Financial Times unveils AI chatbot trained on its own articles
British business newspaper Financial Times has unveiled its own AI-powered chatbot, Ask FT, which is engineered to respond to queries from its subscribers. This chatbot functions similarly to other general-purpose AI bots such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini. However, Ask FT sets itself apart by generating responses from the outlet's comprehensive archive of published content, avoiding reliance on sources that are complex to interpret or legally contentious.
Ask FT accessible to select premium subscribers
At present, Ask FT is accessible to several hundred premium subscribers within the FT Professional tier, which is primarily targeted at business professionals and institutions. The chatbot is driven by Claude, a sophisticated language model developed by Anthropic. Yet, as Lindsey Jayne, FT's chief product officer manager, points out, the outlet remains 'model agnostic' and is open to exploring other models that best suit their requirements.
Abilities and performance of the chatbot
Ask FT is capable of providing responses on a wide range of topics, from current affairs to broader inquiries about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency. It extracts pertinent information from the FT's archives and presents it with references. For example, when queried about YouTube's origin, it accurately responded that Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim established it in February 2005.
Rigorous testing and user feedback for Ask FT
FT has carried out rigorous internal testing to fine-tune the model's instruction and code structure. They are meticulously tracking every question and response from the initial group of 500 users while also gathering user feedback. However, there have been instances of inconsistencies in some answers provided by Ask FT, such as erroneously listing Nikki Haley as a current candidate for the 2024 US presidential election despite her withdrawal from the race.
It continues to be in beta for further assessment
At the moment, the chatbot remains in beta as FT persists with its testing and assessment. Jayne underscored the significance of evolution and adaptation for the 135-year-old institution, warning against hastily jumping on the bandwagon without thoughtful deliberation. This approach mirrors FT's dedication to ensuring that its AI technology meets high standards and effectively serves the subscribers.