Nextdoor launches new ‘Assistant’ feature powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Neighborhood social network Nextdoor is introducing new features powered by generative AI, the company announced on Tuesday. Most notably, Nextdoor is launching a new “Assistant” feature that helps users on the app write better posts. The new Assistant feature, which is being tested with select users, is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The Assistant feature is designed to help users write posts that are more likely to drive positive community engagement. When writing a new post, users will start to see a revised suggestion that they can review and edit before finishing their post. Additionally, Assistant will suggest ways to rephrase potentially harmful comments to make the same point in a more friendly way.

“With ChatGPT launching in November, we saw an opportunity to train ChatGPT technology on top of our proprietary local knowledge to create something we think really helps users create a more engaging post,” Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar told TechCrunch in an interview. “We’re now giving you an assistant that says ‘Hey neighbor, would you like to rephrase or reword this post to have more neighbors comment and react to it.’ It’s able to help you create posts and ultimately engage your neighborhood.”