Zero vs Poke: Reach, Memory, and Isolation

Poke is the assistant that proved the idea. You text a number, and something on the other end reads your email, runs your calendar, and checks you into a flight. It was the first outside AI assistant Apple approved for iMessage business chat, it crossed 100 million messages in three months, and it sold to Cognition in July. When a new assistant launches, the top reply is usually some version of "how is this different from Poke?"

So this is a fair question to answer head on. Zero lives in the same place Poke does, the everyday chat apps you already use, and does a lot of the same work: booking, research, cleaning up your inbox, and jobs that take several steps. The interesting part is where the two split, and most of it comes down to reach, whether your setup is yours alone, and what Zero remembers about you.

Quick comparison

Where you talk to it

Both meet you in your chat apps instead of a separate app, and that's the whole point. The difference is which chats.

Poke started on Apple's turf, with that early Messages for Business approval behind it, and it runs on iMessage, SMS, and Telegram, plus WhatsApp in some countries. If your life runs through the blue bubble, that's a real strength.

Zero runs in WhatsApp, Telegram, and across all other social platforms, through an approved business account. WhatsApp is the default messenger for most of the world outside the US, and Zero is there worldwide, both directions. Poke's WhatsApp only reaches some countries, so for a lot of people outside North America, that gap decides it. Zero also lets you connect your own accounts on these platforms, so it can read and send the messages already landing in them.

Neither is flat out better here. If you and everyone you text live in iMessage, Poke's home turf is hard to beat. If your world runs on WhatsApp and the wider Meta apps, Zero is built for it.

The browser

Both use a real web browser for you, which is what lets either one work with the sites that have no clean built-in connection, not just the ones that do. The difference is whose browser it is.

Poke's browser comes from a shared pool that many users pull from. It works, and it gets tasks done.

Zero gives every user their own private browser, not a slot in a shared one. Two things come from that. You sign in to a site once and Zero stays signed in for you, so you don't have to do it again on the next task. And when a site throws up a "prove you're human" check Zero can't clear on its own, it hands you a link to finish that one step, then takes back over and finishes the job. Your logins and your browsing sit in a space that's yours, not one you share with strangers.

Payments

This is the one people worry about most, and here the two are close, so it's worth being exact.

Neither Zero nor Poke holds your card and buys things on its own. Poke gets you to checkout by driving the browser, and its Ultra plan adds a "Poke Human" backup for real-world tasks. Zero gets you all the way to the payment page for any site, then sends you a link so you pay the store directly, and it never stores your card details.

The upshot is the same for both: you stay in control of the actual purchase. If you were hoping for an assistant that just buys things without asking, neither of these is that, and that's on purpose on both sides.

Memory

Both remember you across conversations, which is normal now. Poke keeps long-term memory across your chats with it. Zero puts the most into memory, and it built its own instead of bolting on someone else's.

Zero keeps one memory across every app you talk to it on, so a detail you mention on Telegram is there when you message on WhatsApp. It isn't a flat list of facts. It runs three things at once: a timeline of what happened and when it changed, a map that links the people and projects across your conversations, and a saved profile of the preferences that stick. Before it answers, it checks its sources, so it points to the exact message or file it learned something from, and it says "I don't know" instead of making something up. On the standard public tests for this kind of long-term memory, Zero scores the best of any system, which we walk through in our memory research.

That's the sharpest line between the two. Both remember. Zero treats memory as the product, with sources you can check and a design that would rather say "I don't know" than guess.

Price

Poke is Free Forever at the entry level, Pro at $19 a month ($16 a month if you pay yearly), and Ultra at $199 a month ($160 a month yearly), plus pay-as-you-go on top.

Zero is free to start, or Plus at $18 a month ($180 a year, two months free). The free plan includes a daily briefing, 10 hours of meeting transcription, and one app connection. Plus opens up 90-plus app connections, more memory, faster replies, image generation, and services like Uber, Doordash, and Lyft. Zero is in closed beta and invite-only for now.

At the entry and middle tiers, these two are within a dollar or two of each other, so price won't decide it. What you're really choosing between is where each one lives and what it remembers.

Where Zero is different

Strip away the common ground and three things set Zero apart from Poke.

Reach across the apps the world actually uses. Poke is iMessage-first with WhatsApp in some countries. Zero is native across WhatsApp, Telegram, and all other social platforms, worldwide and both directions. If your messaging life happens outside iMessage, that's the difference between one that reaches you and one that mostly can't.

A browser that's yours alone. Poke works from a shared browser pool. Zero gives you your own private browser that stays signed in, so sign-ins stick and your browsing isn't sharing a lane with strangers.

Memory as the main edge. Both remember, but Zero built its own memory that leads the public tests and points to its sources instead of guessing. It also folds in things Poke doesn't lead with: meeting recording and summaries Zero built itself rather than borrowing from someone else, and a morning brief of the emails, tasks, and meetings your day needs. If you'd rather talk than type, the Zero ring is an optional add-on that feeds the same memory.

Who each one is for

Poke is the proven, polished pick for a life centered on iMessage. It got Apple's approval first, it has the scale and the track record, and if your world runs through iMessage and SMS with the occasional Telegram thread, it's a safe, capable choice that gets real work done every day. It's the success story for good reason.

Zero is for people whose messaging lives across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Threads, who want an intern that's present worldwide and in both directions, and who care that it remembers them accurately across every app. It's for anyone who wants their own private browser instead of a shared one, meetings and a morning brief handled in one place, and the option of a ring for hands-free moments.

The honest split: pick Poke if you're iMessage-native and want the leader. Pick Zero if your life runs on WhatsApp and Meta, and you want the deepest memory of the bunch.

The verdict

Poke earned its spot. It proved people want an assistant in their text thread, it got there first with Apple, and it works. Nothing here is a knock on that.

Zero's bet is that the one you keep is the one that shows up where you already message, worldwide, and remembers you well enough to run your day. One memory across every app, a browser that's yours alone, reach across the whole Meta family, meetings and a morning brief built in, and a ring for the moments you'd rather talk than type. If those are the things you're choosing on, that's where Zero pulls ahead.

FAQ

Does Zero or Poke work on WhatsApp?

Both can, but differently. Zero runs on WhatsApp worldwide, both directions, through an approved Meta business account. Poke only reaches WhatsApp in some countries and is iMessage-first.

Can Zero or Poke pay for things for me?

Neither holds your card. Poke drives the browser to checkout, and its Ultra plan adds a human backup for real-world tasks. Zero gets you to the payment page and sends you a link to pay the store directly, and it never stores your card details.

How is Zero's memory different from Poke's?

Both remember you across conversations. Zero keeps one shared memory across every app, with a timeline of what changed, a map that links your people and projects, and sources for where it learned something, and it leads the public long-term-memory tests. Poke keeps long-term memory across your chats with it.

How much do Zero and Poke cost?

Zero is free to start, or Plus at $18 a month ($180 a year), and it's in closed beta and invite-only. Poke is Free Forever, Pro at $19 a month, and Ultra at $199 a month, with pay-as-you-go on top.

Do Zero and Poke both use a real browser?

Yes. Poke uses a shared browser pool. Zero gives each user their own private browser that stays signed in, so you sign in to a site once and don't have to next time.

Which should I choose, Zero or Poke?

Choose Poke if your life runs through iMessage and you want the proven leader. Choose Zero if you live on WhatsApp and the wider Meta apps, want an intern that's present worldwide in both directions, and want the deepest, source-backed memory of the bunch.