How to get an AI friend in iMessage

Who texts over iMessage, and on what terms

Six products we checked say they can hold a conversation with you in iMessage (Poke’s docs call it Apple Messages). They differ in what they are and who can use them.

Checked November 11, 2026 against each vendor’s own pages.

How it works with Hallie

1. Answer a few questions on the web. At hallie.io you’re asked how you like to text: easygoing, casual or proper, how much banter, whether swearing is fine. The questions shape how she texts with you. You don’t design her; there is one Hallie, and you meet her as she is.
2. Text her. The site hands you off to Messages and you send the first message. She never texts a number that hasn’t texted her first.
3. Keep the thread. Her replies arrive in that iMessage thread, from a US number. There is nothing else to install or check.

After that, she keeps track of the people, plans and events you mention and brings them up later. She starts conversations too, usually about something you told her. If you go quiet she checks in once or twice, then waits for you. Ask her in the thread to change when she follows up, or to stop, and she will.

The other products in the table above text in iMessage too. Hallie’s case is the combination: Messages is where she lives, so the thread is the entire product; she is a friend and not an agent; and there is no character to set up in another app first. She works the same way in Google Messages on Android, where new sign-ups need a US number for now.

Of the AI companions we’ve used, Hallie is the one that feels most like texting a person. That is our judgment, and we make her.

She is a subscription. Depending on the offer, your first conversation is free or you start with a free trial. There’s no free plan. The price is shown before you pay, and you can cancel any time in your account.

Hallie’s watch-outs: she can miss or get a detail wrong and there is no memory screen, so you correct her in the thread.

What Hallie can and can’t see

Hallie gets only what you send in her own thread. She can’t read your other conversations in Messages, and she has no access to your calendar or email.

Inside her thread she understands text, photos, voice memos and links you send. Her replies are text.

Your messages are processed by outside AI providers to write her replies. We don’t sell personal data, use conversations for advertising, or show them to other users. To have your data deleted, email hello@hallie.io. For more, see what happens to your messages when you text an AI.

Hallie in Messages on a Mac

Her thread also works in Messages on a Mac, so you can text her from a laptop as well as from your iPhone. Calls are separate: paid members can call her number like a regular phone call.

Who else texts over iMessage

Kindroid. Kindroid is a companion app where you create the character: personality, backstory, avatar and voice. Subscribers can turn on text messaging under Profile, Preferences, Text messaging. You verify your phone number with a six-digit code, pick a Kin, and send a message from the Messages thread that opens. Kindroid’s help page says only one Kin can be reached by text at a time, the conversation is mirrored in the Kindroid app, and regenerating a reply works only in the app. Proactive texts stop if you haven’t texted your Kin in a while; Kindroid says too many AI-sent messages would get its lines marked as spam. Kindroid retired unlimited free messaging on October 1, 2026, and text messaging is a subscriber feature.

Source: Kindroid help docs, “Chat features and tools” (Text Messaging) and “Subscriptions”, checked November 11, 2026

Khio. Khio calls itself “the AI friend you text on iMessage: your new study buddy, gym partner, accountability coach and second brain.” Its FAQ says texting requires iMessage on an iPhone, that it works anywhere you can use iMessage on an iPhone, and that its number is a US number. It texts first with scheduled reminders, morning and evening check-ins, follow-ups and weekly recaps. It can join an iMessage group chat and play GamePigeon games, and it accepts voice memos and photos.

Source: khio.ai homepage and FAQ, checked November 11, 2026

Poke. Poke describes itself as “your AI assistant that lives in Apple Messages, Telegram, WhatsApp, and RCS.” You chat to manage your email, schedule meetings, set reminders and search the web. Its homepage says it has “a personality who keeps things as real as a friend”, and the product is built around tasks and connected apps.

Source: poke.com homepage and docs, checked November 11, 2026

ChatGPT’s dot. A dot is an agent inside ChatGPT that OpenAI describes as keeping “work moving across your tools and projects”. Texting it over iMessage is rolling out in beta to ChatGPT Pro users in the U.S. You set it up from the dot’s profile in ChatGPT, verify your phone number and save the dot’s contact card. OpenAI says group chats, phone calls and FaceTime aren’t supported through texting, and that setting it up doesn’t give the dot or OpenAI access to your other text conversations. Regular ChatGPT without a dot stays in its own app and website.

Source: OpenAI ChatGPT Learn, “Message your dot” and “Text your dot”, checked November 11, 2026

Mia. Warmth’s blog describes Mia as “one authored friend with tastes, routines, fictional relationships, and a point of view”, reached in Messages after web sign-up, using iMessage where supported with SMS or MMS as the fallback. The same blog says Mia can start a check-in, follow up on a plan, or return after quiet. One caution: Warmth’s Terms of Service and privacy policy, both effective October 10, 2026, describe a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux and don’t mention Mia or iMessage. Check Warmth’s site before you count on it.

Source: warmth.so blog, “Why We Built Mia for iMessage Instead of Another App”, and Warmth Terms of Service, checked November 11, 2026

When one of those is the better choice

• You want to write the character yourself, or keep several. Kindroid. You shape the personality, backstory, avatar and voice, and subscribers get 10 Kindroid slots. Hallie is one friend you meet as she is.
• You want it in a group chat, or to play GamePigeon. Khio says it does both. Hallie is one-on-one.
• You want email and calendar handled by text. Poke. ChatGPT’s dot, for U.S. Pro users, is a work agent that uses your connected tools. Hallie is a friend, not a task agent.

The full table of products is on AI you can text.

Questions

Can you have an AI friend in iMessage?

Yes. Hallie, Khio and Mia are described by their makers as AI friends that text in iMessage, and Kindroid subscribers can text one of their Kins there. Poke (its docs say Apple Messages) and ChatGPT’s dot also text there, and their makers describe them as an assistant and an agent. Warmth’s current terms describe only its desktop app, so check Warmth’s site before counting on Mia.

Do I need to install an app?

With Hallie, no. You answer a few questions on the web and then text her. Warmth’s blog says Mia’s phone conversation doesn’t require a separate companion app either, though Warmth’s current terms describe only its desktop app. Kindroid’s texting is switched on from inside Kindroid, where you create your Kin first. Khio’s iPhone app is optional.

Can Hallie read my other iMessage conversations?

No. She gets only what you send in her own thread, so she can’t read your other chats.

Does Hallie work in Messages on a Mac?

Yes. Her thread works in Messages on a Mac as well as on an iPhone.

Can I call or FaceTime Hallie?

Paid members can call her number like a regular phone call. She can’t call you, and FaceTime and video calls don’t work.

Can I use Hallie in iMessage outside the US?

Sign-up accepts phone numbers from any country, and she texts from a US number. The US-number requirement applies to new Android sign-ups, not to iPhone.

How do I start with Hallie?

Go to hallie.io, answer a few questions about how you like to text, and then send her the first message from Messages. Her replies arrive in that thread.

Sources

• Hallie: hallie.io homepage, terms and privacy policy, and product documentation, checked November 11, 2026.
• Kindroid: kindroid.ai help docs (“Chat features and tools”: Text Messaging and Away proactive actions; “Subscriptions”; “FAQs”) and App Store listing, checked November 11, 2026.
• Khio: khio.ai homepage, FAQ and pricing page, checked November 11, 2026.
• Poke: poke.com homepage, docs welcome page, FAQ and pricing page, checked November 11, 2026.
• ChatGPT: OpenAI ChatGPT Learn (“Meet dots”, “Message your dot”, “Text your dot”, “Pricing”), checked November 11, 2026.
• Mia: warmth.so blog (“Why We Built Mia for iMessage Instead of Another App”, “Mia vs. Tolan”) and Warmth Terms of Service and privacy policy effective October 10, 2026, checked November 11, 2026.