ChatGPT app launches for iPhone users amid scam frenzy

AI firm says free app will allow people to speak to chatbot for first time

OpenAI said in a blog post on 18 May, 2023, that an Android version of its AI chatbot will be released ‘soon’ (AP)

OpenAI has launched a ChatGPT app for iPhone users amid a surge in fake versions of its hugely popular AI chatbot.

The free app is the first official OpenAI product to appear in app stores, though dozens of imitation versions seeking to mislead or scam users are currently available for iOS and Android users.

The new ChatGPT app is available immediately in the US and will roll out to other countries in the coming weeks, OpenAI said, with an Android version of the ChatGPT app also under development.

“With the ChatGPT app for iOS, we’re taking another step towards our mission by transforming state-of-the-art research into useful tools that empower people, while continuously making them more accessible,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post detailing the new app.

“We’re eager to see how you use the app. As we gather user feedback, we’re committed to continuous feature and safety improvements for ChatGPT.”

Users who download the app will have access to their ChatGPT account history from the web, as well as access to OpenAI’s open-source speech-recognition system Whisper. This will allow people to speak to the artificial intelligence tool for the first time.

Subscribers to ChatGPT Plus will also get access to the more advanced GPT-4 tool, as well as faster response times compared to free users.

Last month, researchers noted an “alarming” number of scam apps had appeared within the MacOS App Store, while Google’s Play Store is still inundated with unofficial ChatGPT apps.

“Most of these apps are nothing but cheap imitations or outright scams that fail to deliver on their promises,” privacy researcher Alex Kleber wrote in a report published in April.

“These scams not only deceive users but also tarnish the reputation of legitimate developers and hinder the growth of the app ecosystem on the MacOS platform.”

OpenAI has applied to patent the GPT acronym in an effort to crackdown on the concerning trend, however the US Patent and Trademark Office refused to fast-track the request last month.