AI Expert Hails Poke's UX as "Brilliant," Compares to Google's "Transformational" Project Astra

AI founder and builder Linus Ekenstam has expressed profound excitement over the user experience (UX) of the new AI assistant Poke, drawing comparisons to an "unreleased Google Assistant product codenamed Astra" that he experienced last December. Ekenstam described the latter as "transformational," indicating a significant shift in AI interaction. His remarks highlight a burgeoning competition in the personal AI assistant market, focusing on intuitive user interfaces and deep integration with personal data.

Ekenstam, a co-founder of The Interaction Company, which developed Poke, lauded its design, stating, "I believe what we see with Poke is something that’s really brilliant in terms of UX." He further emphasized the emerging paradigm, noting, "we are seeing a brand new way of interacting with data. it’s like a text based reasoning browser in a chat window." This perspective underscores a move towards more seamless, context-aware AI interactions that blend into daily digital habits.

Poke, recently launched by Palo Alto startup Interaction, secured $15 million in seed funding at a $100 million valuation. The AI assistant operates directly within messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, integrating with users' email, calendars, and web accounts. It aims to provide proactive assistance, managing tasks like drafting replies, rescheduling meetings, and booking travel, thereby eliminating the need to switch between multiple applications.

Google's Project Astra, a research prototype from Google DeepMind, is designed as a "universal AI assistant" with multimodal capabilities, processing real-time audio and video. Unveiled at Google I/O 2024 and further showcased at I/O 2025, Astra integrates with Google services such as Search, Maps, and Lens, and is slated to evolve into the Gemini app, eventually operating across various devices, including prototype glasses. Ekenstam's early experience with Astra suggests Google's advanced efforts in creating deeply personal and context-aware AI.

The convergence of these technologies points to a future where AI assistants are not merely tools but integral, proactive partners in managing digital and real-world tasks. Both Poke and Project Astra exemplify the industry's push towards AI systems that offer intuitive user experiences, comprehensive personal data access, and the ability to act autonomously on behalf of users, marking a significant evolution in human-computer interaction.