Last updated: 2026-11-03
Sesame is a voice assistant app from Sesame AI, co-founded by Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe, with four characters named Maya, Miles, Simone and Charlie. It runs on iOS and Android, keeps separate memory per agent, and the vendor plans all-day glasses for 2027.
About Sesame
Sesame is a voice-first assistant app from Sesame AI, a company co-founded in 2023 by Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe and Ankit Kumar. The app ships four characters, Maya, Miles, Simone and Charlie, and you can call or text any of them. Each one has its own voice, personality and memory, so what you tell Miles stays with Miles. The iOS preview opened on May 27, 2026, and an October 6, 2026 release added Android and a new voice model.
The pitch is conversational timing rather than prompt writing. Sesame says it tuned the stack to cut latency, and its agents run several web searches while they speak and weave the results into the reply. Since the October release each agent also has its own computer to browse the web and work on a task, then report back. With your permission it can reach Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, connect to custom MCP servers that use OAuth, and hand work to coding agents such as Devin and OpenAI Codex, which the team says it orchestrates by voice. Skills are plain-language playbooks you build by talking, and they run on demand or on a schedule.
The best fit is someone who thinks out loud: a commuter, a founder talking through a decision, a hobbyist chasing a topic. It is not built for romantic roleplay, and Sesame says the assistants are no substitute for a doctor, therapist, lawyer or financial advisor. You must be 18 or older, and English is the only officially supported language today. Other languages work but the vendor calls that support early.
Cost is the easy part for now: the iOS listing shows no price, and the company called its whole preview free of charge. No paid plan turned up in our check, so confirm in the app before assuming that holds. If you want a text-first companion, compare Pi and Character.AI. For general chat with voice, see ChatGPT and Gemini. For task-running personal agents, read the personal agent roundup, Poke, Cue, Instinct and Town. Voice-only developers can look at ElevenLabs, and Apple users can weigh Siri. Not sure which one fits? Smart Match asks a few questions and recommends one.
Sesame also plans all-day glasses built around the assistant. The company says they will be Made in Japan and arrive in 2027. SiliconANGLE reported that Sesame raised a $250M Series B in October 2025, led by Sequoia and Spark Capital. Sesame has also published CSM-1B, an open conversational speech model, on Hugging Face behind an access agreement.
Pricing
The App Store lists Sesame as Free. In its May 27, 2026 post the vendor called the whole preview experience free. No paid plan was found as of 2026-11-03.
Early users may meet a short waitlist.
Key Features
- Four voice characters: Maya, Miles, Simone and Charlie each carry a distinct voice and personality; calling or texting works with every one.
- Per-agent memory: Each agent keeps its own memory across voice and text, and Incognito mode saves nothing new to memory or Sesame servers.
- Parallel live search: Agents run several web searches while speaking and fold results into the reply mid-sentence, with image search cards on screen.
- Own computer and skills: Since the October 2026 release each agent has its own computer to browse and work on tasks, and skills are plain-language playbooks that run on demand or on a schedule.
- Connected apps and MCP: With permission, agents reach Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, plus custom MCP servers that connect using OAuth; app access is set per agent.
- Phone shortcuts: An iPhone Action button control and an Android Quick Settings tile start a call with one press.
Pros
- Free in the preview: the App Store lists the app at $0 with no paid plan found, so trying all four agents costs nothing.
- Memory is split per agent, so you can give Maya access to email and keep Charlie out of it.
- Apple's store shows a 4.9 rating from 1.9K ratings as read on 2026-11-03, a strong early user signal.
- Works by voice or text, and offers an Incognito mode where nothing new is written to memory.
Cons
- English is the only officially supported language; French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Korean work but the vendor calls support early.
- Sesame says the assistants can make things up, including facts about its own product, so treat answers as a starting point.
- Preview status: a free plan is not a pricing promise, and the vendor has not published paid tiers.
- No web or desktop app is listed for the assistant; the App Store listing is iPhone only and Android is on Google Play.
Data Handling
- Training-data policy
- Sesame says it does not sell data or show ads, and uses conversations to improve the product only if the user permits it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do you pay for Sesame?
Nothing so far. The iOS store page shows the app as Free, and no paid plan was published as of 2026-11-03. A later subscription remains possible once the preview ends.
Is Sesame free to use?
Yes, with limits on access rather than features. Sesame said new users may meet a short waitlist while it lets people in, and you must be 18 or older. Assistants can be suspended after repeated Terms of Service violations.
What should you use instead of Sesame?
Pi is a gentler, text-first companion with a free consumer tier. Character.AI suits people who want a large range of personas instead of four. For hands-free help tied to your calendar and email, personal agents such as Poke or Cue are closer to a task runner.
Is Sesame better than Pi?
For action, yes: Sesame agents search the web while talking, use their own computer and connect to Gmail, Calendar and MCP servers. Pi is simpler and has no app connections. Pick Pi if you only want calm conversation.
How long does it take to get going with Sesame?
A few minutes if there is no waitlist. Install the app from the App Store or Google Play, sign up, pick an agent and start a call or text. Connecting Google apps takes one login per app, and each agent asks for its own access.
Top Alternatives
- Pi: Pick Sesame if you want agents that search and act on apps; pick Pi if you want a plain, text-first chat companion.
- Character.AI: Pick Sesame for thinking and tasks with four set characters; pick Character.AI if you want to chat with a large library of user-made personas.
- ChatGPT: Pick Sesame for natural spoken back-and-forth on your phone; pick ChatGPT when you need file work, images and a web app.
- Gemini: Pick Gemini if you live in Google Workspace on every device; pick Sesame if you want a distinct voice character per agent.