For me it is the simplicity of it (transparent minimal system prompts and harnest), you can extend it the way you like, I don't have to install a (buggy) Electron app (CC or Codex app), it integrates where I work, because it's simple (like in a standard terminal on VS code). I'm not locked in with any vendor and can switch models whenever I want, and most importantly, I can effectively use it within apps that are themselves using it as coding agent (the meta part - like a chat UI for very specific business cases). Being in TypeScript, it integrates very well with the browser and one can leverage the browser sandbox around it.
I cannot directly answer your question, because I am looking into this topic myself currently, but I found this HN discussion from two weeks ago, which should give you more insights about pi: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46844822
Can you explain why for someone who is just familiar with traditional agents like Claude Code?
For me it is the simplicity of it (transparent minimal system prompts and harnest), you can extend it the way you like, I don't have to install a (buggy) Electron app (CC or Codex app), it integrates where I work, because it's simple (like in a standard terminal on VS code). I'm not locked in with any vendor and can switch models whenever I want, and most importantly, I can effectively use it within apps that are themselves using it as coding agent (the meta part - like a chat UI for very specific business cases). Being in TypeScript, it integrates very well with the browser and one can leverage the browser sandbox around it.
I cannot directly answer your question, because I am looking into this topic myself currently, but I found this HN discussion from two weeks ago, which should give you more insights about pi: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46844822