Apple approves Poke as first AI agent on Messages for Business
▼ Summary
– Poke is the first AI agent approved to run on Apple’s Messages for Business platform, previously limited to businesses communicating with their own customers.
– Poke helps users with daily planning, calendar management, health tracking, smart home control, and photo editing via text message across SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp.
– Poke’s approval required months of adherence to Apple’s standards, including verified live support capability and clear AI agent identification.
– Poke pays Apple a per-user fee for using the platform, which represents a potential new revenue stream for Apple and a distribution cost for AI startups.
– The startup, backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst, recently raised $10 million, bringing its post-money valuation to $300 million.
In a significant step for the AI agent ecosystem, Poke has become the first AI agent approved to operate on Apple’s Messages for Business platform. Until now, this channel was reserved exclusively for businesses like airlines, retailers, and hotels to interact with their own customers via iMessage, supporting both automated chat and live human agents. The platform had not previously welcomed standalone third-party AI agents.
Launched in March, Poke is designed for everyday users who lack the technical know-how or desire to navigate command-line tools or more complex agentic systems like OpenClaw. It handles common tasks such as daily planning, calendar management, health and fitness tracking, smart home control, and photo editing, all through simple text messages. The company reports it has already processed 100 million messages to date.
The service already operates over SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp in select markets. With Apple’s approval, Poke now adds iMessage to its supported platforms, broadening its reach to a new audience.
The timing is notable, arriving just ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, where the company is expected to unveil an AI-enhanced Siri and other developer-focused AI tools. Rumors have also circulated that Apple might open its App Store to AI agents. However, Poke’s integration is different. Messages for Business is not a consumer-facing app store; it’s a channel for users to engage with businesses directly via iMessage for support, scheduling, or inquiries, without needing a phone call. Poke users simply ask the AI a question or make a request, and it responds via text.
For founders and investors, the business model is perhaps the most compelling angle. Marvin von Hagen, co-founder of The Interaction Company of California, the Palo Alto startup behind Poke, explains that his company will pay Apple on a per-user basis. While exact pricing remains undisclosed, von Hagen says it is significantly lower than Meta AI’s fees, which were raised in response to EU regulations requiring third-party AI agents on WhatsApp. This per-user toll, when scaled, could represent a new revenue stream for Apple and a new cost of distribution that AI agent startups must account for.
“I think that Apple is just noticing this is the best way to offer AI, and…actually, good for them, because they charge us. They charge us per user on the platform and actually make money with this, especially if it becomes really big,” von Hagen says. He believes Apple’s support for AI agents will only expand over time.
Securing Apple’s approval required a rigorous process. Apple verified that Poke could offer live support when needed and that its AI agent was clearly identified as such. Poke also submitted testimonies from its messaging providers and customized its user interface to meet Apple’s guidelines. For example, on iMessage, Poke must display link previews instead of inline links, and it adheres to Apple’s style guide for buttons and interface elements.
“This took a couple of months to adhere to all of these standards, and it will take anyone else who wants to build on this , it will also take them a couple of months to get through this approval process,” von Hagen said. Being first, he added, came down to trust.
“It was also just important that we were very aligned in terms of the positioning of the company,” he noted, contrasting his approach with consumer products that prioritize growth through questionable tactics. “We care about quality, we care to have a brand that signals trust.”
It remains unclear whether Apple will announce any AI agent-related updates for Messages for Business at WWDC next week, and von Hagen is not privy to Apple’s plans. However, Poke is now rolling out invites to existing users, allowing them to optionally switch to the iMessage experience if they prefer.
Backed by Spark Capital, General Catalyst, and other investors, the 10-person startup recently added another $10 million to its funding, on top of last year’s $15 million seed round. It is now valued at $300 million post-money. Apple was not immediately available for comment.
(Source: TechCrunch)
