Foursquare Founder’s New AI App: Your Neighborhood DJ for Updates

The Foursquare Founder’s New App is an AI-Powered ‘DJ’ for Neighborhood Updates

Dennis Crowley, the founder of Foursquare, has launched his latest location-based social app called “BeeBot,” revolutionizing the way we receive neighborhood updates. Unlike the check-ins that made Foursquare famous over 15 years ago, BeeBot serves as an AI-powered “DJ,” delivering real-time audio updates directly to your headphones as you navigate your day.

Crowley envisions BeeBot as an essential app for AirPods, although it’s compatible with various headphones and smart glasses. “Whenever you put your AirPods in, it turns on,” he explains in a Medium post, emphasizing how it provides snippets of audio about nearby people, places, and events the moment you start your listening journey.

To personalize updates, users must grant location access and share keywords related to their interests. Users can even connect with friends using the app to receive updates about social gatherings. This feature aims to recreate the spontaneous social interactions that were a hallmark of Foursquare, albeit without the gamification elements of mayorships and badges.

BeeBot’s AI technology includes a variety of large language models and synthetic voices, operated by a TikTok-style algorithm specifically focused on real-world events in your vicinity. Drawing on local newsletters and Substacks, BeeBot aims to inform you about happenings that could spark your curiosity, even delivering quick audio updates amidst your favorite tunes or podcasts—though not interrupting crucial calls.

Currently available in the App Store, BeeBot, crafted by Crowley’s new venture Hopscotch Labs, is still evolving. Crowley reflects on the early stages of Foursquare’s launch, suggesting that BeeBot too will develop with user interactions as integral to its growth.

Do you think BeeBot will change how we engage with our neighborhoods? Share your thoughts in the comments below!