How to Text an AI on iMessage (Blue Bubbles, Free)

Most people open an app to talk to an AI. But you already have the best chat app on your phone: Messages. What if you could reach your AI assistant right there, in a blue bubble, without opening anything else?

That’s what Text Viro does. Viro has its own iMessage number. You text it, it texts back. No new app to open, no browser tab, and it works from your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Here’s how to set it up in about a minute, and what it can do once you have.

The short version

• An AI assistant in Messages: Viro has its own number and shows up in Messages as Viro AI, with its name and photo. It’s always an AI, never a person.
• Free: texting is part of Viro’s free plan.
• Same Viro as the app: it uses your memory, your personalization and your connected apps.
• Photos and voice notes work: send either one and Viro answers it.
• On Android? Use Telegram or Discord instead, since iMessage needs an Apple device.

How to text AI on iMessage, step by step

1. Open Text Viro. In Viro AI, select Text Viro in the sidebar, under Today. (You’ll need a free Viro account.)
2. Tick both boxes. Agree to the Terms of Service and confirm you understand Viro is an AI, not a person.
3. Select Text Viro next to iMessage. Messages opens with a text already typed: “Hey Viro, what can you do?” plus a short code.
4. Send it. Viro answers your question, and the Text Viro page shows Connected. Save Viro as a contact if you like.

The code lasts 15 minutes. If you’re on a computer that can’t open Messages, the page shows Viro’s number and the exact text to send from your iPhone.

That’s it. From then on, Viro is just a thread in Messages.

What you can ask by text

Anything you’d ask in the app. A few ideas:

• “What’s a good gift for my dad who likes fishing, under $50?”
• “Rewrite this so it sounds less annoyed: [paste text]”
• “What’s the weather tomorrow morning?”
• “Who won the game last night?”
• “What’s on my calendar Thursday?” (if you’ve connected your calendar)
• “Explain this” with a photo of a bill, a menu, a sign or your homework

By text, Viro can answer questions, help you write and plan, search the web, check the news and the weather, work out numbers, and read the apps you’ve connected, like your calendar, email, to-dos and files. It remembers what you’ve told it before, just like in the app.

A few things still happen in the app: creating images, documents and designs, and adding or changing things in your connected apps. Ask by text and Viro points you there.

What it’s like

It’s quick and simple, and it’s always clear you’re talking to an AI: connecting asks you to confirm that first.

• Typing dots. You see “…” as soon as your text arrives, while Viro writes.
• Short answers. Viro writes the way people text, in up to three messages. Long answers give you the gist and a link to the rest in the app.
• Only when you write. Viro answers your messages. Apart from the confirmation when you connect, it doesn’t text you first.
• It’s all in your history. The conversation also shows up in the Viro app as a chat called iMessage, so you can pick it up on a bigger screen.

Can I text ChatGPT on iMessage?

Sort of. In October 2026, OpenAI started rolling out texting for Dot, its proactive agent, over iMessage and RCS. It’s a beta for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the US, and Pro starts at $200 a month.

Viro’s texting is free, and the Viro app gives you ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini side by side, with Viro’s own model running on renewable energy in data centers in Iceland, Norway, Finland and Ireland. If you mostly want an AI in your blue bubbles for everyday questions, you don’t need a $200 plan. See how the two compare in Viro AI vs ChatGPT.

What about Android and green bubbles?

iMessage only works between Apple devices, and Viro’s number answers iMessage only. Texts sent as green-bubble SMS don’t reach it.

If you’re on Android, or just don’t want to use your phone number, you can text Viro on:

• Telegram: no phone number shared, works on any phone and computer.
• Discord: private direct messages with Viro AI.

WhatsApp is coming soon.

Is it private?

Your texts are handled like any other Viro chat: never sold, never used to train AI models. Messages travel through Apple’s service, so its privacy policy applies too. Viro has to read your messages to answer them, so a chat with Viro isn’t end-to-end encrypted between you and Viro, even though iMessage encrypts chats between people. The details are in the Privacy Policy.

On the free plan, an answer may be followed by a separate message with a sponsored link. It’s always its own message, after Viro’s answer, and it never changes what Viro says. There’s no ad after an answer that used your health data. Paid plans have no ads.

How to stop

• Text STOP and Viro stays quiet. Text START to turn it back on.
• To disconnect completely, open Text Viro, select the ⋯ menu next to iMessage and choose Disconnect. Your chat history stays in Viro until you delete it.

Text Viro on iMessage: free, in blue bubbles, from the phone you already use. Or try Viro AI in the app first.

Frequently asked questions

Can I text an AI on iMessage?

Yes. Viro has its own iMessage number, so you can text it from Messages on an iPhone, iPad or Mac like any other contact. Open Text Viro in the Viro app, tick both boxes, and select Text Viro next to iMessage. Messages opens with a text already typed; send it and Viro answers.

Is texting Viro on iMessage free?

Yes. Texting Viro is part of the free plan. On the free plan an answer may be followed by a separate message with a sponsored link; paid plans have no ads.

Can I text ChatGPT on iMessage?

OpenAI started rolling out texting for its Dot agent over iMessage and RCS in October 2026, in beta for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the US. Viro's texting is free and also includes ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in the Viro app.

Can I text Viro from an Android phone?

Not on iMessage, which needs an iPhone, iPad or Mac, and green-bubble SMS texts don't reach Viro. On Android, use Telegram or Discord instead.

Can I send Viro photos or voice notes by text?

Yes. Send a photo or a voice note in iMessage and Viro reads the photo or listens to the note, then answers.

How do I stop Viro texting me?

Text STOP and Viro stays quiet; text START to turn it back on. To disconnect completely, open Text Viro, select the ⋯ menu next to iMessage and choose Disconnect. Viro only answers when you write; it doesn't text you first.

Sources

1. Text Viro, Viro Help Center
2. iMessage, Viro Help Center
3. OpenAI now lets you text your ChatGPT Dot agent to get things done, Digital Trends, October 2026

Cover photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash