Why iMessage is the highest leverage home for AI assistants, customer support, and companion apps

People already live in Messages. Apple reports more than 2.35 billion active devices. The surface sits on the lock screen of the audience you want to serve.

Time saved for users

• Zero install, zero learning. A contact card, a QR code, or a "Text us" button opens a thread people already check many times a day. No store trip. No new password. No tutorial. Texting is the reflex, with nearly 2.2 trillion SMS and MMS sent in the U.S. last year.
• Everything in one place. Questions, photos, links, receipts, and next steps stay inside one chat. No bouncing between tabs. Link previews and short clips teach in seconds and keep momentum.
• Cues that ease the wait. Read receipts and typing dots reduce anxiety while you work. Research on instant messaging shows these cues shape expectations and perceived responsiveness. Emojis can lift warmth and likability when used with purpose.

Time saved for your team

• No frontend to build. You get the best chat interface out of the box: bubbles, media viewers, reactions, and notifications handled by the client. Your team focuses on answers, policies, and tone. Ship faster. Learn faster.
• Fewer detours, shorter funnels. Keeping discovery, help, and purchase links in one thread trims drop offs. Follow ups reach the same conversation later without ad spend or retargeting.
• Shareable by design. Great replies get screenshotted and forwarded in group chats. Your service spreads through simple social proof.

The blue bubbles advantage

Teens set the culture for messaging. Surveys report that most U.S. teens own an iPhone. That ownership concentrates attention inside blue bubble threads and normalizes iMessage as the default place to plan, decide, and buy. Journalists and regulators alike have documented the social gravity around blue versus green, which sustains stickiness inside peer groups. Build where those groups already coordinate.

Companion apps fit perfectly here

• Daily check ins feel natural. A workout coach, a study buddy, a budget tracker, or a travel concierge belongs in a thread next to friends and family. Nudges land where people already respond.
• Group energy multiplies value. Movie picks, trip plans, splits, and drafts improve when the assistant lives in the same group chat. The assistant can summarize, suggest, and keep everyone on the same page without forcing a new tool.
• Continuity builds trust. The same chat that helped with a decision can follow up later with a reminder, a receipt, or a short "how did it go" prompt. Users feel known because context never disappears.

Customer support wins here too

• Fast answers without friction. Users text a question, snap a photo, and get a clear next step. No queue music. No forms. No hold times.
• Tone that feels human. Short, specific replies match the medium. Satisfaction rises because help sounds like a person, not a portal.
• Retention inside the inbox. Status updates, returns, renewals, and satisfaction checks continue in the same thread. You keep the relationship visible on the home screen.

The upshot

iMessage compresses acquisition, service, and loyalty into one loop. Users save time because the helper lives in a place they already trust and use. Teams save time because they skip frontend work and ship improvements faster. The blue bubble network effect increases reach among the people who influence everyone else. If you want an assistant, a support rep, or a companion app that people actually use, put it where they already pay attention. Put it in iMessage.