Short answer
Tab is waitlist-only with no published price as of October 2026, so people look for options they can start today. Poke is the closest text-first match, Lindy suits teams, Claude Cowork suits document work, and Oraculo suits businesses that need a phone line and a managed setup. Each is reviewed here with prices where published.
Why look beyond Tab
Tab, the consumer assistant you text on iMessage or WhatsApp, emerged from stealth in October 2026. It says it has its own phone number, computer and wallet and handles bills, bookings, groceries and gifts. It is also reported to call businesses for users.
The practical issue is access. Tab is on a waitlist, its terms say joining does not guarantee access, timing, pricing or availability, and business or team features are not confirmed. If you need an assistant this month, or you need one for a company, you are looking at something else. These are the realistic choices.
Quick comparison
| Option | Reach it on | Published price (Oct 2026) | Open to sign up? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poke | iMessage, WhatsApp, Telegram | Free; Pro $19/month; Ultra $199/month | Yes | Personal admin by text |
| Lindy | Slack, iMessage, email, Chrome extension | Free trial; Team from $29.99/month | Yes | Team email and scheduling |
| Claude Cowork | Claude desktop, web, mobile | Included in paid plans, Pro $20/month | Yes | Documents and spreadsheets |
| Instinct | Text or phone call | No published paid plans | Invite-only | Consumer errands and calls |
| Oraculo | WhatsApp, iMessage, Slack, Telegram, email, phone, app | $12/hour Starter; $8/hour Business | Yes | Running a business |
Poke: the nearest text-first substitute
If what attracted you to Tab was texting a capable assistant on iMessage or WhatsApp, Poke is the most direct substitute you can use now. It also works on Telegram, connects to Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, Notion, Asana, Linear, GitHub and Granola, and runs background automations it calls recipes. Apple reportedly approved it as the first AI agent on Messages for Business (reported June 4, 2026).
Like Tab, it is a personal assistant. Phone calls, business features and a data-training statement are all not confirmed for Poke. Read Is Poke good for business for details, or compare the two in Tab vs Poke.
Lindy: a teammate that lives in your tools
Lindy is an AI teammate that handles email, scheduling and meeting notes through Slack, iMessage, email inboxes and a Chrome extension. Pricing is credit-based: Free gives $50 in credits for 7 days, Team starts at $29.99 a month for 3,000 credits, and top-ups cost $10 per 1,000 credits. It adds one shared Lindy per team, spend caps and, on Enterprise, SSO, audit logs and HIPAA with a signed BAA. Its site says SOC 2 compliant and that data is never sold or used to train models.
A phone line and WhatsApp are not confirmed. See Is Lindy good for business.
Claude Cowork: for finished files
Claude Cowork has no separate price and comes with paid Claude plans: Pro at $20 a month ($17 billed annually), Max from $100 a month, and Team seats from $25 a month. It runs multi-step and scheduled tasks in the cloud and produces Excel files with working formulas, PowerPoint decks and formatted documents. Chat-app channels and phone calls are not confirmed for it. If your reason for an assistant is paperwork, reports and spreadsheets, it is a strong, flat-priced pick.
Oraculo: if you are a business
Oraculo is a managed AI employee. You can text it on iMessage or WhatsApp like Tab, but it also answers and places calls on a real business phone line, follows up with leads in minutes, confirms appointments, sends invoices and tracks your staff's goals. An engineer connects your tools with you in four 1-hour Zoom sessions.
Be realistic about fit. It is priced for a business, from about $312 a month, not a consumer. If you only want someone to book your dinners, it is overkill. If customers are phoning and some calls go unanswered, see Oraculo vs Tab AI and AI lead follow-up.
How to choose
- Decide whose work you are delegating: yours alone, a team's, or the company's front desk.
- Decide the channel: text, Slack, email, phone, or all of them.
- Check whether you need a person to set it up, or are happy self-serving.
- Pick the price shape you can live with: free tiers, credits, flat plans or hourly.
- Keep people on pricing exceptions, difficult customers and approvals that move money.
Oraculo's pricing is $12 per hour on Starter (6-hour weekly minimum, about $312 a month) or $8 per hour on Business (43 hours a week, about $1,500 a month), $499 one-time setup and $0.19 per minute on calls, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Book a 20-minute demo to test it.
Key takeaway
Tab may be worth watching, but today the practical options are Poke for personal texting, Lindy for teams, Claude Cowork for documents, and Oraculo for a business that needs a managed employee.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Tab AI?
For a text-first personal assistant, Poke is the nearest match you can sign up for today. For a business that needs phones and follow-up, Oraculo. For teams in Slack, Lindy. For documents, Claude Cowork.
Is there a Tab AI alternative with a free plan?
Poke has a Free tier, and Lindy offers a free trial with $50 in credits for 7 days, as of October 2026. Tab has published no price at all.
Can any Tab alternative make phone calls?
Oraculo answers and places calls on a business line. Instinct reportedly phones businesses for consumers but is invite-only. For Poke, Lindy and Claude Cowork, phone calls are not confirmed.
Why is Tab not available to businesses?
Tab is a consumer product on a waitlist, and its business and team features are not confirmed. It may change, but nothing published promises it.
Should I wait for Tab?
If it is for your personal errands, joining the waitlist costs nothing. If you have a business problem now, such as missed calls, do not wait on a product with no published price or access date.