Advertisement

Duolingo launches new subscription tier with access to AI tutor powered by GPT-4

Duolingo is introducing a new "Max" subscription tier with features powered by OpenAI's new GPT-4 technology, the company announced on Tuesday. Duolingo Max, which costs $29.99 per month or $167.99 per year, unlocks two new AI-powered features called "Roleplay" and "Explain My Answer." The announcement comes the same day that OpenAI released its next-generation GPT-4 AI language model.

The Roleplay feature unlocks an AI chatbot that allows users to practice real-world conversation skills with characters in the app. Users will be chatting with an AI that is both responsive and interactive, thanks to GPT-4. The feature guides users through different scenarios. For instance, you can pretend to order coffee at a café in Paris or discuss future vacation plans with a certain character in the app. After users are done with the conversation, they will get AI-powered feedback on the accuracy and complexity of their responses, as well as tips for future conversations.

Duolingo's new roleplay feature powered by GPT-4
Duolingo's new roleplay feature powered by GPT-4

Image Credits: Duolingo

ADVERTISEMENT

Duolingo says human experts write the scenarios that users see in Roleplay, and that they make sure the initial prompt is aligned with where the user is in their course. The experts also write the initial message in the chat and tell the AI model where to take the conversation.

The Explain My Answer feature gives users the chance to learn more about their response in a lesson, whether their answer was correct or incorrect. Users can tap a button after certain exercises to enter a chat with Duo to get an explanation on why their answer was right or wrong, and ask for examples or further clarification. The company says the feature is designed to help you when you make a mistake and are unsure what the right answer would be. The feature can also help in instances where you keep making the same mistake again and you're not sure why.

The only courses that can utilize these two new features are Spanish and French for English speakers on iOS. The company plans to roll out the new features to more courses and platforms soon.