New AI app browses websites, social media platforms on behalf of user

A startup has developed a new artificial intelligence application that browses websites and social media platforms on behalf of the user and sends them a text message if it finds something worth reading or viewing.

Noscroll has developed an AI agent designed to combat "doomscrolling" by browsing the internet on behalf of the user.

The company said the application works by scanning various websites and social media platforms based on your interests. Instead of you spending hours scrolling through feeds, the AI identifies content it deems "worth reading or viewing" and sends you a direct text message with the highlights or links.

The idea itself is fairly simple - it’s a bot that reads the web for you.

Nadav Hollander - previously the CTO at the NFT marketplace OpenSea after selling his decentralized finance startup to the company in 2022 - said he built Noscroll because he found himself in a love/hate relationship with X. He was taking time off after leaving his job at OpenSea, and spent a lot of time on the social platform.

"It’s phenomenally entertaining and really informative in ways you just don’t get from normal media,” Hollander told TechCrunch.

Hollander said he wanted to get off the app without missing out on the news and content. That inspired him to build Noscroll, which launched just a couple of days ago to the public.

To get started with the service, you just text the Noscroll AI agent directly and it sends you a link to connect your X account to the service. This authentication provides Noscroll with information about your likes, bookmarks, and the accounts and posts you follow.

The bot uses a variety of off-the-shelf AI models running on the company’s own proprietary infrastructure. The models have been customized with a lot of prompting, so the bot has its own unique voice and communication style.

You can chat with the AI agent in natural language, telling it what sort of news or topics you want to keep up with, as well as what you don’t care about. It will then prepare a sample digest.

WAM