I found obsidentify more reliable than inaturalist/seek

It is.

• good automatic id
• manual id by scientists or enthusiasts
• you develop your own Pokédex
• you provide data for scientific research

There was a recent drama around it which had to do with generative AI they wanted to use in the app.

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/06/19/google-bribes-inaturalist-to-use-generative-ai-volunteers-quit-in-outrage/

Seek is also a decent alternative if you want quick results with minimal steps. It’s a more casual experience. You basically scan your specimen with Seek on live video and it identifies it in real-time. You miss out on the iNaturalist community help, but you can link Seek to your iNaturalist account to share observations.

I use obsidentify

I just yell "hey anyone know what this is" and usually someone yells back

Yes.