Anthropic launched its Claude chatbot, posing a direct challenge to OpenAI's ChatGPT. And Claude's iPhone debut could lure users away from its competitor.
Led by former OpenAI staff who departed due to disagreements with CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic has developed a product that surpasses ChatGPT in specific intelligence metrics. Now, the AI (artificial intelligence) startup company is sparing no effort to capture the attention of everyday users. Anthropic, established in early 2021, emerged from the collaborative efforts of former OpenAI employees, including siblings Daniela and Dario Amodei.
"In today's world, smartphones are at the centre of how people interact with technology. To make Claude a true AI assistant, it's crucial that we meet users where they are – and in many cases, that's on their mobile devices," Anthropic's Scott White said.
White emphasised that releasing Claude wasn't just about convenience. According to the top executive, the company aimed to integrate Claude seamlessly into users' everyday lives, putting its power directly in their hands.
The Battle for Chatbot Supremacy Heats Up
Anthropic offered the third iteration of its Claude LLM (large language model), introduced in March, directly to users on its website. The model is available in three tiers: "Haiku," a fast and user-friendly option; "Sonnet," a slower but more powerful version; and "Opus," the full system reserved for paying customers.
Standing out for its massive 'context window,' the Opus version of Claude, the system that dethroned GPT-4 in the LMSys chatbot rankings, can remember a staggering 160,000 words. As a result, users can paste in a whole novel and ask follow-up questions.
The Altman-led AI startup dominates the mobile AI landscape with its ChatGPT app, released in May last year. However, Anthropic's Claude launch on iPhones now challenges this dominance, making ChatGPT one of the few remaining consumer-facing LLMs with a readily available app.
Anthropic hinted that the Claude app would extend functionality beyond mere convenience, offering users access to innovative features. "For example, the Claude iOS app can, with a user's consent, access the device's camera and photo library," White said. Anthropic envisions the Claude app extending beyond simple text interactions.
Imagine a business user snapping a whiteboard diagram after a meeting and asking Claude to summarise the key points, facilitating information sharing and action. Similarly, a hiker encountering a new plant could photograph it and have Claude identify the species, offering details about its characteristics and habitat.
In tandem with the iOS app launch, Anthropic bolstered its business offerings with a "team" plan. This plan allows corporate clients to purchase Claude chatbot access for their entire workforce. White explained that Anthropic's founding mission was to spearhead the field of AI safety and research.
Anthropic's Mission: Leading the Charge in Safe AI
The AI company believes true leadership requires hands-on involvement. It also believes actively competing at the forefront of AI is crucial to influencing the industry's direction and fostering a positive arms race in AI safety.
This news about Claude's accessibility doesn't align with an earlier report suggesting Apple might partner with Google. Such a partnership raised concerns among users who worried the next iPhone might feature Google's "woke" Gemini AI chatbot.
In a possible response to the growing competition, OpenAI tweaked its policies on Wednesday. Users can now access their complete ChatGPT history without the prior requirement of consenting to train the model on their conversations. It is worth noting that OpenAI launched the ChatGPT app for iOS in May last year.
