OpenAI has taken its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, to new heights by launching an official iOS app. The move comes after a surge of unofficial and questionable services flooded the App Store, and the ChatGPT app aims to provide a trustworthy and convenient mobile experience. OpenAI’s app will be available for free, devoid of advertisements, and equipped with voice input functionality, although the initial release will be limited to users in the United States.
Similar to its desktop version, the ChatGPT app empowers users to engage with an AI chatbot, enabling them to seek answers to questions without resorting to traditional web searches. It also serves as a versatile companion for advice, inspiration, learning, research, and more. Given the limitations of Apple’s voice assistant, Siri, and the tech giant’s slower progress in AI development, the new ChatGPT release could entice users to adopt it as their primary mobile assistant. Additionally, Google may feel the impact as ChatGPT emerges as a formidable alternative to its search engine, which currently enjoys default status on Apple’s iPhone through Safari.
The mobile version of ChatGPT boasts seamless synchronization of search history across devices. This means that the app remembers previous searches made via its web interface, ensuring a consistent and personalized user experience. Furthermore, the app integrates Whisper, OpenAI’s open-source speech recognition system, allowing users to interact with ChatGPT through voice commands.
OpenAI has also made ChatGPT Plus subscribers eligible to access GPT-4’s advanced capabilities via the new app. In addition to this perk, subscribers receive early access to new features and enjoy faster response times. The ChatGPT Plus subscription, launched in February, comes at a monthly cost of $20 and guarantees uninterrupted access to ChatGPT, even during peak usage periods.
The initial rollout of the app will commence in the United States, with plans to expand to other countries in the following weeks. OpenAI has hinted at an upcoming Android version, further broadening the accessibility of its AI chatbot.
Rumors about OpenAI developing a mobile client had been circulating, as noted in a February article by Semafor. At that time, the company declined to comment on the speculation.
The launch of the ChatGPT app coincides with major tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, delving into AI research and incorporating AI capabilities into their respective search engines. Google and Microsoft have even formed partnerships with OpenAI, although ChatGPT’s direct availability on mobile, without reliance on a search engine or browser, has the potential to disrupt current mobile search and information retrieval practices.
One aspect that sets OpenAI’s mobile app apart from AI integrations in search apps is its ad-free experience. OpenAI subtly highlights this advantage in its blog post, emphasizing that users can receive instant answers “without sifting through ads or multiple results.” This remark indirectly critiques OpenAI’s own partner, as Bing has already started integrating ads into its AI-powered Bing Chat, adding a layer of frustration to search engine interactions.
Even the App Store description of ChatGPT emphasizes its ad-free nature, one of the few features mentioned alongside history syncing and access to the latest OpenAI models.
The introduction of the app follows closely on the heels of Google’s unveiling of its own AI chatbot, Bard, which was announced during this year’s Google I/O developer conference and is now available in English.
There appears to be a growing demand for ChatGPT and AI on iPhones. Research conducted by app store intelligence provider data.ai reveals that the top 10 mobile AI apps had already generated over $14 million in consumer spending by late March, with average daily spending increasing by 11% compared to February.
