Poke becomes the first AI agent approved to run on Apple's Messages for Business platform

Poke, a startup founded by Marvin von Hagen at The Interaction Company of California, has been approved as the first third-party AI agent to operate on Apple's Messages for Business platform. The company, which launched in March, has relayed some 100 million messages to date and operates over SMS, Telegram, and WhatsApp; iMessage is now being added to its supported platforms.

Apple requires AI agents on its platform to offer live support if needed, clearly identify themselves as AI, and comply with Apple's interface guidelines (such as displaying link previews and using Apple's style guide for buttons). Von Hagen stated the approval process took a couple of months.

Poke operates on a per-user payment model with Apple, which von Hagen notes is significantly lower than Meta AI's fees. The startup, backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst, recently raised $10 million on top of a $15 million seed round from last year and is valued at $300 million post-money.