alternative?
For work, yes. Instinct is a personal assistant for your own errands; Cicada gives every person on a team agents that work together in your apps, chats, calls and meetings. Some people will want both: Instinct for life admin, Cicada for the business.
Can I use Instinct for my business?
Its terms permit personal use only, as of October 2026. Cicada is built for a business: a workspace with members, shared and personal app logins, and agents for each person.
Does Instinct make phone calls?
You can call Instinct, and TechCrunch reported in October 2026 that it is rolling out calls it places itself. Cicada calls businesses for you today, in a natural voice, and sends you the transcript and recording.
Do I need an invite?
For Instinct, yes: it is in a private beta with a waitlist and has no public pricing. Cicada is open to sign up and free to start with 300 credits, no card needed.
Does either train on my data?
Instinct's privacy policy says it may use your information to train its models unless you opt out in settings; Google Workspace data is excluded. Cicada doesn't use your workspace content to train foundation models.
Sources, checked 16 October 2026
- Instinct homepage
- Instinct terms of service
- Instinct privacy policy
- All the AI agents that can live in your text messages (TechCrunch, 10 Oct 2026)
- Shopify opens checkout to browser-based AI agents (TechCrunch, 28 Sep 2026)
- Instinct AI review (eesel)
Spotted something out of date? Tell us at support@cicadalabs.io and we'll fix it.
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