You.com wants to put users in control with its Custom Assistants launch

Palo Alto-based You.com recently launched an innovative feature called Custom Assistants. The feature allows users to create personalized AI assistants that leverage recent large language models, including GPT-4o, Llama 3, and Claude 3. The initiative aims to make LLMs more accessible to users, not only in terms of usage but also in terms of adaptability. While OpenAI has already let its users create custom GPTs, versions of its popular chat model tailored to specific tasks, they lack the versatility of You.com's Custom Assistants because the underlying LLM in the GPTs is limited to OpenAI's offerings.

According to You.com founder and CEO Richard Socher, the Custom Assistants launch "puts every user in the driver's seat of this technology." Socher also noted that for all their hype, LLMs are still meant mostly for consumption, not for user-level experimentation, which is exactly what his company attempts to change. The startup aims to make large language models accessible and adaptable for boosting productivity across knowledge work domains like healthcare, finance, education, and more. Early users have put Custom Assistants to work on diverse tasks, including generating interview questions, brainstorming marketing copy, and practicing languages.

Another differentiator between You.com and other tech firm offerings is that the You.com Custom Assistants have live web access integration, which ensures their outputs are always based on the most up-to-date information available. You.com has always prioritized accuracy to offer more relevant and reliable responses than competitor platforms, and Custom Assistants are no different. Users looking to build their personalized assistant only need to visit the You.com website, select “More,” and then “Add New.” There, they will be given a choice of LLMs, a space to provide custom instructions, the option to enable live web access, and further personalization options, including the option to upload local files.

The service is free for all You.com users, but some limitations are only removed with a YouPro subscription.