# How to group chat with AI and your friends

The two biggest options closed this year. These are the ones still open, and how to start one tonight.

Published 2026-10-04, updated 2026-10-05 by Richard Kaminsky and Mitchell Lipyansky, the co-founders of Poly. Canonical: https://usepoly.co/ai-group-chat-with-friends
Poly is a multiplayer AI coding workspace: a shared room where your team works with one AI agent, together. Free to start: https://usepoly.co/

**To group chat with AI and your friends in 2026, use an app where the AI sits in the same thread as everyone. Meta AI answers when anyone mentions it in a WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram group; Snapchat's My AI joins group chats; Poe's group chats hold up to 200 people and several AI bots; Jenova puts a group in one live thread with one AI; Mindtrip brings its travel AI into group chats; and Poly gives friends a shared room with one AI that builds things as you talk, such as a trip plan. The two biggest options closed in 2026: ChatGPT group chats stopped taking new chats on July 9, and Microsoft's consumer Copilot Groups retired from August 18. Claude and Gemini have no consumer group chat.**

## Key takeaways

- In apps you already use: Meta AI in WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram groups, and Snapchat's My AI. Both answer when mentioned.
- For several AI models in one chat: Poe, with up to 200 people; whoever asks a bot pays with their own points.
- For planning or building something together: Poly, where the AI keeps a shared trip board or app as you talk.
- Gone: ChatGPT group chats, closed to new chats since July 9, 2026, and consumer Copilot Groups, retired from August 18, 2026.

*Ways to group chat with an AI, from official pages, October 2026.*

|  | Where | How the AI joins | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Meta AI | WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram groups | Answers when mentioned | Free; some countries |
| Snapchat My AI | Snapchat group chats | @myai, or as a member in some groups | Free |
| Poe | Poe app and web, up to 200 people | Bots answer when mentioned | Free start; points per reply |
| Jenova | Jenova app and web | Answers in a shared thread | Free; Plus $20 a month |
| Mindtrip | Mindtrip group chats, for travel | Answers when mentioned (@mindtrip) | Free |
| Poly | A browser room | Anyone prompts; it builds as you talk | Free start; $20 or $50 per person who runs the AI |
| Character.AI | Mobile app, up to 10 people | Characters in the chat | c.ai+; current status unconfirmed |
| ChatGPT group chats | Closed | No new chats since July 9, 2026 | Closed |
| Copilot Groups (consumer) | Closed | Retired from August 18, 2026 | Closed |

## How do you add AI to a group chat you already have?

- **WhatsApp:** type @Meta AI in a group and ask. Meta says it can read only messages that mention @Meta AI or that people choose to share with it. Available in limited countries, and not in WhatsApp Business ([WhatsApp](https://faq.whatsapp.com/2257017191175152)).
- **Instagram:** type @, choose Meta AI, then ask. Everyone in the chat sees your message and the reply, and Meta AI uses the last 30 days of messages for context when it's mentioned ([Instagram](https://help.instagram.com/2050445508681504)).
- **Messenger:** mention Meta AI and it reads up to 50 recent messages. It's off in end-to-end encrypted chats and still rolling out ([Messenger](https://www.facebook.com/help/messenger-app/1093117295527969)).
- **Snapchat:** type @myai in a group chat, and My AI sees only the messages that mention it. Since February 2026, some new group chats can include My AI as a member that reads the chat and replies without being mentioned, unless a member declines; removing it removes it for everyone ([Snapchat](https://help.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/articles/46434528038548-How-does-My-AI-work-in-group-chats)).

When an AI is a member that reads the whole chat, everything said there goes to the company behind it. Tell your friends before you add one.

## Which apps are built for group chats with AI?

- **[Poe](https://help.poe.com/hc/en-us/articles/19944206309524-Poe-FAQs)**, from Quora, has group chats of up to 200 people on the web, desktop, iOS and Android. Start one with a share link or an SMS invite. Bots answer only when mentioned, unless automatic replies are on; whoever triggers a reply pays with their own points, and messages between people are free. Free to start; paid plans from $4.99 a month.
- **[Jenova](https://www.jenova.ai/en/resources/multiplayer-ai-group-chat)** lets a chat's owner invite people into a live thread with one AI, where everyone sees the full history and files. The owner sets the instructions, each person's AI use comes from their own account, and personal memory is off in groups. Free; Plus $20 a month; web, iOS and Android.
- **[Mindtrip](https://mindtrip.ai/)**, an AI travel assistant, lets you invite friends into a group chat and bring in its AI by mentioning @mindtrip. Free; on the web and iOS. More trip apps are compared in [How to plan a trip with friends using AI](/plan-a-trip-with-friends-ai).
- **Character.AI** launched group chat in October 2023 for c.ai+ subscribers on its mobile app, with up to 10 people and 10 characters ([Character.AI](https://blog.character.ai/new-feature-announcement-character-group-chat/)). We couldn't confirm from an official page whether inviting friends still works in October 2026, and third-party guides disagree.

## How do you plan something with friends and one AI?

Use Poly (usepoly.co). A room puts you and your friends in one live conversation with the same AI, Claude, GPT, Grok, Kimi or Muse, and everyone sees each message as it happens. Planning a trip, the AI builds a shared trip board as you talk, with days and places on a map, which everyone can heart and rearrange. Building something, it makes an app you all see in a live preview. A group chat sits beside the conversation for anything you don't want the AI to read.

1. Open [Poly for friends](/friends) and start a chat.
2. Send your friend the room's invite link.
3. Both of you tell the AI what you want, in your own words.

Free to start, and only the people who send the AI messages pay after their free credits; friends who watch, chat and heart things never do.

## What happened to ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude and Gemini?

- **ChatGPT:** group chats ran from November 2025 until OpenAI stopped new ones on July 9, 2026; old chats turn read-only. [What happened to ChatGPT group chats](/chatgpt-group-chats).
- **Microsoft Copilot:** consumer Copilot Groups, launched in October 2025 for up to 32 people, retired from August 18, 2026. Microsoft says group chat threads, messages and images don't carry forward, and it named no replacement ([Microsoft](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/frequently-asked-questions-about-retired-copilot-features)).
- **Claude:** no group chat on claude.ai. A shared Claude chat is view only, and Claude Tag is for Slack workspaces on Team and Enterprise plans. [How to share a Claude chat](/share-claude-chat).
- **Gemini:** no consumer group chat. In Google Messages, Gemini is a one-to-one chat, and it can't message group chats ([Google](https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/15574940)).

## Which should you use?

- **Already in a WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram group:** mention Meta AI.
- **Your friends are on Snapchat:** @myai.
- **A big group that wants several AI models:** Poe.
- **One AI in a shared thread, on your phones:** Jenova.
- **Planning a trip or building something together:** Poly.

## Common questions

**Can you add ChatGPT to a group chat?**

Not any more. ChatGPT group chats stopped accepting new chats on July 9, 2026. To use an AI in a group, mention Meta AI in WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram, use @myai on Snapchat, or start a group in Poe, Jenova or Poly.

**Can friends use Claude together?**

Not on claude.ai, where a shared chat is view only, and Claude Tag is for Slack workspaces on Team and Enterprise plans. In Poly, friends talk to Claude together in one room.

**Is Poe's group chat free?**

Joining and chatting is free. When someone asks a bot to reply, it uses that person's points. Poe has a free tier, and paid plans start at $4.99 a month.

**Does Meta AI read my whole WhatsApp group?**

No. Meta says it can read only messages that mention @Meta AI or that people choose to share with it.

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