Poke Approved as First AI Agent on Apple Messages for Business, Will Pay Per-User Fees

Poke, an AI agent that lets users manage tasks through text messages, has become the first such service approved to run on Apple’s Messages for Business platform. The Interaction Company of California, the 10-person Palo Alto startup behind Poke, announced the approval in a post on June 4, 2026.

The service launched in March and has relayed about 100 million messages across SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp in some markets.

Poke helps users with daily planning, calendar management, health and fitness tracking, smart-home control, and photo editing. It will now add iMessage to its supported platforms. Marvin von Hagen, co-founder of The Interaction Company of California, said the startup will pay Apple on a per-user basis.

He described the rate as lower than Meta AI’s fees after its increase tied to EU regulation. Approval required verification that the company could provide live support when needed and that the AI agent would be clearly identified as such. Poke submitted testimonies from its messaging providers and adjusted its interface to meet Apple’s guidelines, including showing link previews instead of inline links and following Apple’s style guide for buttons and elements.

The process took a couple of months, von Hagen said, adding that future applicants would face a similar timeline. Poke is rolling out invites that let existing users optionally switch to the iMessage experience. The startup is backed by Spark Capital, General Catalyst, and other angels.

It raised an additional $10 million on top of last year’s $15 million seed round and is now valued at $300 million post-money. Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is scheduled for June 8, 2026. Apple was not immediately available for comment.

“I think that Apple is just noticing this is the best way to offer AI, and…actually, good for them, because they charge us,” von Hagen said.