Is the real destiny of chatbots less job-stealing algorithms and more like helpful pets? Poe (a project from Q-and-A service Quora) makes a strong argument for the fuzzier future, offering tools to design dedicated chatbots.
Now Poe is going a step further, bringing bot creation to casual consumers. Yes, even you!
Let’s peek under the hood
What’s actually going on with Poe? The platform uses creations called LLMs or Large Language Models. LLMs can get very technical, but essentially, they’re advanced methods of teaching artificial intelligence (AI) how to recognize and categorize contextual language, then form real-sounding sentences.
Most of today’s AI chatbots use LLMs, and Poe’s platform lets developers tap into that machine learning experience. You’ve probably heard of their creations, like ChatGPT or GPT-4.
This newest Poe feature goes a step further. It allows everyday users to give prompts, not to get specific answers but to create a specialist bot to tackle a specific topic. Call a bot Cocktail and give it a description like, “Help me create fun-sounding drinks.” Now you’ve got an assistant to query about your next party plan.
Quoth the raven: Why bother?
When Poe introduced its build-a-bot feature, it used examples like PirateBot (talks like a pirate) and Roastmaster (insults you). Fun, but not big reasons for people to care. Fortunately, users got creative and started showing just how useful it could be with creations like these:
- Services like Translaxy can translate almost every language without needing a separate app or Google Search.
- Bots like XeusGPT help explain complex topics in ways a child can understand.
- History bots that provide an in-depth look at any period in history.
- Coding bots that help coders quickly find the best method for coding or to run their code instantly.
- An Emoji bot that translates any text into a series of emojis (OK, not as helpful, but still hilarious).
If you’re reminded of tricks like Alexa Skills, you’re not alone — but this time, you can create your own versions on the fly, personalized for what you need.
Poe also shows users what it can’t do or does poorly. You can find attempts at creating a psychologist bot, a professional article writer or a bot that acts like a best friend. But their generic, half-hearted attempts (also: very creepy) show just why chatbots can’t handle more human-oriented tasks.
Wanna try it out?
Want a custom bot? Here’s how.
- Log into Poe. You can sign in with Google or Apple, but I recommend making a new account.
- Select Create a bot.
- Name your bot based on what it does. You have a 15-character limit.
- Write basic instructions for your bot.
- Choose your chat AI “base” like Claude-Instant or ChatGPT. I’m a ChatGPT fan.
- Test your bot by talking to it. Adjust your instruction prompt if needed to keep the bot helpful and accurate.
- Add a cute pic for your bot.
Getting comfy with AI chats
There’s something reassuring in a tool that can make a chatbot so personalized. While the doom-and-gloom talk about which industries ChatGPT will invade next can feel overwhelming, chatbots don’t have to be threatening.
They have the potential to help us with everyday tasks without getting in the way — and with Poe, anyone can ask for a version that meets their needs.
Granted, I still wouldn’t let chatbots anywhere near the kid’s essay or put it in charge of my stock portfolio (yet). But creating a bot called Spot that helps me figure out which plants to buy for my house or a buddy named Ditty that can recommend popular songs for a playlist … that’s more like it.
The near future of chat AI is starting to look like friendly little search engines filling in our day-to-day needs. That’s good news! And if the bots start getting too invasive, there’s still a lot you can do to protect your privacy and more.