TikTok is finally adding AI soon, with a catch
Firefly/TikTokThe video platform TikTok is planning to add its own AI chatbot to the app in hopes of giving users better control over what they watch and find.
With the ongoing boom of AI chatbots, including ChatGPT and Google Bard, it was only a matter of time before TikTok hopped on the bandwagon.
In a duo of tweets, TikTok’s communications team has stated that they’ll be rolling out “Tako”, its own AI chatbot to assist with “search and discovery”. The limited tests will be taking place exclusively in the Philippines for the time being, with only select users. This could be yet another brief test by TikTok to ensure something is working before either continuing or scrapping the idea.
AI is coming for TikTok
The app has an open experimental side to it, and this new AI venture is part of it. ByteDance, the developers behind the app, recently pushed and then removed a multi-genre selection from the “For You” page for some users.
While TikTok tests its own AI within the app, it’s still unclear outside of the vague reasoning for it, what it’ll actually do. We assume that the AI will be able to surface more accurate content that’s not based on hashtags and the current algorithm.
TikTok continues to see massive success, despite the ongoing war between it and the US government. It was recently brought into law, that by July 1, 2024, Montana will ban the app outright from the state. The push for bans appears to be over security issues, including the CEO of ByteDance brought before the US Congress.
ByteDance has shot back at the state, issuing its own lawsuit over the ban. In response to the ongoing pressure, TikTok has even begun to shift over its service to Oracle’s servers, a US-based company.
Whether we see TikTok’s chatbot AI come to fruition has yet to be seen, but it could be expected to roll out if the limited tests are successful to compete with other, similar apps.
