The 5 Best ChatGPT Apps For iPhone

By now it's clear that ChatGPT isn't just a quick fad but the beginning of a whole new way we can use technology in our daily lives. Built by OpenAI, ChatGPT is a conversation-based AI model that relies on a huge swath of data and pattern recognition programming to predict the best way to respond to your input. The chatbot immediately became popular when it launched in November 2022 with its GPT-3.5 model. Just a few months later, OpenAI released GPT-4 with massive improvements. Future, more advanced, models will only further push the limits of how powerful artificial intelligence can get.

ChatGPT isn't replacing people (for now) but rather serves as a tool to make all sorts of intellectual labor easier. You can use ChatGPT and other AI models in a wide variety of ways by giving it commands or asking questions, then following up in the conversation to fine-tune or supplement the bot's responses. People have already used the technology to generate cover letters for job applications, brainstorm ideas, write computer code, explain subject matter or summarize blocks of text like news articles, and even come up with new cooking recipes.

While you can use ChatGPT straight from OpenAI's website, many are incorporating the AI into their workflow by using browser extensions or third-party apps that are built on ChatGPT, including ones for the iPhone.

In just the short time it's been out, Genie by AppNation has already gained over 10 million users. More importantly, many of those users have reviewed the app favorably, giving it a current 4.7 rating from 28,000 users on Apple's App Store. At the time of this writing, it's currently #3 on the App Store's list of top productivity apps.

Besides its design and operability, Genie's popularity is due in part to a handful of extra features. For example, it will use image recognition on photos that you can input. It also saves conversation history so you can refer back to previous interactions with the AI, and allows you to easily share your chats to contacts, saving you the trouble of taking a bunch of screenshots. Genie also can speak its responses back to you along with its text, making conversing with the chatbot that much more immersive. Genie is powered by GPT-4, so the AI itself is state-of-the-art. One annoying downside is that you need to subscribe to the app to use it. The first three days are free so you can try it out before committing, but you'll need to cancel the subscription manually to avoid being charged. Genius Unlimited is $14.99 per month or $69.99 per year, though discounts are available. 

Sitting at #4 on the App Store's top productivity apps is AI Smith (also called AI Chatbot). It's already accrued 8 million users and has a 4.5 rating from 10,000 iOS users. Developed by Vulcan Labs and powered by GPT-4, AI Smith offers the standard array of ChatGPT features like summarizing, generating text, and answering queries. What sets AI Smith apart, however, is its roster of different chatbot options you can choose from, each with its own specialty like "dream interpreter," "plagiarism checker," "academic writer," and "comedian." Each option has its own personality, like Marv, a "factual chatbot that is also sarcastic."

Unfortunately, AI Smith doesn't give you much time to test it before committing to a subscription; you're only allowed three messages with the AI before having to pay for the app. A monthly subscription costs $14.99 while the annual subscription is $69.99 per year. However, if you plan on using AI Smith for longer than a year and want to save money, you can pay once for a single lifetime subscription for $79.99.

With an average 4.8 rating from over 5,000 users on the App Store, Genius is one of the highest-rated iPhone apps out there. Developed by Alloy Studios, Genius has a large focus on assisting your writing. Powered by ChatGPT and GPT-4, the app can offer state-of-the-art AI support whether you're drafting a simple work email or an important speech. You can also use the chatbot to help with creative writing, whether it's brainstorming ideas or having it generate text to help get you started. You can also input what you've already written, and Genius will check your spelling and grammar.

One problem with the app is the lack of dark mode, a fairly basic setting more and more apps are including for users who prefer it. Like the other iPhone apps on this list, you'll need a paid subscription to unlock all the features Genius has to offer. There's no annual or weekly tiers available however – just a single $14.99 per month plan. That gives you 30 days to see if the premium version of Genius is right for you before having to renew or cancel your subscription.

ChatOn is developed by AIBY and powered by GPT-4. Currently in the App Store's top 10 list of productivity apps, ChatOn has an average 4.5 rating from nearly 5,000 users. In addition to the usual features you can expect from a chatbot app, ChatOn offers an "extensive chat memory" that will remember what you've been talking about much earlier within a conversation, helping the AI contextualize your inputs and reminding you of previous information you might've forgotten. Perhaps its coolest feature is its speech-to-text function, allowing you to converse directly with the AI using your voice, like how Iron Man talks to J.A.R.V.I.S.

ChatOn seems to be so popular that its servers are sometimes at capacity and the AI can't respond to you right away, which can be very frustrating when you need to use it. You might want to test out the app for a week and see if it's right for your workflow before committing to an annual subscription. The weekly subscription price for premium access to ChatOn is $8.99. The annual subscription is $49.99 per year, though discounts are available.

Of the ChatGPT apps available for iPhone, AI Chat by Tappz is one of the highest reviewed, earning a 4.8 rating from 27,000 users. However, one point against AI Chat is that, as of the time of this writing, it's powered by ChatGPT-3.5 Turbo, and not the more advanced GPT-4. This could change with an update, but for now it gives competitors using GPT-4 an edge when it comes to the core technology.

Despite employing an older AI model, AI Chat still has a lot to offer. It has a clean interface that closely resembles the look of iMessage, making iPhone users feel at home while conversing with the chatbot. Plus, it offers a dark mode. AI Chat recently updated with more server capacity for faster loading and responses, and increased prompt and answer limits for power users who plan on talking with the chatbot a lot. Of the various AI uses the app boasts, one notable feature is the ability to translate text and help you practice learning a foreign language, like your own personal Duolingo. AI Chat offers a sole $19.99 per month subscription tier if you want to use all of its premium features.