folk and Kiwi are both AI you text, and both message you first. folk calls itself a friend in your texts that keeps you on track, with characters to chat with and skills you add in one tap. Kiwi is built like an assistant: it keeps an eye on your email and calendar at work, in your studies and at home, and does the job when you say so.
At a glance
| Kiwi | folk | |
|---|---|---|
| Texts you first | Yes: when it notices something in your mail or calendar that needs you | Yes: from the skills, routines and watchers you add |
| Built for | Replies owed, meetings, deadlines, renewals, money back, bookings and orders | Habits, routines, reminders, characters and help with everyday jobs |
| Does the job | Books, orders, replies and cancels on any app or website, paying with the card you saved there | Drafts refund and cancel emails, calls companies, fills in forms; it never moves money |
| When you ask it to do something | Your words are the yes | Anything that sends, books, buys or shares waits for your ok |
| Characters | One Kiwi | Characters from films and games, and your own (18 and over) |
| Price | Free to use | Free, up to 100 messages a day (50 in some regions), reset at your local midnight |
Sources: folk's help pages (getting started, talking to folk, skills, plans, connecting apps, memory, groups), its money page and its FAQ, all read on 11 November 2026. Kiwi's privacy policy.
Both go first, from different places
folk's own messages come from what you set up: skills that run "on its own, again and again", routines and watchers. On its free plan up to three of those run at once.
Kiwi starts from what's already happening. Once your email and calendar are connected, it reads them and texts you once, at the right time, when something needs you:
Lucía asked for the deck on Tuesday and hasn't heard back. Want me to draft the reply?
Your flight to London landed 3 hours 10 minutes late, so the airline likely owes you €250. Want me to claim it?
Doing the job
folk says it never moves money: it drafts the email and you send it. Kiwi goes further when you tell it to. It books, orders, replies or cancels on the app or website it takes, pays with the card you already saved on that site, and tells you the price first for anything that costs money. If a company owes you money, Kiwi writes to them and follows up if they go quiet. More in flight delay compensation.
Work, not only life
Kiwi briefs you before meetings when you ask, says which emails need you and drafts the replies, chases a reply you're waiting on, and watches fares for work trips. It works with Outlook and Microsoft 365 as well as Gmail. More in an AI assistant for your work email and calendar.
Where folk is the better fit
If you want characters to chat with, group chats in iMessage and Telegram, or a free plan with a daily message count you can see, folk has them.
Your data
folk says it doesn't train its models on your conversations or sell your chats. Kiwi doesn't use your conversations or connected accounts to train general-purpose AI models either, has no ads, and no business can pay to change what it suggests. More in Is Kiwi safe?
To start, tap Text Kiwi on heykiwi.co. It opens Messages with your first text already written, so you just press send.
Questions people ask
Is folk the same as the folk CRM? No. The texting assistant at folk.com is made by Nozomio Labs and is a different product from the older folk CRM for contacts and sales.
Does folk text you first? Yes, from the skills, routines and watchers you add. Kiwi texts you first from what it notices in your email and calendar, with nothing to set up beyond connecting them.
Can Kiwi pay for things? Yes. When you tell Kiwi to book or order something, it pays with the card you already saved on that site, and it tells you the price first.
Is Kiwi good for work? Yes. It briefs you before meetings, tells you which emails need you, drafts the replies and chases the ones you're waiting on. See an AI assistant for your first job.
Can I use both? Yes. They're separate contacts in your messages.