All the hype around AI has seeped into app stores.
Last week, Apple and Google released their lists of the best apps of 2023, and both introduced a variety of AI-powered apps. Apple didn’t include anything in the main list, but created a separate list featuring generative AI apps like ChatGPT, Canva, and Picsart. Other apps like Pinterest, Craft, Artifact, and Sololearn also made headlines for their AI integrations.
“Apps reflect culture, and in 2023, generative AI will capture the collective imagination of users with evolutions that unfold in real time,” Apple said in a statement. “Apps have started integrating AI in a variety of ways throughout the year. Many features are still in their early stages, but users can see the technology in action firsthand and develop their own understanding of the benefits and risks.” It gave us an opportunity to reach a conclusion.”
As for Google’s list, AI-powered chat app Character AI was named “Best with AI,” while Google Bard’s main competitor ChatGPT was named an honorable mention. However, ChatGPT was the top app in the “User’s Choice” category.
ChatGPT’s app only debuted in May, but last week the platform reached a major milestone, celebrating the one-year anniversary of OpenAI’s introduction of the web version on November 30, 2022. But Apple’s list also aptly points out that apps like ChatGPT are by no means perfect — the large language model’s tendency to “hallucinate” and answers that are “offensive or socially insensitive”. It is pointed out that there is a possibility that the answer may include “a specific answer.”
Many other generative AI apps have entered the market this year, including chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude, Inflection AI’s Pi, and Quora’s Poe. Meanwhile, some companies are focusing on generative AI video tools, such as Runway AI. However, some are still only accessible via Discord, such as AI image generation company Midjourney and newly released AI video editing startup Pika.
Apple’s annual list also includes finalists such as video editing app DaVinci Resolve. Another is Duolingo, which built a number of new AI-powered features into its language learning app this year, using the same large-scale language model as OpenAI that powers ChatGPT.
Klinton Bicknell, Duolingo’s head of AI, said, “Over the past year, we’ve been able to build far more features with this technology than we expected a year ago.” “It’s permeated every part of the company now. We’re building this not only into a lot of the real-time capabilities we’re talking about, but also behind the scenes to generate it at scale for all of our free users. We also use it for many functions.”
Many other popular apps that added AI capabilities this year are expected to increase in 2023, according to data provided by data.ai, formerly known as App Annie. Google saw a 44% year-over-year increase in downloads in the third quarter of 2023, from 79.2 million to 114 million. Microsoft Edge nearly doubled its downloads, from 20 million to 39.9 million, and Bing saw a 2,340% increase in app downloads, from 1.5 million to 36.6 million. Other apps with new AI features that saw downloads increase include Expedia, Shopify, and Chegg. However, other services with new AI features declined, including Snapchat (-10%), Slack (-8%), and Instacart (-3%).
Data.ai analyzed a list of top generative AI apps across iOS and Android and found that ChatGPT was the most downloaded app with 112.4 million worldwide and 19.5 million in the U.S. This year, ChatGPT was the most downloaded app in the U.S. Generating AI apps included chatbots including Ask AI (9.8 million), Character AI (8.7 million) and Wonder AI Art Generator (6.2 million).
Looking back on last week
- OpenAI has announced the official return of Sam Altman less than two weeks after an attempted coup by its board of directors. OpenAI explained the update in a blog post and included messages from Altman and Brett Taylor, who became chairman of OpenAI’s board after last month’s reorganization. (Mr. Taylor is also the former co-CEO of Salesforce and former chairman of the board of Twitter, until it was sold to Elon Musk.)
- The privacy and AI worlds have converged on California as the California Privacy Protection Agency released draft regulations regarding AI and other types of “automated decision technology.” Rulemaking won’t begin until next year, but the agency, created as part of the state’s consumer privacy law, plans to discuss the regulations at its next board meeting this week.
- In other AI privacy news, Google researchers have published a new paper showing evidence that ChatGPT leaked sensitive personal data. The findings also explain issues such as how researchers discovered explicit content and how they had ChatGPT provide verbatim content for books and poems, and the copyright implications for AI. There may be further concerns about this.
- Generative AI may not be the best fit for fighting climate change. According to new research from AI startup His Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University, generating a single AI image uses as much energy as charging a smartphone.
Prompt Products: New AI Announcements
- At last week’s re:Invent conference, Amazon announced a new AI assistant called Q that allows businesses to customize their own data and systems using dozens of built-in connectors.
- Jasper, the generative AI startup for sales and marketing teams, announced a new partner program specifically for marketing agencies.
- Mastercard has debuted Shopping Muse, a new AI tool for retailers that lets shoppers search for products based on conversational queries.
- Arc is an alternative web browser. Added The new ChatGPT integration automatically suggests chatbots instead of Google for your search queries.
- At this year’s Spotify Wrapped, the streaming platform introduced new AI features, including an AI DJ that handpicks and narrates users along their journey back to 2023.
- Apple’s heartwarming new commercial highlights the company’s newly introduced AI feature called Personal Voice. This will allow people to duplicate their voices and save them on their phones in case they lose their voices in the future. The ad was directed by filmmaker Taika Waititi and narrated by physician and disability advocate Tristram Ingham.