It’s All Fun and Games Until You Give AI Your Credit Card
A new AI personal assistant called Instinct is gaining massive popularity for its ability to perform real-world tasks like booking appointments and negotiating prices. However, the integration of these bots with personal financial and digital accounts raises significant security and reliability concerns.
Why it matters
As AI agents gain autonomy over personal finances and sensitive data, the risks of technical errors or security breaches become a major consumer protection issue.
AI personal assistants are now acting on people’s behalf in the real world—and all sorts of strange things are going wrong.
Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic September 13, 2026, 7:30 AM ET Share Save In the race to develop intelligent machines, the leading AI companies have built bots that can whip up spreadsheets at a moment’s notice, write sophisticated code, and even solve long-standing math problems. But when it comes to the more mundane tasks of life—such as ordering groceries or booking flights—these tools sometimes still struggle. Now a new bot called Instinct is outperforming the AI giants.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in