OpenAI is launching an official iOS app that allows users to access its popular AI chatbot on the go, months after the App Store was full of dubious, unofficial services. According to the company, ChatGPT will be free, ad-free, and will support voice input, but will initially only be available to U.S. users.
The ChatGPT app allows users to ask questions without running a traditional web search, get advice, find inspiration, learn, research, and more, just like its desktop counterpart. The new release of ChatGPT could push more users to use it as their main mobile helper, given the issues with Apple's own voice assistant, Siri. As Apple's iPhone uses Safari as its default search engine, the launch could have an impact on Google as well.
With the launch of ChatGPT, major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are experimenting with artificial intelligence, and in the case of Google and Microsoft, integrating artificial intelligence into their search engines through a costly partnership with OpenAI. Accessing ChatGPT directly on mobile outside of a search engine or browser, however, could potentially change how people use their phones to search and access information today.