Instinct AI now acts as its own email agent for users

Rapidly growing AI assistant Instinct is expanding what it can handle on behalf of users by introducing standalone email addresses for its agents. The move means the AI can manage sign-ups, contact businesses, and handle administrative tasks without needing access to users' personal inboxes.

How It Works#

Founder Noah Shinn explained that Instinct users can now claim their own email addresses through the platform. Rather than forwarding requests to a user's existing email, Instinct operates under its own dedicated address—allowing the assistant to complete tasks requiring email verification or communication without mixing professional and personal correspondence.

The system enables several practical workflows: Instinct can use its email to reach out to restaurants about reservations, inquire about business availability, register for new services, or handle customer support interactions. Users can also forward their own emails to Instinct when the AI needs supporting information—say, an order confirmation for processing a return—and the assistant handles the subsequent back-and-forth with support teams before reporting results back.

Building on Recent Integrations#

This email capability slots into a broader series of expansions for the platform. Instinct recently partnered with 1Password to streamline logins to existing accounts, and rolled out location-sharing features that let the assistant understand a user's current position for finding nearby services or planning routes. The AI also integrated with Stripe in August to manage purchases and bookings autonomously.

Trade-offs for Users and Businesses#

The shift introduces a tradeoff: while customers benefit from not having to surrender personal contact information for routine tasks, businesses lose direct visibility into who they're actually serving. From a user perspective, however, this opacity may appeal to those fatigued by being asked to hand over emails and phone numbers for simple transactions.

Early users can reserve their Instinct addresses at mail.instinct.com.