Instinct Product Recommendations Spark a User Backlash
Instinct product recommendations are the AI startup’s newest feature, and some users are already pushing back. The company rolled out Instinct Selections overnight, a feature that pushes personalized product suggestions to users across dining, travel, and shopping.
The reaction was not what the company hoped for.
Founder Noah Shinn announced the feature’s debut on Tuesday, explaining that Instinct Selections partners with “local chefs, designers, architects, travel guides,” and other experts to bring “human taste” to its product. Instead of relying only on AI suggestions drawn from training data across the wider web, the company is pairing that with human-curated picks. Instinct did not share who those human partners are.
“The next time you’re looking for a restaurant, Instinct can pull from a list handpicked by chefs who know the hidden gems in your area,” Shinn wrote on X.
“If you want to find a new trail to explore, Instinct can draw on recommendations from local guides and suggest a few routes that fit your preferences. And if you’re looking to add some color to your home, Instinct will find pieces from independent designers that match your style, space, and budget,” he continued. “Our goal is to deliver world-class recommendations that are differentiated in quality from what you might find on the internet, and from what other chatbots produce.”
Why Some Users Are Calling It the “Ick”
Not everyone welcomed the unsolicited product pushes.
“I didn’t need to buy carry-on luggage, sunglasses, or a brim hat. This feels so disappointing. At least make me a personalized shopping list of things I actually need!!” Shruti Gandhi, a general partner at the AI-focused investing firm Array VC, wrote on X.
Another entrepreneur, Andrew Yeung, confirmed on X that he also received product recommendations he hadn’t asked for, describing the experience as off-putting.
A third user, Chat Joglekar, founder of a business-buying marketplace, wrote: “I had my first ‘ewwww’ moment with an AI assistant when Instinct started to suggest products that I should buy based on what I had in email and upcoming trips.”
The pattern across the complaints is the same: the suggestions arrived without a request, and users felt marketed to rather than helped.
What Makes Curated Suggestions Work
The trick to making curated suggestions useful is making sure they’re something the user actually asked for, or at least fit naturally within the current conversation. That way, it feels like the assistant is trying to be helpful rather than advertising to you.
If product suggestions arrive at random intervals, as Instinct’s have, they need to be highly personalized and genuinely excellent picks. Otherwise, users feel spammed.
That risk matters more at a moment when Instinct is competing with agents from much bigger companies, including Meta and OpenAI, which don’t push products this way.
Advertising Potential Behind the Feature
Instinct didn’t share whether it currently makes money from these recommendations or plans to. Still, the feature seems ripe for some form of advertising, commerce, or affiliate play.
The company has been asked for further comment on the rollout.
The Instinct product recommendations launch came shortly after the company confirmed its most recent financing: a $1 billion Series C round** that values Instinct at **$10 billion.
The Valuation Question
The company has not said how many people actually use its product, a figure that would help justify that valuation. In a recent podcast, Shinn noted that the agent regularly handles transactions for its users.
In that same interview with investor Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Shinn said the platform is approaching a billion dollars in annual transactions made through the agent, with more than 50% related to travel.
The Bigger Picture for AI Agents
Instinct’s stumble highlights a tension facing every AI assistant that wants to monetize: recommendations can feel like a service or an ad, depending on timing and relevance.
When suggestions respond to an active request, they read as helpful.
When they appear unprompted, they can read as spam.
When they draw on personal context like email and upcoming trips, they can cross into uncomfortable territory.
For now, the early response suggests Instinct has work to do before its Selections feature feels like a service rather than a sales pitch. Whether the company adjusts the rollout or doubles down remains to be seen.
