Brave, a privacy-focused web browser that automatically blocks unwanted ads and trackers, has launched an AI assistant called Leo.
The company claims that the AI assistant provides unparalleled privacy protection compared to some other AI-powered chatbot services.
After months of testing, Leo is now available for free to all PC users with version 1.60 of the Brave web browser.
In the coming months, the company plans to launch Leo for Android and iOS users.
The core functionality of the Leo chatbot isn't much different from other AI-powered chatbots like Bing Chat and Google Bard: it can translate, answer questions, summarize web pages, and create new content.
Brave points out that Leo's advantage over these products is that it fits the company's focus on privacy, as it doesn't record conversations with a chatbot, isn't used to train AI models, and doesn't require credentials to use.
The company says Liu's results should be taken with caution due to potential inaccuracies or errors, as is the case with other AI-powered chatbots.
The standard edition of Leo uses Meta's Llama 2 language model and is free by default.
For users who prefer to use another large language model for AI, Brave offers Leo Premium, a $15 per month subscription based on the large language model Claude 2, which powers Anthropic's Claude Instant AI assistant.
"AI is a powerful tool, and although it raises increasing privacy concerns, it remains essential. There is still a need for a privacy-focused solution." Connecting AI to user privacy to... “Our users benefit from the security and personal assistance provided by AI while browsing the web.”
The company explains that Leo Premium users will have access to additional modes, including access to high-quality chats, priority queuing during peak usage, higher price caps and early access to new features.