After teasing its growth final yr, Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley has now launched BeeBot: an AI-powered social app for iPhones that talks to you about what’s taking place close by. In his weblog announcement, Crowley says BeeBot behaves like a “customized radio DJ” that gives location-based audio updates by way of your headphones, telling you about what pals are as much as, native information, and occasions occurring within the neighborhood as you stroll round.
“Audio updates are supposed to be brief and candy (just a few sentences right here and there), tailor-made to your pursuits and your social graph, and designed to each encourage and inform you,” Crowley says within the announcement. “The vibe we’re going for is extra ‘Waze meets Gossip Woman,’ and fewer ‘Wikipedia in your ears.’”
Whereas the app is known as “BeeBot for AirPods,” Crowley says it helps any wired or wi-fi headphones or Bluetooth-based audio gadgets, together with audio system, automotive stereos, and wearables like Meta Ray-Ban sensible glasses. It’s at all times on, prompts mechanically once you put your headphones in, and turns off once you take them out. BeeBot will decrease the amount and converse over any music you’re listening to and mechanically pause and unpause podcasts when it desires to talk, however it gained’t interrupt you throughout cellphone calls or video chats.
This gained’t be a frequent prevalence, nevertheless. Crowley says customers might get updates from BeeBot just a few instances every day, “however not 10x/day” to stop it from being too disruptive. Updates are pulled from numerous sources, together with reside places and standing updates from different BeeBot customers, and makes use of “key phrases” you give it about your pursuits to counsel native locations and occasions so that you can try.
The app is “nonetheless very a lot in beta,” in line with Crowley, and the information it supplies is meant to be “extra gossip’y than information’y.” In its present state, BeeBot supplies one of the best expertise in walkable US cities, versus when customers are driving, biking, or utilizing the subway. It’s solely accessible for iOS customers within the US for now, and Crowley says {that a} CarPlay model is in growth.
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