You can now literally text AI. No downloads needed. text.ai simply joins your existing chats to help with plans, recommendations, & answers. Just add text.ai to any chat & get instant help without switching apps. Including group chats. Backed by YC (x25)
We've brought AI directly into SMS(US & CA for now), WhatsApp(worldwide), and Telegram(worldwide) that over 6.5 billion people use daily. No new apps to download, no learning curve, just text and go.
Ever tried explaining to your mom how to download and use a new AI app? Yeah... that's why we built text.ai.
I built the first version just for fun, a personal travel companion for when I was hunting for hidden veggie restaurants on my first solo trip to Spain & Portugal (I'm vegetarian) and had no internet. It was ridiculously simple but solved a real problem for me.
Then something unexpected happened. Friends started begging to add our AI to their group chats. They used it to plan Vegas trips, settle restaurant debates, and even as a digital wingman for date nights.
The magic? No one had to download a thing. AI just showed up where they already were. In their messages.
Now we're obsessed with one mission: making AI accessible to everyone.
🚀 Real magic happens in groups
"TextAI saved our Friday night! Eight people with different diets, and it found this amazing Thai fusion place everyone loved. Even suggested dishes for our vegetarian friend. Now it's our go-to for plans!" - Jackie
No more endless screenshots. No more one person having to take charge. And finally, a solution for that friend who says "I'm okay with anything" and then rejects every suggestion!
We help your group actually make decisions instead of just talking about them.
Or you can use it to roast them. Either way it works well.
👥 The team behind the magic
Founded by myself ( @rushishah , ex-Tesla Product Lead), @praharpatel (Ex-Walmart Labs, Eventbrite, Opentable, ML Eng), and @maniar (ex-Gannett Media, McKinsey).
We're three friends who've been building products together since college. We're building text.ai because we've experienced firsthand how technology that's meant to connect people often ends up creating more friction instead. We believe AI should fit into your life, not the other way around.
🔮 What's next?
Oh, by the way, we're working towards going from just answers to action.
Soon, from that same group chat, you'll be able to book a restaurant reservation directly without ever leaving the conversation. (mic drop)
I didn't realise how much I wanted this before. I like asking ChatGPT random questions that come to mind sometimes while I'm already in a related discussion with someone else on WhatsApp. This will make things so much easier. All the best!
Rushi, this is such a fun and human launch post — super relatable, with a killer story arc and great traction. Here's a lightly polished version that keeps your tone while tightening the flow and spotlighting the magic a bit more clearly:
Congrats on your launch @rushishah ....Wish you all the best.
Love this concept, Rushi! 👏
Bringing AI directly into the messaging apps people already use is such a natural and frictionless approach — honestly feels like the missing puzzle piece in AI adoption. No new UI, no app fatigue, just smart help exactly where it’s needed.
The use case around group chats is 🔥 — everyone’s felt the “where should we eat?” chaos spiral. The fact that TextAI can help settle debates and act as a wingman? Instant group chat MVP.
Super curious to see how the “book directly from chat” feature plays out — that’s where AI goes from assistant to agent. Excited for what’s next — and huge kudos to you and the team for building something so accessible and actually delightful 🙌
This is really cool and useful! but I can't help but wonder: how does it make money?
Afternoon update:
Thank you for hitting our servers hard!
Some questions as they come in from the global community:
SMS - works for US and CA (international coming soon)
WhatsApp - works global
Telegram - works global
Also, if you're a T-Mobile SMS user, you may not receive a response, we're hitting capacity with the carrier.
All other systems are holding well.
Thank you all!
We use whatsapp heavily in our business, if we could incorporate this ai- taking all the chats as context and we can query it and we can tell the ai to summarize or pull data into an airtable sheet - willing to pay $100 / month for it
Happy to chat with you guys for more information
Congrats on the launch! 🎉 This is such a clever way to bring AI into everyday chats without app-hopping. Quick Qs: 1) Does it support multilingual convos? 🌍 2) How’s it different from Meta AI already in WhatsApp? Either way, love the seamless group chat integration—game-changer! 👏
meh, why not use meta ai in whatsap? whata re the sue cases for this beyond entretainment?
