Quora’s Poe, a subscription-based platform aggregating AI-powered chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s GPT-4, has rolled out a new feature called Previews. This innovative tool allows users to create interactive web apps directly within chatbot conversations.
Previews enable Poe users to build a variety of interactive applications, including data visualizations, games, and even drum machines. Users can simply prompt the chatbot with requests such as, “Analyze the information in this report and turn it into a digestible and interactive presentation to help me understand it.” These apps can leverage the capabilities of multiple chatbots, such as Meta’s Llama 3 and GPT-4o, and can incorporate information from uploaded files, including videos. Users can share the resulting apps via a link, making them easily accessible to others.
Previews share similarities with Anthropic’s Artifacts, which are dedicated workspaces for editing and adding to AI-generated content like code and documents. However, while Artifacts is limited to Anthropic’s models, Previews supports HTML output with CSS and JavaScript functionality. This flexibility allows for more complex and versatile app creation, with Quora promising additional features in the future.
Optimized for Programming Chatbots
Quora highlights that Previews work best with chatbots proficient in programming, such as Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4o, and Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro. This ensures that the interactive apps created are robust and functional.
To access the Previews feature, users need to subscribe to Poe’s premium plan, which costs $20 per month. Although I wasn’t able to test the feature personally, existing demos created by the Poe team demonstrate that it functions as advertised, showcasing simple yet effective interactive apps.
Controversy and Quora’s Response
The launch of Previews comes at a somewhat controversial time for Poe. A recent Wired investigation revealed that Poe allowed users to download paywalled articles from various news publications. Wired reported successfully obtaining stories from publishers like The New York Times and The Atlantic using Quora’s in-house Assistant chatbot. Quora has disputed these claims and maintains that it was not in the wrong.
Quora’s Poe is pushing the boundaries of chatbot capabilities with its new Previews feature, offering users the ability to create and share interactive web apps. Despite recent controversies, the platform continues to innovate, providing tools that enhance user interaction and functionality. As Quora pledges to add more features, Previews stands to become a significant asset for users seeking to leverage AI for creative and practical applications.
