ChatGPT that can be used on LINE is a big hit with 770,000 registrations in 3 weeks. Developed by a venture with two employees, the problem is “cost”

“AI Chat-kun,” who can easily use ChatGPT on LINE, has become a hot topic.

The number of registered users exceeded 500,000 in 10 days from the release on March 2nd. As of March 23, the number of registered users is about 770,000, and the number of users is rapidly increasing.

Developed in about half a day after the ChatGPT API was released, and released on the same day. Overwhelmed other similar services with speed.

What’s more, the creator of “AI Chat-kun” isA company of just two people, an engineer and a designer in their twentieswas.

Founded by two college students

“The response was so great that I didn’t feel alive for two weeks after the announcement.”

So says Shosei Yamaguchi (27), CEO of picon, the startup that created AI Chat-kun.

Picon was founded in 2016 by designer Yamaguchi, who was a university student at the time, and engineer Shibuya Yukihito COO (27). It has received funding from venture capital firms East Ventures, ANRI, and individual investors.

In 2017, the app “Talk Room”, which allows users to enjoy conversations while watching YouTube, attracted attention.

In addition, there is also a track record of an application that uses “text generation AI GPT-3”.

“With this AI Chat-kun hit,It is thought that it is a “startup that popped out and made a buzz”, but in fact there is more accumulation from before.(Mr. Yamaguchi)

Improving conversation skills “It would be interesting if it could be used on LINE”

The API that makes it possible to incorporate ChatGPT into other applications etc. was released on March 2nd (March 1st in US local time).

On the morning of the opening day, Mr. Shibuya actually touched ChatGPT, which can be used via API, and was surprised at the speed of response and high conversation ability.“It would be interesting if we could casually talk to AI over LINE.”He intuitively felt that.

AI Chat-kun was completed in just half a day from the idea and released on the same day as the API release.

theChatGPT also supported high-speed development. Mr. Shibuya and his colleagues had previously created apps for smartphones, but had never created a service used on LINE, the so-called LINE bot.

ThereforeIf you have any questions, ask ChatGPT immediately.

After hearing about “how to implement it on LINE,” he told me the procedure and necessary codes.

“Since this was the first implementation for LINE, we originally had to look up the names of various functions.By asking questions on ChatGPT, I was able to understand about 80% of the work method immediately, and the work that might have taken about 3 days was completed in half a day.(Mr. Shibuya)

The most frequent users are those in their 50s

“If you want to use ChatGPT on your computer or smartphone browser, you will need to log in frequently.

The appeal of AI Chat-kun is that you can open LINE and have a quick conversation.” (Mr. Shibuya)

AI Chat-kun, which was completed in half a day, has seen a rapid increase in users due to its ease of use.

It is said that the use of the service has spread rapidly as more and more people have attached their questions and answers on Twitter. Looking at the current users, surprisingly, the majority of users are in their 50s, and it has penetrated a wide range of age groups.

However, on the other hand, on the other hand, they are busy with managing the server and dealing with problems. When I actually used AI Chat-kun, I sometimes got a reply saying, “The server is currently busy, so I can’t reply for a while.”

how to earn

On the other hand, the question is how to make a profit.

There are three main costs to operate AI Chat-kun:

• Usage fee according to ChatGPT usage fee (API usage fee)
• LINE usage fee
• Server fee

Of these, the API usage fee for ChatGPT is about one-tenth of the text generation AI GPT-3, but it is said to be quite expensive.

“The number of users is increasing rapidly, but the cost is incurred accordingly, so it is not a very profitable business at present.(Mr. Yamaguchi)

Currently, AI Chat-kun can be used free of charge for up to five exchanges per day, but in order to use it unlimitedly, a paid contract of 980 yen per month is required, which is the main source of income.

After the release of the API, similar services entered the market, but some withdrew due to issues such as ChatGPT usage fees.

Using free users only costs money, but Mr. Yamaguchi“Right now, I want people using it for the first time to use it widely.”emphasize.

“There are so many different ways to use ChatGPT. I believe that if we continue to communicate how to use it, it will eventually lead to billing.”