# Unprompted suggestions, insights and check-ins (`auto.proactive`)

Feedback Bench, personal agents, built 2026-10-19, window 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-18. Web page: https://feedbackbench.com/#/criterion/auto.proactive

Area: [Running on its own](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/auto.md)

**Definition.** Whether the agent takes initiative to notice things and suggest or offer help unasked, and whether that initiative is useful or intrusive.

**Boundary.** Not this: see [Stops short, or hands the task back](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/act.stops_short.md) when the user asked for the task and the point is that it ran without help. Not this: see [Web research, monitoring and summarising information](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/act.research.md) when the user asked for the analysis or monitoring. Not this: see [Reminders and notifications reach the user correctly](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/auto.reminders.md) when it delivers reminders the user set up. Not this: see [Asks before acting: too little or too much](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/control.approval.md) when initiative turns into acting without consent.

Rated user-weeks, all agents: 1208. Complaint share: 18%.

## The brief

Written by large language models from this page's numbers and the posts it quotes, then checked: every number in the text is in the build. Interpretation, not measurement.

Hark and Muse take the most useful initiative. Users say both agents follow up, make suggestions and bring up things nobody asked for. This criterion is the 23rd most rated of 53, and 18.5% of rated user-weeks complain about it. Hark users rate it 2.81 times as often as other users. Hermes Agent, OpenClaw and Grok Bot all rank low. Grok Bot is last of 6, and its users write 33% of the category's complaints here.

### What separates the best from the rest

Hark and Muse users say the agent comes to them with useful offers, such as a brunch order, a nearby event or a follow-up on open action items. OpenClaw and Hermes Agent users say the agent waits to be asked and does little on its own. Some Grok Bot users say it needs routines set up before it acts unprompted. Others find its proactive mode irritating and its suggestions a waste of time.

- **Ranks high**: [Muse](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/muse.md), [Hark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hark.md)
  - Hark, 2026-10-18, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs is really good it has been really productive for me. ex: i was interested in a role and had saved it in linkedin, next day it sent me a notification saying there was an event for that company near me. i didn’t even ask. love it!” [source](https://twitter.com/1294411806786691074/status/2111898136000229872)
  - Muse, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “maybe it’s me, but i love how proactive @muse is. i can’t get @bot to do anything without prompting, could be my error but i can’t, meanwhile muse just follows up on conversations and action items all day long. @alexandr_wang and @natfriedman cooked.” [source](https://twitter.com/14835779/status/2111861925470687601)
- **Ranks low**: [Hermes Agent](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hermes-agent.md), [Grok Bot](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/grok-bot.md), [OpenClaw](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/openclaw.md)
  - OpenClaw, 2026-10-03, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@tmuxvim ya not a chance @steipete ‘s openclaw stuff is cooked into it or at least set live within it atm. it’s just another codex chat that isn’t predictive at all and does nothing. mine just waits for me to ask every time. then it does one message and stops” [source](https://twitter.com/322261038/status/2106362409132654999)
  - Grok Bot, 2026-10-07, @bot (X): “@poteto @bot the only reason i still use dot is because it's super proactive. i showed @bot and it said it has to setup routines for it to be just as proactive. can bot improve on that?” [source](https://twitter.com/493500356/status/2107835779418660966)

## How it breaks

Rule: A separate pass sorts complaints into failure modes. For each criterion with at least 30 complaining user-weeks, a large language model reads 150 complaint posts drawn at random and names 4 to 8 failure modes; a second large language model then puts every complaint post on that criterion in one mode, or in Other when it fits none. Modes are fixed once named, and new posts are sorted into them each week. A mode counts distinct user-weeks with a complaint in it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Modes do not change the labels or the Feedback Score. Examples: up to 3 posts per mode from different users, chosen and checked as receipts are.

The largest mode is an agent that waits for instructions. It offers no suggestions and no follow-up unless the user prompts it or builds routines. This mode covers 46% of complaining user-weeks, and Grok Bot users account for 42% of it. Muse draws the opposite complaints. Its users write the largest share of complaints about too many notifications, 60% of those about intrusive interjections and 80% of those about promotions presented as help.

226 complaining user-weeks.

| Failure mode | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waits for instructions despite promised proactivity | 103 | 108 | Grok Bot 43, ChatGPT Dots 16, OpenClaw 16, Hermes Agent 14, Muse 13, Hark 1 | The agent never starts anything itself: it offers no suggestions, does no follow-up, does not create subagents or skills, and does not connect related information it already has, unless the user prompts it or builds cron jobs and routines for it; this excludes cases where a trigger was configured and failed to fire. |
| Excessive or repetitive unprompted notifications | 35 | 35 | Muse 16, Grok Bot 8, OpenClaw 4, Poke 3, ChatGPT Dots 2, Hark 1, Instinct 1 | The agent pings, texts, calls or pops up too often: back-to-back messages, an alert for every email, check-ins at odd hours, or reappearing after being dismissed or blocked; this excludes single messages whose problem is their content rather than how often they arrive. |
| Intrusive or ill-judged interjections from personal data | 25 | 25 | Muse 15, ChatGPT Dots 4, Grok Bot 4, Gemini Spark 1, Hark 1 | The agent speaks up uninvited in a way that feels invasive or wrong, such as commenting on private texts, device state or behaviour, questioning the user's intentions, forcing reflection prompts, or reminding them about things already handled or not relevant; this excludes complaints that are only about how often it messages. |
| Unrequested autonomous actions with real effects | 21 | 22 | Grok Bot 9, Hermes Agent 5, OpenClaw 4, ChatGPT Dots 2, Muse 1 | The agent acts on its own without permission and with consequences, such as running stale or failed tasks hours later, emailing contacts, spawning bots, installing components, self-updating, or reporting on systems the user doesn't own; this excludes suggestions it only offers without acting on them. |
| Configured monitors miss new events | 12 | 13 | Hermes Agent 4, OpenClaw 3, Grok Bot 2, Muse 2, Gemini Spark 1 | The user has set up a scheduled monitor, cron job or watch on an inbox, chat, board or data feed, and the agent still fails to notice new messages, blocked tasks or released data until the user asks, or the trigger fires at badly chosen or broken intervals; this excludes agents that were never asked to watch anything. |
| Stalls silently instead of reporting or recovering | 10 | 10 | Grok Bot 5, ChatGPT Dots 4, Muse 1 | During a task the agent gets stuck, slows down or hits an obstacle and goes quiet, or simply dumps the blocker on the user, without warning them or trying to fix it itself until someone checks in; this excludes tasks that finish and are simply wrong. |
| Unsolicited promotions disguised as assistance | 10 | 10 | Muse 8, Grok Bot 2 | Messages the user did not ask for promote the vendor's subscriptions or features, push engagement, or nudge the user to share more personal data for little benefit; this excludes useful reminders or suggestions with no commercial motive. |
| Other | 11 | 13 | ChatGPT Dots 5, Grok Bot 2, Muse 2, Hark 1, OpenClaw 1 | Complaints that fit none of the modes above. |

#### Waits for instructions despite promised proactivity

- Muse, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “i would love @muse to be proactive with the ideas tab. the only way i get benefit from it is scrolling through, reading each one, and picking one to do. i’m sure muse has endless ideas, but i don’t have endless time to scroll. the best personal assistants know what you want done” [source](https://twitter.com/1518819884418752512/status/2111772515563663459)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-15, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “chatgpt dots, it's completely useless.. it's subtle! it doesn't act autonomously at all!” [source](https://twitter.com/1830654438287228928/status/2110647908228063569)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-07, @bot (X): “@brian_lovin i use @bot way more but do find instinct to be wayyy more proactive” [source](https://twitter.com/1346592270464679936/status/2107874685300224327)

#### Excessive or repetitive unprompted notifications

- Muse, 2026-10-10, App Store (App Store): “i want an “agent” that does what i ask. i don’t need another needy dependent who is constantly inserting itself. tell you what, muse, i will tell you when i want something. not the other way around. yikes. couldn’t be more annoying.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)
- Instinct, 2026-10-08, X search: Instinct AI, Instinct personal assistant, instinct.com (X): “that instinct ai be clingy af bra it be tryna like get ur attention and shit” [source](https://twitter.com/875131403700248578/status/2108290719265767831)
- Muse, 2026-10-06, @muse (X): “@wizardgupta @muse this is like the 10th message back to back that it has sent me. have not opened the app at all and it keeps texting hahaha” [source](https://twitter.com/1288029551495454720/status/2107369417990713842)

#### Intrusive or ill-judged interjections from personal data

- Hark, 2026-10-14, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs hark doesn’t need to become a separate method of managing emails and todos. messaging me with a todo list and when i should leave for an appointment and do this and do that can be nagging and micromanaging.” [source](https://twitter.com/37080174/status/2110170177446850885)
- Muse, 2026-10-10, @muse (X): “@muse as i've seen others note, it isn't very good at understanding when you've already acted on something. it proactively reminded me about something my mom texted me about, but failed to notice that i had responded to her.” [source](https://twitter.com/364052074/status/2109022257582596581)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-09, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “i don't want my chatgpt dot to give me unsolicited "heads up" from some other random thread, its creepy af @thsottiaux” [source](https://twitter.com/1834742984627167232/status/2108669969454309603)

#### Unrequested autonomous actions with real effects

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-03, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “hermes agent has been creating a lot of skills locally that behave like "confirming that files are the same with sha-256," and... i'm sorry, but i had them all deleted. 😇” [source](https://twitter.com/1321431946405109760/status/2106284845685158283)

#### Configured monitors miss new events

- OpenClaw, 2026-09-27, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “created a fresh install of openclaw. for some reason there are always mysterious heartbeat error from things i didn’t ask. today it gave me a ci test failure from a repo i’ve never heard before… still keep my hermes as the main agent.” [source](https://twitter.com/7204712/status/2104142962238373955)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-08, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “i want an assistant that gives me everything and regularly monitors the screen and speaks up, so i'm trying openclaw, but it's not quite working out well.” [source](https://twitter.com/1597997149819588608/status/2097448797341397281)
- Muse, 2026-10-02, Play Store (Play Store): “stock research could be better. it is better than chat gpt though. we should be able to pull real time data and muse should be able to ping us immediately once data is released” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)

#### Stalls silently instead of reporting or recovering

- Grok Bot, 2026-09-19, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “this is one of my observations. i have it log into our point of sale system to extract data and it will take a long time. if i ask it if it’s still working, it will suddenly figure out the problem and complete the task. it should do this without my prompting.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1wjohg4/the_bots_often_freeze_and_stop_responding_what/paqtnh6/)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-17, Put your dot on call (YouTube): “my dot is not proactive at all. and gets stuck easily without retrying. and sometimes, simply retrying can solve the problem.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBOZIRK1ujw&lc=UgwkQpOYblTv4cq4Ujt4AaABAg)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-09, Is OpenAI Dots Worth Switching To Yet? (YouTube): “i have been using it this week. i don't find it to be very proactive at all. i find its constantly pausing for permissions even when given permissions.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld9C89W5S3E&lc=Ugz-MzCSO9tQw8buMJZ4AaABAg)

#### Unsolicited promotions disguised as assistance

- Muse, 2026-09-29, X search: Muse from Meta, Meta Muse (X): “between this and annoying notifications from $meta muse to buy a product hours and day after your research, i’ll probably delete it soon. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1880059139419959296/status/2105046069994455416)
- Muse, 2026-09-12, @muse (X): “ugh, preview of things to come with .@muse. woke to a feature promo in the form of an umprompted agent message. soon it'll be pitching paid offers. i don't need yet another service endlessly pitching me random bullshit so some pm can boost their perf review stats. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1836148915697229824/status/2098826248957100516)
- Muse, 2026-10-06, Play Store (Play Store): “data grab in cute app form. all the unsolicited "helpful suggestions" it keeps bringing up always involve sharing massive amounts of personal information in return for very minor value add.” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)

#### Other

- Hark, 2026-10-14, @hark_labs (X): “@awilkinson @hark_labs @adcock_brett nope. i have muse and hark executing the same scheduled tasks and muse is surprisingly more proactive.” [source](https://twitter.com/115585501/status/2110386787398934823)
- Muse, 2026-10-17, App Store (App Store): “im getting offers from the app to change one of my pictures into a cool vintage video, but when i accept, it says it cannot do it! 🤣 what a joke!” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)

## Top requests

What users ask to add or change, most asked first. 196 user-weeks ask for something. Requests do not change the Feedback Score. Rule: A separate pass by a large language model reads every counted post and extracts what the user asks the agent or its vendor to add or change, with the criteria it maps to and a short normalised wording; it does not touch the labels or the Feedback Score. A large language model groups the wordings within each criterion (the first criterion the request maps to) into themes, and a second pass merges themes that ask for the same change under different criteria; a merged theme sits under the criterion most of its requests map to, and code counts it once. A theme counts distinct user-weeks that ask for it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Themes asked in fewer than 2 user-weeks, and requests that share no theme, are not shown. Examples: up to 3 posts per theme from different users, without slurs: whole posts of 60 to 450 characters with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, posts of at most 280 characters first, then the newest.

| Rank | Request | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | More proactive, unprompted behavior overall | 45 | 45 | Grok Bot 11, Muse 10, OpenClaw 10, ChatGPT Dots 7, Hermes Agent 4, Hark 2, Gemini Spark 1 |
| 2 | Persistent autonomous work without re-prompting | 20 | 20 | Grok Bot 11, ChatGPT Dots 3, Gemini Spark 2, Muse 2, OpenClaw 2 |
| 3 | Event triggers instead of polling | 15 | 15 | Grok Bot 5, Hermes Agent 3, Muse 3, OpenClaw 3, Instinct 1 |
| 4 | Fewer intrusive, unsolicited interruptions | 15 | 15 | Muse 9, Grok Bot 2, Hark 2, ChatGPT Dots 1, OpenClaw 1 |
| 5 | Proactive scout surfacing relevant changes | 11 | 11 | Grok Bot 3, Hermes Agent 2, Muse 2, OpenClaw 2, ChatGPT Dots 1, Hark 1 |
| 6 | Proactive tips on usage and improvements | 9 | 9 | Grok Bot 4, Hermes Agent 3, Muse 1, OpenClaw 1 |
| 7 | Custom alerts when set conditions are met | 8 | 8 | Gemini Spark 2, Grok Bot 2, Muse 2, OpenClaw 2 |
| 8 | Proactive reminders for everyday tasks | 7 | 7 | Grok Bot 2, Muse 2, ChatGPT Dots 1, Gemini Spark 1, Hermes Agent 1 |
| 9 | Proactivity on by default without setup | 7 | 7 | Grok Bot 5, Hermes Agent 2 |
| 10 | Stuck project detection with suggested next step | 5 | 5 | OpenClaw 4, Muse 1 |
| 11 | Agent-maintained list of proactive ideas | 4 | 4 | Muse 2, Grok Bot 1, Hermes Agent 1 |
| 12 | Finish tasks quietly instead of more suggestions | 4 | 4 | Grok Bot 2, Hermes Agent 1, Muse 1 |

### 1. More proactive, unprompted behavior overall

- Hark, 2026-10-15, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs hark is fire. i use it to manage my full day, it's my personal assistant for everything. i wish it was more proactive. does it have a heartbeat or something to start model inference? i wish you'd add custom imap/smtp support.” [source](https://twitter.com/1877539936733216768/status/2110640277190787479)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-15, @bot (X): “@therealjbigs @madebydia @grok @bot same - i've been quite surprised to see how the recently launched "proactive main @bot lacks proativity. even when asking and it confirms "right, i'll be more proactive", it doesn't happen.” [source](https://twitter.com/1733408599534157824/status/2110585321876578658)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-15, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@jjenglert @muse i agree with this entire assessment. this is all the same things that have happened with other harnesses i've used in the past, openclaw etc. it needs a better memory system and i agree 💯 it needs more actual proactivity and not just from a heartbeat.” [source](https://twitter.com/49702700/status/2110533005454577930)

### 2. Persistent autonomous work without re-prompting

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-06, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “been using chatgpt dots while in the us and i honestly really like it. the missing piece for me is getting it to work more autonomously without constantly feeding it new context. once i figure that out, i think it’ll be incredibly useful. any good workflows for this?” [source](https://twitter.com/937728444800126976/status/2107457658429276437)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-05, @bot (X): “@ab_workss @bot want. pls. i stuck a “follow up on anything waiting on me” thing on my home screen after i realized most of my drop-off was just friction.” [source](https://twitter.com/2107174595904364544/status/2107217733771493394)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-05, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “i don't want to think about it, so i want chatgpt/dots to walk through my entire life instead (terminal stage).” [source](https://twitter.com/129163966/status/2106922460637794773)

### 3. Event triggers instead of polling

- Grok Bot, 2026-09-29, @bot (X): “@bot @spacexai event listeners for teams so we don’t waste usage with cron!” [source](https://twitter.com/1518678819393220611/status/2105076903745126743)
- Grok Bot, 2026-09-28, @bot (X): “@creesball @bot one script for restart, update, and backup beats burning credits on the same twenty steps.” [source](https://twitter.com/2088056371866677248/status/2104598134055965081)
- Muse, 2026-09-26, Claude Opus 5.5 Is Insane… But Muse is EVEN Bigger (YouTube): “i connected muse to my slack, and connected my gunny agent so gunny can communicate with my other agents. i had to login in inside of muse computer. also it doesn’t know when there is a message so i put a cron job to monitor the chat rooms.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NRuT_d1PZE&lc=Ugw_SkAlbBEnGDEaM2N4AaABAg)

### 4. Fewer intrusive, unsolicited interruptions

- Hark, 2026-10-14, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs hark doesn’t need to become a separate method of managing emails and todos. messaging me with a todo list and when i should leave for an appointment and do this and do that can be nagging and micromanaging.” [source](https://twitter.com/37080174/status/2110170177446850885)
- Muse, 2026-10-13, Play Store (Play Store): “not interested. stop advertising it and similar apps to me (see the easter egg at the backend logs for more exlusive content and links to the dlc)” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)
- Muse, 2026-10-10, App Store (App Store): “i want an “agent” that does what i ask. i don’t need another needy dependent who is constantly inserting itself. tell you what, muse, i will tell you when i want something. not the other way around. yikes. couldn’t be more annoying.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)

### 5. Proactive scout surfacing relevant changes

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-16, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@elonmusk @bot speed is great, but proactivity is still what i'm missing. my package shipped and grok bot only noticed after i asked about it. fix that and it's genuinely hard to beat.” [source](https://twitter.com/985280186374672384/status/2111240129444786336)
- Hark, 2026-10-14, @hark_labs (X): “@liminallysanti @davidpawlan @hark_labs i’d love to see a panel that shows what hark believes is are priorities based in n my emails. right now it says it can only show an email panel with all emails.” [source](https://twitter.com/1627763208/status/2110312855014695278)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “grokbot is really good. it proactively brings stuff to my attention, makes connections to previous emails, conversations, just like a human would. it’s fast and effective. and it’s apps are highly polished. this is what hermes agent should have been. well done, @elonmusk !” [source](https://twitter.com/14191010/status/2108179822383858122)

### 6. Proactive tips on usage and improvements

- Grok Bot, 2026-09-27, @bot (X): “@sawyermerritt @bot i would love a grok bot optimizer, where it looks at what you have already done and suggests how to do things better. also suggests future use cases based on what you have done so far. the tutorial bot may do that, i'll give it a spin and see.” [source](https://twitter.com/889797630/status/2104157277741851108)
- Muse, 2026-09-22, @muse (X): “@muse i’d love to see something like this continued to share best practices. in fact, i’ve asked muse to give me a few ideas on how to utilize it best each week 😂” [source](https://twitter.com/1799136580776472576/status/2102202260176687156)
- Grok Bot, 2026-09-13, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@nima_owji x needs to have suggestions of grok bot use just like muse does it in facebook” [source](https://twitter.com/402204452/status/2099214796746895667)

### 7. Custom alerts when set conditions are met

- Gemini Spark, 2026-10-03, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “i'm curious about what you said in the "lunch session talking about gemini spark" about being able to "get notified when something related to the technology appears on connpass"... it would be convenient if it could be done. #devfest” [source](https://twitter.com/1409469384272203778/status/2106263569549639784)
- Grok Bot, 2026-09-27, @bot (X): “@justhootfun @bot notify me when this account posts the token ca” [source](https://twitter.com/1755079899109380096/status/2104350876072652919)
- Grok Bot, 2026-09-27, @bot (X): “@justhootfun @bot notify me if this account launch and post a token” [source](https://twitter.com/1727332432368590848/status/2104297556868280489)

### 8. Proactive reminders for everyday tasks

- Muse, 2026-10-10, @muse (X): “@shopify @muse the interesting part is remembering the merchant’s goal. if i’m planning a promotion, can muse flag that stock may run out before replenishment arrives? that’s where proactive follow-up could make a real difference to a small team.” [source](https://twitter.com/2069663939349389312/status/2108760526922666202)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-05, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “no i want it to hold my accountable and check in for me making my calls” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1wxvm51/grok_bot_paid_or_alternatives/pdzaoqy/)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, @bot (X): “@lingxi @elonmusk @bot connection to whatsapp and make it really proactive. such as "hey u already have a meeting tuesday at 15h, or clone yourself or pick one"” [source](https://twitter.com/111029870/status/2106365127746552132)

### 9. Proactivity on by default without setup

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-07, @bot (X): “@poteto @bot the only reason i still use dot is because it's super proactive. i showed @bot and it said it has to setup routines for it to be just as proactive. can bot improve on that?” [source](https://twitter.com/493500356/status/2107835779418660966)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-04, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch @kunchenguid came here to say this 😄. i’m still wrapping around on how to make it proactive the same way other bots do without any config. but i guess it should be easy” [source](https://twitter.com/4612441096/status/2106776553476825599)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-02, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “instinct vs resto: grokbot users: please confirm that this type of proactivity by default, without having to waste your time configuring alerts (and without whatsapp) >> grokbot does not have it please [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/8927802/status/2106014310527119563)

### 10. Stuck project detection with suggested next step

- OpenClaw, 2026-09-26, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “automation idea i want badly: an openclaw agent that watches a project for the moment it becomes “stuck.” same failing check, same todo, same tab reopened for 3 days. then it just writes the tiniest next move and queues the right context. not magic, just momentum.” [source](https://twitter.com/2024270544116600836/status/2103650874560327919)

### 11. Agent-maintained list of proactive ideas

- Muse, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “i would love @muse to be proactive with the ideas tab. the only way i get benefit from it is scrolling through, reading each one, and picking one to do. i’m sure muse has endless ideas, but i don’t have endless time to scroll. the best personal assistants know what you want done” [source](https://twitter.com/1518819884418752512/status/2111772515563663459)
- Muse, 2026-10-09, Meta Muse AI Connectors: The App Store for AI? (YouTube): “drop the guide please....... i need more ideas. and i need muse to collect my ideas. suggest my app ideas. and see which one is more helpful. it doesn't need to perfect. but i so many ideas rolling around in my brain. i've done so much personally. i love muse.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84q4WA3kA8Q&lc=UgxyRkYMFxvAo9_Oehl4AaABAg)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-02, @bot (X): “@naoufal_elh @bot pending bot ideas list that changes dynamically as you evolve your cos and staff that can be committed anytime” [source](https://twitter.com/1522510655089115136/status/2105956399130050632)

### 12. Finish tasks quietly instead of more suggestions

- Muse, 2026-10-10, @muse (X): “@cagrimbakirci @bot @muse @openclaw @nousresearch i'd want it to use the quiet hours to finish things, not come back every morning with more suggestions for me” [source](https://twitter.com/2092845101663842304/status/2109041663297638529)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-08, @bot (X): “@elonmusk @stepango @bot autonomy should reduce work, not create more of it.” [source](https://twitter.com/1876166037328076800/status/2108344405962711537)

## Every agent

| Agent | Overall rank | Reading | Customer love | 95% interval | n | Praise | Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Hark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hark.md) | 4 | 1st of 6 | 0.599 | 0.570–0.626 | 117 | 113 | 4 |
| [Muse](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/muse.md) | 1 | 2nd of 6 | 0.564 | 0.517–0.607 | 421 | 364 | 57 |
| [ChatGPT Dots](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/dots.md) | 8 | 3rd of 6 | 0.512 | 0.467–0.555 | 204 | 172 | 32 |
| [Hermes Agent](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hermes-agent.md) | 2 | 4th of 6 | 0.469 | 0.435–0.503 | 82 | 60 | 22 |
| [OpenClaw](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/openclaw.md) | 5 | 5th of 6 | 0.446 | 0.408–0.483 | 87 | 59 | 28 |
| [Grok Bot](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/grok-bot.md) | 3 | 6th of 6 | 0.406 | 0.359–0.453 | 268 | 194 | 74 |
| [Instinct](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/instinct.md) | 6 | Too few posts | – | – | 13 | 12 | 1 |
| [Gemini Spark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/gemini-spark.md) | 7 | Too few posts | – | – | 12 | 10 | 2 |
| [Poke](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/poke.md) | 9 | Too few posts | – | – | 4 | 1 | 3 |

## Posts

Receipts rule: Up to 5 praise and 5 complaint posts per area and 3 per criterion. Each is a whole post of 60 to 450 characters (700 for areas) with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, that judges the criterion, whose labels are all praise or all complaint, and that contains no slur. Posts that touch the fewest criteria come first, then posts of at most 280 characters, then the newest. A second large language model reads the first 3 candidates per slot and keeps a post only if it clearly praises, or clearly complains about, the agent on that criterion. Links and personal details removed by the source show as marks such as [link].

### Hark

- Praise, 2026-10-18, @hark_labs (X): “@harrykapoor19 @pranayraiii @hark_labs @adcock_brett tried both and loved both. hark is more pro active which is the biggest value unlock” [source](https://twitter.com/1665023668395597826/status/2111870825695482285)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs is really good it has been really productive for me. ex: i was interested in a role and had saved it in linkedin, next day it sent me a notification saying there was an event for that company near me. i didn’t even ask. love it!” [source](https://twitter.com/1294411806786691074/status/2111898136000229872)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, @hark_labs (X): “@harrykapoor19 @hark_labs @adcock_brett on the waitlist for instinct. what's your experience been so far? hark is pro active, without being too intrusive.” [source](https://twitter.com/3226833582/status/2111912770950369387)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs hark doesn’t need to become a separate method of managing emails and todos. messaging me with a todo list and when i should leave for an appointment and do this and do that can be nagging and micromanaging.” [source](https://twitter.com/37080174/status/2110170177446850885)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, @hark_labs (X): “@awilkinson @hark_labs @adcock_brett nope. i have muse and hark executing the same scheduled tasks and muse is surprisingly more proactive.” [source](https://twitter.com/115585501/status/2110386787398934823)

### Muse

- Praise, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “asked muse what was new in v8.0 on macos desktop app, and by the end of the chat it casually offered to snapshot its own system prompt daily to diff and flag the hidden updates for me. zero gatekeeping from @muse [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2872401043/status/2111650235688890803)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “maybe it’s me, but i love how proactive @muse is. i can’t get @bot to do anything without prompting, could be my error but i can’t, meanwhile muse just follows up on conversations and action items all day long. @alexandr_wang and @natfriedman cooked.” [source](https://twitter.com/14835779/status/2111861925470687601)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, I Made Grok Bot, Dots & Muse Do the Same 3 Jobs (RAW RESULTS) (YouTube): “muse is not optimized for business purposes. however, as a personal assistant for an average person without a business, i find muse to be much more proactive and helpful.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbm5LevEJyI&lc=UgwRQn2GSb0inHsCqwp4AaABAg)
- Complaint, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “i would love @muse to be proactive with the ideas tab. the only way i get benefit from it is scrolling through, reading each one, and picking one to do. i’m sure muse has endless ideas, but i don’t have endless time to scroll. the best personal assistants know what you want done” [source](https://twitter.com/1518819884418752512/status/2111772515563663459)
- Complaint, 2026-10-10, @muse (X): “@muse as i've seen others note, it isn't very good at understanding when you've already acted on something. it proactively reminded me about something my mom texted me about, but failed to notice that i had responded to her.” [source](https://twitter.com/364052074/status/2109022257582596581)
- Complaint, 2026-10-10, App Store (App Store): “i want an “agent” that does what i ask. i don’t need another needy dependent who is constantly inserting itself. tell you what, muse, i will tell you when i want something. not the other way around. yikes. couldn’t be more annoying.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)

### ChatGPT Dots

- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “neat my chatgpt dot told me this morning about a storm that’d happen during work later in the day. it very much came lmao” [source](https://twitter.com/957461250111410176/status/2111313717027631567)
- Praise, 2026-10-15, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “openai’s dot agent is so good, i haven’t seen anything close in terms of quality of judgment of what will be valuable to me.” [source](https://twitter.com/32913997/status/2110603824914395487)
- Praise, 2026-10-15, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@_simonsmith bullish indeed. openai dots is more proactive than grokbot. like a trusted assistant. i am applying to phd programs and it has been better than grok about letting me know when i need to take actions.” [source](https://twitter.com/818672729528434689/status/2110872214299930728)
- Complaint, 2026-10-15, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “chatgpt dots, it's completely useless.. it's subtle! it doesn't act autonomously at all!” [source](https://twitter.com/1830654438287228928/status/2110647908228063569)
- Complaint, 2026-10-09, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “i don't want my chatgpt dot to give me unsolicited "heads up" from some other random thread, its creepy af @thsottiaux” [source](https://twitter.com/1834742984627167232/status/2108669969454309603)
- Complaint, 2026-10-07, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “i still don't quite understand where to use chatgpt dots... i get that it's like a secretary, but it feels like it's anticipating too much, making it difficult to move forward instead...” [source](https://twitter.com/1606982223387033602/status/2107811487297499389)

### Hermes Agent

- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “clocked out of my gig, done with the contract, and five minutes later my hermes agent messaged and asked if we could build together next week. i replied yes. then it replied: [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/867185589581258752/status/2111273428900811133)
- Praise, 2026-10-08, @NousResearch (X): “fun fact: hermes agent has been doing intelligent ui in hermes desktop for a while - didn't even have to ask for it. was chatting around design ideas, and it caught me off guard with a nice embed. great work by @nousresearch and the community, as always. [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2758152969/status/2108195686034403542)
- Praise, 2026-10-08, @NousResearch (X): “fun fact: hermes agent has been doing intelligent ui in hermes desktop for a few days now - didn't even have to ask for it. was chatting around design ideas, and it caught me off guard with a nice embed. great work by @nousresearch and the community, as always. [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2758152969/status/2108196305592041879)
- Complaint, 2026-10-03, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “hermes agent has been creating a lot of skills locally that behave like "confirming that files are the same with sha-256," and... i'm sorry, but i had them all deleted. 😇” [source](https://twitter.com/1321431946405109760/status/2106284845685158283)
- Complaint, 2026-09-06, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch @thomasgauvin talking with hermes bot and asking works. it needs to be built out tho so it’s proactively correcting me and helping me learn to use tools/skills as i may need them. or standard coding rules that vibe coders may have skipped.” [source](https://twitter.com/2094140533396701184/status/2096621319328763937)

### OpenClaw

- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “tiny openclaw workflow trick i keep loving: give your agent a boring recurring check, then let it come back only when there’s something worth noticing. feels less like “automation” and more like having a thoughtful extra tab open in your brain.” [source](https://twitter.com/2024270544116600836/status/2109690587075252713)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “one of the best things about muse, bot, dots, etc, is that it's had me refine my openclaw. i simply asked it to achieve the same simple, powerful, proactive baseline they all claimed. it's doing wonderfully so far. i can just point to the 'competition' and say 'do that, too'.” [source](https://twitter.com/264137634/status/2109767944226177060)
- Praise, 2026-10-06, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@dkthomp to be honest, my openclaw is "programmatically" pretty close to there. it's still .md files and automations, but it is proactively looking via gog at my schedule and identifying advanced moves (conflict identification, gates for success, etc.).” [source](https://twitter.com/2842379226/status/2107573274255495594)
- Complaint, 2026-10-03, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@glimmerveilai @groks_therapist that's what i was trying to understand. i have been using openclaw since the start of the year. i have never been able get it be proactive. so i'm trying to learn here” [source](https://twitter.com/223924222/status/2106353582325026861)
- Complaint, 2026-10-03, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@tmuxvim ya not a chance @steipete ‘s openclaw stuff is cooked into it or at least set live within it atm. it’s just another codex chat that isn’t predictive at all and does nothing. mine just waits for me to ask every time. then it does one message and stops” [source](https://twitter.com/322261038/status/2106362409132654999)
- Complaint, 2026-10-01, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@zacnaloen i gave up on openclaw for the same reason, proactive stuff is where everything falls apart. asmi ai is the first one that actually follows through for me.” [source](https://twitter.com/2101481164242288641/status/2105642973962899660)

### Grok Bot

- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “i thought this was great and told grok bot to continue to do this to be clear. i appreciate agents being proactive, some people need it. (me)” [source](https://twitter.com/1538525334781370368/status/2111524614107201716)
- Praise, 2026-10-17, App Store (App Store): “i felt that this ai is on a different level than what i've experienced before. after just 2 hours of using it, i switched to the paid plan. it does everything i want it to do! it also makes suggestions on its own and truly becomes a reliable partner.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/grok-bot/id6794501026)
- Praise, 2026-10-16, @bot (X): “@grok @bot is becoming increasingly more proactive every day. woke up to this. dumbledore, my chief of staff, manages my workflow, security, and legal aspects for apps i’m developing. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2008164347810553856/status/2111057396038824226)
- Complaint, 2026-10-07, @bot (X): “@poteto @bot the only reason i still use dot is because it's super proactive. i showed @bot and it said it has to setup routines for it to be just as proactive. can bot improve on that?” [source](https://twitter.com/493500356/status/2107835779418660966)
- Complaint, 2026-10-07, @bot (X): “@brian_lovin i use @bot way more but do find instinct to be wayyy more proactive” [source](https://twitter.com/1346592270464679936/status/2107874685300224327)

### Instinct

- Praise, 2026-09-08, X search: Instinct AI, Instinct personal assistant, instinct.com (X): “the thing that makes the instinct ai app so helpful is that it actively reads your email and proactively suggests how to support you.” [source](https://twitter.com/22920022/status/2097313626268844227)
- Praise, 2026-10-11, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “i still prefer instinct above grok. i constantly need to repeat myself while instinct is even so smart to geo through my gmail to retrieve my address and other details. it sometimes also pops-up out of nowhere to warm me about an about to expire subscription and that it looked for alternatives. truly on another level. grok feels more iike scripted routines instead of a real agent.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1x3f47l/adding_bot_to_the_grok_app_was_a_great_choice/pfb3hik/)
- Praise, 2026-09-13, r/Instinctai (Reddit): “fair take - muse is genuinely fast, and on compute-heavy parallel jobs the gap is real. where instinct pulls ahead for me is follow-through: it holds context across days and chases things without being asked, so i'm not managing it. speed matters less when the job finishes while i'm doing something else. what are you mostly running on it?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/Instinctai/comments/1wf4e21/muse_vs_instinct_whats_actually_public_about_each/p9jz5bl/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-08, X search: Instinct AI, Instinct personal assistant, instinct.com (X): “that instinct ai be clingy af bra it be tryna like get ur attention and shit” [source](https://twitter.com/875131403700248578/status/2108290719265767831)

### Gemini Spark

- Praise, 2026-10-18, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “it's interesting that the ai employee comes to work on its own without being instructed. the combination of gemini spark and notebook, along with the distribution materials, is also helpful 🔥 [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/904874456253734912/status/2111788634231935373)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “today's swan stakes also sank. however, when collecting prediction data, gemini spark created folders without being told like dots, and data was added from the results of previous predictions. furthermore, due to the two consecutive losses, detailed items regarding the selection of the main horse were added to the reflection notebook. i want to hit it next time.” [source](https://twitter.com/1961718747137531904/status/2109569660756873311)
- Praise, 2026-10-02, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “as a lazy person, i am not good at organizing my google to do list. after linking with gemini spark, not only does it automatically carry over unfinished tasks, but it also automatically assigns work to do during today's "free time"! for more details, see below 👇 [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1932593566083395587/status/2105939090424160426)

### Poke

- Complaint, 2026-09-13, @interaction (X): “@fainzaig @interaction sums up my experience also it wont stop harassing me now” [source](https://twitter.com/435421689/status/2099159949582737711)
- Complaint, 2026-09-04, @interaction (X): “what's going on @interaction ? sending random messages to me 😅 [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/574416441/status/2095781979023138970)