Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to The Hustle Episode 60: Imagine an Army of Friend Bots (with Chris Messina)

Open source, conversational UI and contextual design

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. The Hustle Episode 60: Imagine an Army of Friend Bots (with Chris Messina) launched in 2017; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Hack To Start: Chris Messina [Ep #118]▲97

   Talking about the hashtag, Product Hunt, and MessinaBot

   2016 · hacktostart.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   What are conversational bots?▲102

   An introduction to and overview of AI-driven chatbots

   2016 · oreilly.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   O'Reilly Bots - #4 - Cathy Pearl on voice user interfaces for bots▲61

   The basics of VUI design

   2016 · oreilly.com · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Chatbots▲102

   Conversational UI and the future of online interaction

   2016 · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Tung▲96

   A social podcast player

   2016 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Botbuzz▲127

   On-Demand chatbot developers

   2016 · buzz.ai · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Muse Gadgets▲185

   Meta's open-source kit for building your own AI gadgets

   24d ago · gadgets.muse.ai · its alternatives →

8. 8
   "Please Hold" #4: Building A Community with Ryan Hoover▲123

   Chatting poop emojis, entrepreneurship, and customer service

   2016 · soundcloud.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Alice by Couple▲57

   An AI companion from the folks who built Couple

   2014 · couple.me · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Hatching - Launching Emoji Masks▲68

    A podcast about the inner workings of Need/Want

    2015 · soundcloud.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Geekbot▲84

    Asynchronous standup meetings in Slack

    2015 · geekbot.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Oversubscribed - #4: The Future of AI, #RIPTwitter, and Content Monetization with Mark Johnson▲75

    Shooting the sh*t on tech & media with Parr and Baptiste.

    2016 · soundcloud.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Project Murphy▲140

    The chat bot with imagination by Microsoft

    2016 · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Designing Bots▲13

    Creating Conversational Experiences

    2017 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Botified▲101

    A job board for bot developers

    2017 · its alternatives →

16. 16
    PixelCrew▲142

    Production-ready design from a crew of AI agents

    Sep 2026 · pixelcrew.ai · its alternatives →

17. 17
    The Web Platform Podcast - 67: Keeping Fluent with Web Technology▲59

    A podcast that dives deep into ‘all things’ web

    2015 · thewebplatform.libsyn.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Ruby5 - Episode #633▲52

    This week, we discuss Slack vision bot, a guide to library..

    2016 · pluralsight.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Nikbot▲64

    A multilingual AI chatbot

    2017 · messenger.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Ruby on Rails Podcast #204: Money and open source▲81

    Sean and Kyle talk the economics of open source software.

    2015 · 5by5.tv · its alternatives →

21. 21
    Designing Bots▲6

    Creating Conversational Experiences

    2017 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Hacked - 1: E-Mail spoofing▲67

    A podcast about the curious underbelly of the internet

    2015 · soundcloud.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Never Boring AI▲102

    The AI agent that writes your LinkedIn posts in your voice

    26d ago · neverboring.ai · its alternatives →

24. 24
    Nowdue for Slack▲93

    Super fast invoicing bot for small teams

    2016 · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →