Gorilla Technologies, creator of popular iPhone customization app Brass, and sticker maker StickerHub, has introduced Superchat, a new AI chat app for iOS that stands out from the crowded AI chatbot market. Superchat allows users to converse with a variety of virtual characters powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The unique selection of interactive personas—ranging from historical figures like Shakespeare, Einstein, and Cleopatra, to fictional characters like Sherlock Holmes and Snow White—makes the app different from other AI chat applications.
Additionally, the company has developed its own characters, such as their standard ChatGPT assistant named Aria, who assists users in performing everyday tasks like writing emails or providing marketing advice. Gorilla Technologies aims to make AI technology accessible to a broader audience, including children interested in learning about historical figures through engaging conversations. With its messaging app-like structure, Superchat allows users to have simultaneous conversations with different AI chatbots powered by OpenAI technologies, primarily GPT-3.5-turbo.
While several characters are available for free with the app download, others require a premium subscription. However, the premium plan's pricing may be a deterring factor, as the cheapest option costs $1.35 per week for an annual subscription (approximately $70/year), and a weekly subscription plan is available at a pricey $6.99 per week. The subscription fees aim to cover the cost of using OpenAI's APIs, and Gorilla Technologies notes that Family Sharing is supported to allow multiple users to share one subscription plan.
Although the concept of giving a virtual persona to AI through unique characters is appealing, there is room for improvement in terms of making the AI more true to its character. For example, tailoring speech patterns to reflect the personalities of their historical or fictional personas would enhance the overall experience. Gorilla Technologies is working on making the characters’ speaking styles align better with their personas.
Other companies are also exploring similar concepts of combining AI with characters and avatars. Last year, Google acquired AI-avatar startup Alter for $100 million, and Korean startup Neosapience raised $12.5 million for its synthetic voice and video platform Typecast. D-ID, a company developing new technology for photorealistic AI faces and voices for OpenAI's ChatGPT, is a notable player in this space. Meta is also experimenting with AI chats in Messenger and WhatsApp, while Discord already provides a bot with ChatGPT-like features.
Superchat seeks to capitalize on the increasing popularity of AI chatbots, a market segment that has seen a 4,000% year-over-year increase in in-app user spending, reaching nearly $3 million across leading apps. The top 10 AI mobile apps have generated over $14 million in revenue already this year. By offering an engaging messaging experience with its AI chatbots, Superchat aims to entice a younger demographic and make AI technology more accessible beyond OpenAI's website.
Superchat is free to download on iOS, with in-app purchases for premium features. Its release is recent, so it may take some time to become available to all users and regions on Apple's App Store.
