Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More
You.com, a Palo Alto-based startup, announced the launch of Custom Assistants today, a groundbreaking feature that allows users to create personalized AI assistants using top language models (LLMs) like GPT-4o, Llama 3, and Claude 3, all within a single interface. This significant leap forward in conversational AI aims to make powerful language models more accessible and adaptable to individual needs.
“This launch puts every user in the driver’s seat of this technology, letting them train AI for their own applications,” said Richard Socher, founder and CEO of You.com, in an interview VentureBeat. “We’ve been at the forefront of innovating in the LLM space, from being the first to connect LLMs to the web back in 2022 to now enabling any user to customize their own assistant.”
You.com’s platform empowers users, regardless of their technical expertise, by allowing them to select from a wide array of LLMs and tailor their assistant’s behavior through custom instructions. “At a high level, LLMs are all the rage, right? A lot of people are very excited,” Socher explained. “But what we realize is that all of this still allows people to consume it but not really play with the technology as if they had real ownership and control of it.”
Enhancing productivity across industries
Custom Assistants are designed to boost productivity in complex work-related tasks. “Where we are 10x better is really complex work-related questions,” Socher emphasized. “We are focused on knowledge assistants that help people be more productive when it comes to intellectual knowledge work.”
Early adopters from various industries are already using Custom Assistants to generate interview questions, brainstorm marketing copy, receive personalized study help, practice new languages, and more. The implications of this technology are far-reaching, with the potential to transform knowledge work across sectors like healthcare, finance, and education.
Prioritizing accuracy and real-time information
You.com’s commitment to accuracy sets it apart in the crowded AI field. “It turns out it’s very easy to build a quick prototype of an LM, but it’s actually quite hard to make it really accurate to the level that we have at You.com,” Socher said.
The platform’s live web access feature ensures that assistants have the most current information available, often before the builders of the base LLMs have incorporated this capability themselves. By prioritizing accuracy and enabling live web access, You.com aims to provide more relevant and reliable responses compared to other platforms.
Creating a Custom Assistant on You.com is straightforward: users simply visit the site, select “More,” and then “Add New.” From there, they can choose from leading LLMs, provide custom instructions, enable live web access and personalization, and even upload files for the assistant to work with. The service is free for all You.com users, with unlimited queries for YouPro subscribers.
In the symphony of modern innovation, You.com strikes a new chord: AI that transcends mere utility to become a personalized companion. As the digital landscape evolves, this Palo Alto startup offers a quiet revolution—a bespoke assistant, finely tuned to the nuances of your needs. The future of AI is not just intelligent; it is intimately yours.