Wabi Relaunches as AI Messenger With On-Demand App Building in 2026
Founded by Replika creator Eugenia Kuyda, Wabi says its September 2026 pivot will generate task-specific interfaces—such as calorie trackers or family calendars—inside conversational threads, addressing the limits of chat-only agents as histories grow.
AI startup Wabi announced in September 2026 that it is pivoting from a prompt-based app builder to a messaging platform that combines conversation, on-demand app creation, and ongoing task management — a new product the company is calling Wabi 2.0.
The shift was announced by founder Eugenia Kuyda, who previously founded the AI companion app Replika. Kuyda described Wabi 2.0 as “a personal agent that does stuff for you and builds the interface you need in the moment.” Rather than competing with vibe-coding tools, the new version positions itself against AI agents that handle both conversation and productivity within a single interface.
The core idea behind the pivot is that chat-only agents become harder to use over time. In a post on X, Kuyda argued that as task history accumulates in a single scrolling thread, the experience degrades. “People don’t just want to type-type-type; They want to tap-tap-tap, scroll, and look. They love what agents can do, but they also like software,” she wrote. “The most powerful agent will be the one that combines both.”
In practice, Wabi 2.0 would generate a user interface on demand as a user requests a task. Kuyda offered examples such as a calorie tracker and weightlifting log grouped into a health-focused thread, or a children’s activity calendar and local events app organized under a family thread. The approach suggests apps would be tied to conversational contexts rather than existing as standalone tools.
The announcement comes as other major players are also exploring how apps integrate with chat interfaces. OpenAI, for instance, announced at its Dev Day an update to ChatGPT plugins that allows apps to offer interactive experiences within ChatGPT, with app names pinned visibly in the sidebar.
Wabi 2.0 is currently available by invite only, with invite codes being distributed on X. The company described the product as “the OS for the agentic era.”