Hey y’all, it’s Austin Carr in Boston. The release of the official ChatGPT app highlights problems with major app stores. But first... Today’s must-reads: • Instagram plans to release a Twitter competitor
• Satellite phone calling is a hot market
• BT might need few layoffs thanks to attrition When ChatGPT finally debuted in Apple Inc.’s app store last week, I figured I’d find it at the top of the charts. Instead, a search for OpenAI Inc.’s artificial intelligence service yielded an endless scroll of look-alikes with spurious names such as ChatAI and AI ChatBot: GPT-4 Open Chat. The hiccup appeared to be resolved by the end of the week, with ChatGPT — “the official app by OpenAI”— appearing second on the store’s list, beneath an ad for ChatOn—AI Chat Bot Assistant Powered by ChatGPT & GPT-4. But it’s still easy to get the real thing mixed up among dozens of knockoffs, a stark symbol of the AI gold rush underway. The ersatz ChatGPTs feature similar logos and seem designed to trick customers into paying for high-priced subscriptions. When I first opened ElevenThirteen LLC’s Chat AI (not to be confused with Koi Apps’ ChatAI), the service promoted itself as “your personal Chat GPT assistant” and immediately asked me to enroll in a free trial that would start charging $7 a week after three days. That’s about $28 a month, more than what OpenAI charges for ChatGPT Plus. These apps, for the most part, aren’t necessarily selling snake oil. Many of them deliver something resembling ChatGPT by renting access to language models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 or -4, which developers can use to build unique AI software and personalities. They can also help bypass geographic restrictions in certain countries where ChatGPT is banned. For customers simply looking to use ChatGPT on their iPhone where the app is now available, though, it would be hard to rationalize paying more for an off-label bot that doesn’t offer much else. When asked if it was intended to be a copycat, the Chat AI app responded, “I can assure you that I am not a ripoff of ChatGPT.” While it acknowledged it was trained on OpenAI’s large-language model, among others, the bot said its makers “worked hard to create a unique and innovative AI assistant.” ElevenThirteen’s other releases include apps devoted to crypto art and crystal-rock identification. A spokesperson for the developer said Chat AI has a million active monthly users and distinguishes itself through selectable AI roles, camera integration and tools for professionals. This kind of approach is turning into a big business. Some chatbots boast tens of thousands of app store ratings and presumably as many, if not more, downloads. They often surface ads when they’re not pushing subscriptions. AppNation Ltd. founder Yalçın Özdemir, the creator of an app called Genie AI that sells itself as being “powered by OpenAI,” told Bloomberg it had over 3 million active users and generated $3.5 million in April alone. Özdemir said Genie is not pretending to be OpenAI and “already surpasses” ChatGPT's app “in features such as photo identification, file importation and web link access.” Like OpenAI, Google and Baidu Inc. first launched their chatbots as websites instead of apps for expediency. (The app store approval process can slow the pace of development.) Today, there’s an iPhone app called Bard even though Google doesn’t offer one. Baidu sued Apple and some software developers over fakes of its Ernie bot. With the real ChatGPT now available on the iPhone, it seems likely the days are numbered for these sorts of copycats. ChatGPT itself sounded peeved about them. “These knockoff apps use similar logos and brand names to mislead users or capitalize on the reputation of the original ChatGPT,” the chatbot told me. “If you believe there are issue with the availability or prominence of the official OpenAI ChatGPT app in the App Store, I encourage you to reach out to Apple’s support or feedback channels.” —Austin Carr | 
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