Access and price
Neither is fully open, and neither publishes prices.
Tab labels itself a private beta with a waitlist you join with your mobile number. Its terms say joining doesn't guarantee access, timing or pricing. A September 10, 2026 entry on Tab's updates page says sign-up is faster and new people get their Tab within a couple of minutes.
Instinct's terms describe a waitlist that sends a welcome text when your spot opens. They say some features may require fees, charged in U.S. dollars, but no plans or amounts are listed.
Both require you to be 18 or older. Neither publishes a list of supported countries.
Bottom line: you can't compare prices yet. Check both sign-up pages.
How you reach them
Tab lives in your messaging app. At sign-up you pick Messages (iMessage) or WhatsApp, and you can add the other later; it's the same Tab with the same memory. On WhatsApp it takes photos, videos, voice notes, documents and stickers, and each group chat gets its own Tab.
Instinct says you can text or call it. Its site, terms and privacy policy don't name iMessage or WhatsApp, so treat text as its channel unless Instinct says otherwise.
Bottom line: Tab if you want WhatsApp or iMessage; Instinct if you want to talk to it on the phone.
What each can do
Both work on a computer of their own, so neither needs a new app on your phone.
Tab has its own computer and browser. It researches, fills forms, turns files into spreadsheets, and edits or creates images, audio and video. It calls hotels, doctor's offices, restaurants and vendors, waits on hold for up to an hour and reports what was agreed. It places orders, books reservations, pays invoices and tracks deliveries afterwards.
Instinct uses a phone and computer the way a person does. Its examples are ordering groceries, sending flowers, booking a train, scheduling doctor's appointments and disputing bills. If you link Google Workspace, it works with Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Tasks.
Bottom line: Tab spells out its phone-call errands; Instinct goes deeper into Google Workspace.
Payments and safety
Tab shows you what it's buying, the total and who gets paid, and nothing is paid until you approve. The checkout is bound to those exact terms; if anything changes, it stops. Cards go through a private link that expires after 10 minutes into a separate vault, never through the chat. Saved passwords are encrypted with AES-256-GCM, and write actions in connected apps are denied unless you approve them. Wallet and automated checkout are a limited beta.
Instinct buys on other services with the payment method you give it, and you are the buyer. Its terms say it may add confirmation requirements on certain actions, but don't promise they prevent unintended actions. Actions may not be reversible, and you're responsible for what it does for you.
Privacy and training
This is the clearest written difference.
Instinct trains on your data by default. Its privacy policy says your information may be used to train its AI models unless you opt out at app.instinct.com/settings. Opting out applies going forward, and material flagged for safety review can still be used. Vault materials and Google Workspace data are never used for training. Information is shared with third-party AI model providers that support the service.
Tab's privacy policy doesn't say. The policy, effective September 2, 2026, says Tab processes your messages to complete your requests and does not sell personal information, but it has no statement on model training either way. You can ask Tab for access to or deletion of your information.
For more on each, see the Tab and Instinct profiles, or the best AI personal assistants.