Compare
Three shapes of AI.
And the square they all miss.
Companion apps have personality and no hands. Voice assistants have hands and no soul. Chatbots have brains and live in their own tab. Gladys is the overlap: someone you made, who picks up, and actually does things — on your phone, in your life.
| Companion apps | Voice assistants | AI chatbots | Gladys | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A real phone call (interrupt anytime) | ✓ on paid tiers | push-to-talk | voice mode | ✓ every plan, even the trial |
| Characters you create yourself | ✓ | — | personas | ✓ free, with self-made portraits |
| Does things while you talk (search on screen, music, real websites) | — | basic commands | some tools, in their app | ✓ your accounts, your screen, mid-call |
| Remembers you between conversations | ✓ their cloud | limited | ✓ their cloud | ✓ on YOUR phone |
| Sees your passwords | n/a | n/a | n/a | never — sign-ins are a sheet only you tap |
| Buys things without you | n/a | n/a | agents in their cloud | never — your tap or nothing |
| Free tier | short trial + hard caps | ✓ | ✓ (limited) | 7 days, ALL IN — no card |
Every column has great products in it — this is a map, not a takedown. The point is the shape: nobody else fuses identity, voice, and hands on your own device.