Viral AI assistant Instinct now has its own email address

Instinct, the AI assistant startup now valued at $2.5 billion, is giving every user an Instinct email address so the agent can create accounts, contact businesses, and handle support requests without cluttering up users' inboxes. Founder Noah Shinn announced the rollout Tuesday, describing it as the first step toward letting Instinct own and run its own accounts on users' behalf.

The feature is designed to remove the friction of users having to log in or hand over credentials when Instinct needs to complete tasks that require email. Shinn gave examples on X: Instinct could use its own address to contact a restaurant about a special request, ask a business about availability, or sign up for a service it needs to finish a task. The company has reserved some addresses for its earliest users, and others can claim theirs at mail.instinct.com.

Shinn also suggested users can forward emails to Instinct when it needs certain information. In one scenario he outlined, a user wanting a product return handled could forward their order confirmation to Instinct's address; the agent would then contact support, provide the order details, ask whether the user wanted a return or replacement, and come back with a return label to print. Instinct's email can also be added to group threads so it can track exchanged information, or be sent a long thread the user needs to work through.

The move follows Instinct's partnership with password manager 1Password last week, which the company said would let the agent act without users intervening to log in or supply credentials. Together the two features point to Instinct pushing further toward autonomous execution of everyday tasks rather than just answering questions.

The feature cuts both ways for the businesses Instinct will contact. For companies trying to build relationships with customers, an AI managing an account adds a layer of obscurity about who they are actually dealing with. For consumers, Shinn argued, it may be a perk, since many are tired of surrendering their email addresses and phone numbers just to complete simple tasks or one-offs.

Instinct has grown quickly into one of the buzziest names in consumer AI, reaching its $2.5 billion valuation amid a wave of viral adoption. The email rollout is the latest expansion of its toolset as it competes with other assistants racing to handle real-world actions rather than just generating text.

What remains unclear is how businesses will respond to account activity that originates from an AI rather than a person, and whether the reserved early-user addresses or the mail.instinct.com claim process will create any scarcity or waitlists. Instinct has not detailed any limits on what the email addresses can be used for or how it will handle misuse.