OpenAI Brings ChatGPT to Android as AI Boom Continues

OpenAI wants to gain as many ChatGPT users as possible, and is going beyond web browsers by adding an Android app to its stable.

Jose Antonio Lanz•

The artificial intelligence boom shows no signs of slowing down, and OpenAI today announced that it is releasing an Android version of its popular ChatGPT chatbot next week. This AI sidekick will now be available 24/7 in your pocket if you wield an Android phone—just as it has been for iOS users since May.

ChatGPT took the world by storm with its ability to generate coherent, thoughtful responses to natural language prompts. Starting next week, Android users will get a chance to ask it to explain quantum physics or compose a haiku on the go. Pre-registrations are open right now via the Google Play Store.

This news comes on the heels of OpenAI revealing increased efforts to make its systems safer and more transparent through initiatives like content watermarking. The company has faced scrutiny about its AI generating misinformation, or being used for cheating. While beneficial in many ways, these powerful generative models still require caution and ethical implementation.

Announcing ChatGPT for Android! The app will be rolling out to users next week, and you can pre-order in the Google Play Store starting today: https://t.co/NfBDYZR5GI

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 21, 2023

OpenAI emphasized that the Android app will have enhanced protections compared to the web version, and will include features like syncing conversation history across devices. The existing iOS app is similarly equipped.

The timing aligns with Google unveiling its own Bard chatbot and other tech giants jumping into the AI space. Startups are sprouting up rapidly as well, like Anthropic with its Claude 2 assistant, which lets users give orders that are more than 10 times larger than the limits set by OpenAI in its paid version of ChatGPT. On the other hand, traffic to OpenAI’s chatbot decreased this month for the first time since its launch.

The launch of its native Android and iOS app puts OpenAI in direct competition to Microsoft’s Bing Chat, which also uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology and was one way to test the large language model (LLM) without using a web browser.

This machine learning boom extends beyond chatbots too. AI is transitioning from novel toy to serious business tool, replacing human jobs in writing, coding, religious services, and more. The impacts on society could be immense, requiring increased oversight on issues like privacy and bias.

For now, however, having an eloquent companion ready to explain obscure math theories or compose sonnets may sound enticing enough to download ChatGPT when it hits the Google Play Store next week.