His AI waited on hold so he didn't have to
He texted Instinct to close five accounts from houses he no longer manages. It phoned the oil company and sent back a reference number and the transcript.
Tools
- Instinct: a personal AI agent you text. It can search your email and make phone calls for you
- Your email: where the forgotten accounts were hiding
What you'll build
Nothing.
You send one text.
The story
His email was full of accounts still open in his name, for houses he didn't manage anymore.
He works in property management.
Each one meant a phone call. Each call meant hold music.
So he texted his AI agent, Instinct:
In my business, my email is full of accounts still open in my name, from houses I don't manage anymore. Find them all, call the companies and cancel.
It searched his email and found five.
It told him it would cancel only, and ask him first before agreeing to any fee or payment.
Then it called the heating oil company.
Before the first call, he spelled out what he wanted back:
A confirmation number, the rep's name, and proof by email. No payments. I already asked them to close it. Just make sure it's closed.
It waited on hold so he didn't have to.
The oil company confirmed the account was closed. Zero balance. A reference number. A confirmation email the same day.
Then Instinct sent him the whole call, word for word.
Afterwards, the oil company called him back, just to check that he really had sent an AI.
What made it work
Read his second message again.
He told the agent what proof to bring back.
A confirmation number. The rep's name. An email he could file.
Tell the agent what "done" looks like before it picks up the phone.
That one line turns "I think they closed it" into a paper trail.
How it works
- Text your agent the job in one sentence. Say whose name the accounts are in and why they should be closed.
- Let it search your email and come back with the list. Check the list before it calls anyone.
- Set the money rule: cancel only, and ask before agreeing to any fee or payment.
- Tell it what proof you want from each call: reference number, rep's name, confirmation email.
- Let it call one company first. Read the transcript.
- Then let it work through the rest.
The business angle
Property managers, landlords and anyone who flips houses collect these accounts like barnacles.
Closing them is somebody's afternoon on hold, usually the owner's or the office assistant's.
And the ones nobody closes can keep sending bills.
This is a text message.
Who should steal this idea
Property managers and landlords at the end of every tenancy or management contract.
House flippers after each sale.
Any owner who has closed a location, an office or a side business and still gets mail about it.
How hard is it
Beginner.
You text the agent. It needs access to your email, and that's the whole setup.
Cost: free for now. Instinct is invite-only, with a waitlist, and hasn't published a price.
Gotchas and tips
The company may call to check
The oil company phoned him afterwards to confirm he'd really sent an AI. Expect that. Some companies will want to hear from you directly before they act.
Keep the money rule in writing
The agent promised to ask before any fee or payment. Make that the rule every time, in the first message.
File the transcript
You get every word of the call. Save it with the confirmation email. If a bill shows up in three months, you have the rep's name and the reference number.
This is a short video
The source is a one-minute video from an independent channel that posts a short AI story every day and asks viewers to send in theirs. It isn't affiliated with Instinct. The exact message he sent is in the video description, and you can copy it.
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