Latest news with #chatbot
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Government chatbot set to help public deal with bureaucracy
The Government is set to trial an AI chatbot to help people negotiate its 700,000-page website. The chatbot is expected to become part of the new app, which launches on Tuesday. The initial 'public beta' version, which is still being worked on, is intended to allow users to access information and support without having to search the internet each time. But ministers expect to add new features, including a chatbot due later this year that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said would 'help people get answers to niche questions more quickly'. Other functions, including applying for benefits, will be added later. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the new app 'shows for the first time how this Government is overhauling taxpayer-funded services'. He said: 'By putting public services in your pocket, we will do away with clunky paper forms and hours spent on hold, so you can immediately get the information you need and continue on with the rest of your day.' Since coming to power, ministers have pushed for government departments to make greater use of technology, with Sir Keir Starmer calling on his Cabinet to incorporate AI into their departments in a major speech at the start of the year. Describing Tuesday's launch as 'just the start', Mr Kyle added that the future AI chatbot would provide 'a reliable answer immediately' to questions about government services. He said the app would also provide 'personal notifications' to remind people when their MOT was due or when to register to vote. The Government is also expected to introduce a new online 'wallet' later in the year that will include digital versions of official documents, starting with the veterans' card and including a pilot for a digital drivers licence.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Government chatbot set to help public deal with bureaucracy
The Government is set to trial an AI chatbot to help people negotiate its 700,000-page website. The chatbot is expected to become part of the new app, which launches on Tuesday. The initial 'public beta' version, which is still being worked on, is intended to allow users to access information and support without having to search the internet each time. But ministers expect to add new features, including a chatbot due later this year that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said would 'help people get answers to niche questions more quickly'. Other functions, including applying for benefits, will be added later. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the new app 'shows for the first time how this Government is overhauling taxpayer-funded services'. He said: 'By putting public services in your pocket, we will do away with clunky paper forms and hours spent on hold, so you can immediately get the information you need and continue on with the rest of your day.' Since coming to power, ministers have pushed for government departments to make greater use of technology, with Sir Keir Starmer calling on his Cabinet to incorporate AI into their departments in a major speech at the start of the year. Describing Tuesday's launch as 'just the start', Mr Kyle added that the future AI chatbot would provide 'a reliable answer immediately' to questions about government services. He said the app would also provide 'personal notifications' to remind people when their MOT was due or when to register to vote. The Government is also expected to introduce a new online 'wallet' later in the year that will include digital versions of official documents, starting with the veterans' card and including a pilot for a digital drivers licence.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Google rolls out its Gemini chatbot to Kiwi kids
Kiwi kids can now access Google's Gemini AI chatbot Photo: aap Arriens / NurPhoto via AFP Kiwi kids can now access Google's Gemini AI chatbot, now the company has made it available to the under-13s. The tech giant emailed global users of its parental control device Family Link in May to announce the pending change - which was rolled out first to users in the US, and then worldwide. In the email the company acknowledged Gemini can "make mistakes" and parents should remind their children it "isn't human". The rollout's automatic - so parents have to opt-out if they don't want their child to use it. Should chatbots be part of children's learning? Kathryn speaks with Toby Walsh, author of the 2023 book ' Machines Behaving Badly ', which investigated the pace of AI's rollout and the limited regulation or oversight into it. He's Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and CSIRO Data61.
CNET
3 days ago
- CNET
What Is Perplexity? Here's Everything You Need to Know About This AI Chatbot
Search engines hadn't changed much in a very long time -- until AI search entered the scene. Perplexity is one of the artificial intelligence platforms trying to reshape how we find answers online by skipping the list of links and delivering direct, conversational results. Unlike traditional Google Search, which sends you off to other sites, Perplexity tries to be the site. You can use it on the web or download its free app for Android, iOS, Mac and Windows. Perplexity AI was founded in August 2022 by Aravind Srinivas (formerly a research scientist at OpenAI), Denis Yarats (with experience at Facebook AI Research), Johnny Ho (ex-Quora engineer) and Andy Konwinski (a Databricks co-founder). In a short time, it has grown from a scrappy startup into a fast-evolving generative AI tool with pro features and an agentic AI shopping assistant that can make purchases on your behalf. It's part search engine, part chatbot and it's changing how people search for information. Perplexity has become especially popular among students, researchers and tech-savvy users who want fast, reliable answers without having to dig through multiple sites. It has amassed 22 million active users across its website and app, while its mobile app has been downloaded 13.9 million times since its launch. Read on to find out what exactly Perplexity is, how it works, what sets it apart from ChatGPT and other generative AI tools -- and about some of the legal battles it's been facing. What is Perplexity? Perplexity calls itself the world's first "answer engine" that uses large language models to understand and give you direct, detailed responses to your questions. It searches the web in real time and, instead of showing you a list of blue links, it pulls info from what should be trusted sources (though Reddit often finds itself on that list) and summarizes the information into clear, up-to-date answers in natural language. The company also encourages you to double-check the sources, which, considering how often we have seen AI tools hallucinate, should be your default practice by now. Interestingly, Perplexity was the first generative AI tool whose search results came with citations. Now, ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and even Claude (because it can access the internet) are adding citations with deep research features. As OpenAI and Google push their premium research tools behind paywalls, Perplexity has joined the deep research race with a more accessible option. The feature breaks down complex questions into smaller subtasks, pulls from academic papers, technical sources and long-form articles and compiles it all into a detailed report, often in just a few minutes. So it's slightly faster at generating results than most competitors. Rob Howard, an AI consultant and founder of the education platform Innovating with AI, thinks highly of these advancements. "Deep research is the first tool that really changes my job," Howard told me. "The core idea of 'go read 600 articles in 10 minutes and give me the highlights and then link me to them' is just incredibly valuable for so many people. And it's kind of like having an army of interns or an army of research assistants working with you, for a very low price." What can Perplexity do? Perplexity answers questions like "What is quantum computing?" and "What's the best time to visit Japan?" You can follow up with additional questions or refine your query like you would in a chat. Similarly to Google's "People also ask" section when you search, you can expand on the topic with an offered set of questions under the Related section at the bottom of the page. Perplexity / Screenshot by CNET CNET's staff chose Perplexity as the best chatbot for research, which is what most people use it for, but it can also: Summarize long articles or documents. Explain complex topics in plain language. Offer comparisons and pros/cons lists. Perform internal knowledge search on uploaded files like PDFs, Word docs and Excel sheets (Pro and Enterprise users only). Look up real-time stock prices and financial data (data is sourced via Financial Modeling Prep API). If you're a Perplexity Pro subscriber in the US, the "Buy with Pro" feature handles your shopping request from start to finish. It selects a product based on your preferences, completes the purchase using your saved details and, for a limited time, even offers free shipping. Perplexity also introduced a voice assistant for iOS, offering hands-free answers at a time when Apple was still holding off on its own AI features. Another new release is Perplexity Labs, an agentic AI feature that lets you build full projects -- think reports, dashboards and spreadsheets -- just by typing out what you need in plain language. It handles everything from researching online to writing and running code, creating charts and organizing the results in one place. Labs is available to Pro users on Perplexity's mobile and web apps, with desktop support coming soon. While Deep Research is built for faster, well-cited answers, Labs is better suited for longer, more complex tasks where the goal is to produce something usable, not just informative. Most projects take about 10 minutes or more to complete. How is Perplexity different from ChatGPT and Google Search? Traditional Google Search crawls the web and ranks results. ChatGPT can generate content and answer questions based on its training data and real-time web results. Perplexity combines both approaches: It retrieves current information from the web and uses AI to summarize it. Similarly, Google's AI Overviews now show AI-generated results above standard search results. Perplexity, as previously mentioned, is known for a consistent and prominent display of source citations for every piece of information it provides. Other AI tools will give citations on demand. Another distinguishable feature is that other gen AI applications prioritize open-ended conversation or creative content generation, like images and videos. Until recently, Perplexity was unable to do that, but since the end of April, it can now create images. I tried creating something simple and fun to test it, and it turns out that images in Perplexity and ChatGPT are very similar, despite ChatGPT's dog having five legs (ha). It comes as no surprise, given Perplexity uses OpenAI's image generation models similar to those used by ChatGPT. Images generated by ChatGPT (left) and Perplexity (right) of a cartoon-style dog. Perplexity / Screenshot by CNET While Perplexity can assist with debugging and writing smaller code snippets, it will not be most users' go-to tool for coding. ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot are better for that. The company is now developing Comet, a next-generation agentic AI web browser. It is built on Chromium and integrates Perplexity's conversational search engine directly into the browser. You can join a waitlist ahead of the beta release, which recently began for Apple Silicon Mac users. Perplexity / Screenshot by CNET Pricing and plans Like most similar tools, Perplexity offers freemium pricing. It is free to use (forever, it says), with a Standard plan that includes unlimited basic searches, a limited number of queries using more advanced models and three image generations per day. The $20 per month Pro plan grants you access to the latest models like OpenAI's GPT-4o (Omni), Anthropic's Claude 4.0 Sonnet, Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro, xAI's Grok 3 Beta and Perplexity's own Sonar Large. It supports file uploads and unlimited image generation, and includes a monthly API credit. It also offers perks where you can get various offerings and savings from travel, wellness and finance brands. Businesses can choose an Enterprise tier, starting at $40 per user per month, with enhanced security, custom model tuning and team collaboration features. There is also custom pricing for large organizations. Merges, collaborations and integrations In its attempt to reduce its reliance on Google, Samsung reportedly is close to signing a major deal with Perplexity AI that would bring its AI-powered search features to Galaxy smartphones, including the upcoming S26. The deal would also reportedly come with a financial investment from Samsung and deeper integration of Perplexity into apps like Samsung Internet and Bixby. This would be the biggest mobile partnership for Perplexity, after recently teaming up with Motorola. Perplexity is eyeing deeper integrations beyond smartphones. Srinivas recently hinted at a potential Firefox integration in a post on X and Mozilla's Connect forum further fueled speculation, though nothing official has been confirmed. The company was also in early talks to buy half of TikTok's US operations after a federal ban was put on hold. But it doesn't stop there. Perplexity announced new partnerships in May with Statista, PitchBook and Wiley. While free users get limited access, Pro and Enterprise subscribers receive more monthly searches using these premium sources. The goal is to provide information that was once reserved for professionals with costly subscriptions, like doctors or financial analysts, and make it accessible to everyday users. Rumor has it that Apple is in talks with Perplexity, either to acquire the company or partner with it to develop an AI search engine powered by Perplexity, and possibly integrate its technology into Siri. A Perplexity spokesperson dismissed reports of a potential merger or acquisition. Lawsuits and other controversies Perplexity's rapid growth has also drawn legal heat. It all started in June 2024, when Forbes accused Perplexity of using its original reporting without proper credit and issued a legal threat. On Oct. 2, 2024, The New York Times sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity, alleging unlawful use of its copyrighted content. On Oct. 21, Dow Jones (The Wall Street Journal's publisher) and NYP Holdings (The New York Post's publisher) filed a joint lawsuit against Perplexity, accusing it of "massive illegal copying" and copyright infringement by repackaging their content. The BBC also threatened to sue Perplexity over unauthorized use of its content, adding to the growing list of media organizations pushing back. When asked about the lawsuits, Perplexity declined to comment other than to describe the BBC allegations as "manipulative and opportunistic." The BBC declined to comment further, saying it had nothing to add beyond what was reported in the Financial Times. Howard told CNET that today's copyright laws, in the US and globally, are already struggling to keep up with the internet, let alone the rapid rise of AI. Unfortunately for the creators, with Anthropic winning the lawsuit over its use of copyrighted books to train AI, the decision may have opened a Pandora's box for similar rulings to follow. "What the AI companies have done is essentially just ask for forgiveness rather than permission," Howard said. "What we're seeing instead is they're basically negotiating settlements where it's like, okay, you can use our stuff, but you have to pay us." This is exactly what Perplexity tried to do, facing the pressure. The company has launched a revenue-sharing Publishers Program that lets approved outlets earn money when their work is cited inside the answer engine. Publishers like TIME, Fortune, Der Spiegel, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune and have already signed on. Is Perplexity worth using? People are turning to AI for research en masse. If you're looking for fast, conversational answers with real sources, Perplexity is one of the best tools available today. It's especially useful for research-heavy tasks where you'd normally click through a dozen tabs. It's not perfect but for everyday questions or as a second opinion alongside Google or ChatGPT, it's a good tool to use. Another thing to be mindful of, like with any AI tool, is you can't fully rely on Perplexity for privacy. The company says it logs use and may store prompts for research and improvement purposes, although there's an option to use "incognito mode" for private searches or opt out completely in settings. Go to the "AI Data Retention" option under the Account section, and switch the toggle to "off." This will prevent Perplexity from using your interactions for AI training.
The Verge
5 days ago
- The Verge
Anthropic now lets you make apps right from its Claude AI chatbot
Anthropic is adding a new feature to its Claude AI chatbot that lets you build AI-powered apps right inside the app. The upgrade, launching in beta, builds upon Anthropic's Artifacts feature introduced last year that lets you see and interact with what you ask Claude to make. 'Start building in the Claude app by enabling this new interactive capability,' the company says in a blog post. 'Simply describe what you want to create, and Claude will write the code for you.' It basically sounds like vibe coding, but with the ability to see the results right inside Claude. You can briefly see how it all works in a video from Anthropic that shows somebody building a chat app. Early users of the feature have built things like AI-powered games, learning tools, data analysis apps, writing assistants, and even agent workflows that 'orchestrate multiple Claude calls for complex tasks,' Claude says. Apps will be able to 'interact with Claude through an API.' Anthropic also wants people to share the apps that they make, and it's encouraging that by making so that somebody else's API usage of your app 'counts against their subscription, not yours.' The feature is available on Anthropic's Free, Pro, and Max tiers.
