Apple’s App Store ecosystem facilitated over $1.4 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2025, up from $1.3 trillion the previous year, with AI emerging as a standout driver of growth. Notably, 40 of the top 100 apps carried consumer-facing AI capabilities, and those apps saw stronger billing growth than their non-AI counterparts — a signal widely interpreted as setting the stage for Apple to open its App Store to AI agents at its Worldwide Developers Conference beginning next week.
Against that backdrop, Palo Alto startup The Interaction Company of California has become the first third-party AI agent approved to operate on Apple’s Messages for Business platform. Its product, Poke, allows everyday users to interact with an AI agent entirely via text message, handling tasks including daily planning, calendar management, health tracking, smart home control, and photo editing. The service has relayed more than 100 million messages since launching in March and is now valued at $300 million following a $10 million funding addition, backed by Spark Capital and General Catalyst.
Co-founder Marvin von Hagen said gaining Apple’s approval took several months of compliance work, including verifying the ability to offer live human support, clearly identifying the product as an AI agent, and adapting the interface to Apple’s design standards. He believes Apple’s openness to AI agents will grow over time and described the partnership as rooted in a shared emphasis on trust and quality over growth-at-any-cost tactics.
Poke will roll out invites to existing users to migrate to the Apple Messages for Business platform, with Apple Pay available as a payment option.
