A goal setting app that turns goals into a plan
A goal stalls when it stays a sentence. The next step is missing, and so is anyone who comes back to ask how it went.
A goal setting app should do both of those things. It should turn the goal into steps you can start, and it should keep the plan in the week rather than in a note you never open. Odyssey is that, on iPhone. It is an AI life coach. During onboarding your coach builds the milestones and three plan drafts. A subscription is required after that, and there is no free trial.
Odyssey is introduced on the home page. The full list of what the app does is on the feature list. Accountability, which is the check-in rather than the plan, is on its own page, and that page says this is a goal coach rather than a content filter.
AI life coach apps are compared on the roundup. Liven, Purpose, and Unlimits are compared together. If the thing you wanted was a habit routine, Fabulous is a separate comparison, and Habitica, which is a game rather than a coach, is covered as a Habitica alternative. Rocky is covered as a Rocky AI alternative.
How it works
The goal leaves onboarding as milestones and a plan.
You choose one of five coaches, and you name a goal. Your coach drafts the milestones, four or five steps, and three plan drafts, during onboarding. You build the plan with them. The sessions run on GROW, OSCAR, and Appreciative Inquiry, which are ways of holding a conversation.
Check-ins then arrive on a rhythm you set. Mood and energy, fifteen seconds, and your coach responds to what you entered. A coach message can show up on the lock screen, written the night before out of the plan. A cue arrives when a plan item is due. Once a week you do the review: what went well, what got in the way, and one focus for the coming week. Your coach reads the week back between the second question and the third.
A commitment that keeps failing comes back smaller, rather than repeated at the same size. That is the adjustment. It is not a live rewrite of the day. The message exists before it arrives.
Three kinds
A tracker, a habit grid, and a coach are different jobs.
A goal setting app, as this page uses the words, is for a goal that is too big to start. The output is milestones and a plan, and then a coach who comes back to them.
A goal tracker is for a goal you already know how to pursue. It records the number. It does not have to decide the next step, and plenty of good ones never try.
A habit tracker is for a behavior you repeat: the box, the day, the streak. Useful, and a different job. If a checkbox grid is the whole of what you want, a habit app is the better fit. Odyssey does not build that grid.
Which one
How to pick.
Pick Odyssey if the goal is already clear and the missing piece is a coach on iPhone who builds the plan with you, then comes back to it. You choose one of five, and the coaching is text. The download is free. A subscription is required after onboarding, and there is no free trial. Pro is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Max is $24.99 a month or $199.99 a year.
Skip it if you want only the grid, only the game, or an Android app today. Odyssey is coming to Google Play and is not available there yet. Get notified on the support page. What separates the two plans is on the pricing page.
The button goes to the App Store, which shows the price in your currency.
Questions
What is the best goal setting app?
It depends on the job. A goal tracker records progress on a goal you already know how to pursue. A habit tracker is a grid of repeated behaviors. A goal setting app, in the sense this page means, turns a goal into milestones and a plan and then comes back to it. Odyssey is that last one: an AI life coach for iPhone. The roundup of AI life coach apps on this site compares Odyssey with Rocky, Purpose, and Liven, and it does not crown a winner.
Is there an AI goal setting app?
Yes. Odyssey is one. Odyssey is free to download. During onboarding your coach builds the milestones and three plan drafts. A subscription is required after that, and there is no free trial. Check-ins, plan cues, and a weekly review then come back to that plan, on a rhythm you set. The message is written ahead of time.
Is Odyssey free?
Odyssey is free to download. During onboarding your coach builds the milestones and three plan drafts. A subscription is required after that, and there is no free trial. Pro is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Max is $24.99 a month or $199.99 a year. Prices vary by country, and the App Store shows the current one for yours.
Does Odyssey work on Android?
Not yet. Odyssey is on iPhone today. It is coming to Google Play and is not available there yet. Get notified on the support page.
How is a goal setting app different from a habit tracker?
A habit tracker is for a behavior you repeat: the box, the day, the streak. A goal setting app is for a goal that is still too big to start. Odyssey drafts milestones and a plan with you, then checks in. If the grid is the whole of what you want, a habit app is the better fit.