OpenAI has announced the launch of an iOS app for its AI chatbot ChatGPT, stating that an Android version will be available “soon”. The new app, free to use, syncs chat history with the web version and includes voice input functionality, supported by Whisper, OpenAI’s open-source speech recognition model. The app is compatible with both iPhones and iPads.
The introduction of the iOS app didn’t come as a surprise, given ChatGPT’s significant user base. The AI chatbot launched in November, and estimates suggest it had attracted over 100 million users by January, although OpenAI has not confirmed these numbers.
The ChatGPT app arrives amid OpenAI’s somewhat ambivalent stance regarding the positioning of the chatbot in the market. Originally launched as an experiment, the chatbot quickly found a widespread consumer audience, with use cases ranging from academic assistance to business applications.
In February, OpenAI introduced a premium subscription for the chatbot, ChatGPT Plus, which for $20 a month offers priority access and responses generated by GPT-4, the company’s latest language model.
Previously, the best way to access OpenAI’s language models on mobile was through Internet browsers. However, the launch of an official iOS app could attract more Apple users. This development could also mitigate the risk of users falling for fraudulent apps claiming to offer mobile access to the chatbot.
Despite the mobile app’s potential benefits, ChatGPT brings the same challenges to mobile as it does on the web.
These include the bot’s tendency to confidently generate false information, as well as concerns over privacy. While OpenAI recently provided users with an option to make their conversations private, the app’s home screen still urges users not to share “sensitive info” on the platform.
