Instinct users say its new shopping feature is pushing products they never asked for

If Instinct has suddenly texted you a shopping list you never asked for, you're not alone.

Shruti Gandhi, a general partner and founding engineer at AI-focused venture firm Array Ventures, said Instinct sent her a shopping list despite not requesting one.

"I didn't ask for anything," Gandhi told Business Insider, adding that the agent knew she had a trip coming up.

The recommendations — reviewed by Business Insider — come as Instinct expanded its shopping tools through a Shopify partnership and began rolling out Instinct Selections, a feature that Shinn says draws on recommendations curated by chefs, designers, architects, and local guides.

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"I think it would be a very dangerous world if Instinct were influencing the user's behavior to purchase something that they don't want to purchase or to subscribe to something that they don't want," he said.

Tanmaye Bhatia, AI lead at Primary Venture Partners, said Instinct texted him unsolicited product recommendations on Tuesday.

A screenshot he published on X last Tuesday shows the agent offering picks "for the range and the road," including $15 golf alignment sticks, after drawing on earlier discussions about his golf swing and upcoming travel.

He said Instinct should have first asked whether it could make occasional recommendations based on his personal history.

Tihtina told Business Insider that the message arrived randomly, when he had not been discussing shopping, and that he could not connect the recommendation to any previous conversation.

On "Invest Like The Best" last Monday, Shinn described a business model in which Instinct stays free for users while merchants pay it a cut when it brings them a customer and helps complete a purchase.

That does not establish that Instinct earned money from the unsolicited recommendations.