Bluesky Unlocks Personalized Feeds with Attie AI

The Bluesky team has unveiled a new application, this time an AI assistant rather than a social network. This innovative tool empowers users to design their own algorithms, create personalized feeds, and eventually, "vibe-code" their own applications.

The AI app, named Attie, was publicly introduced for the first time at the recent Atmosphere conference by Bluesky’s Chief Innovation Officer, Jay Graber (formerly CEO), and CTO Paul Frazee. Attendees of the conference will serve as the initial beta testers for this novel experience. Attie is built on Bluesky’s foundational AT Protocol (or atproto) and utilizes Anthropic’s Claude AI to create an agentic social application.

Interim CEO Toni Schneider clarified in an interview, "It’s a new product — it’s not a part of the Bluesky app." Schneider, also a partner at Bluesky investor True Ventures, added, "We’ve launched a lot of things inside Bluesky — Starter Packs and custom feeds, and all those kinds of things. This is a standalone product, and it’s the first one that’s built by Jay’s new team."

Attie allows anyone to construct custom feeds simply by inputting commands in natural language, much like interacting with a standard AI chatbot. Users will log in with their Atmosphere credentials, which apply to any app operating on atproto, including Bluesky. Leveraging the open nature of Bluesky and its broader ecosystem, Attie will immediately comprehend user discussions and preferences by sharing data across applications.

Users can query Attie for post recommendations they might enjoy or wish to repost, and the app facilitates the curation of highly personalized custom feeds.

Schneider emphasized the user-centric control, stating, "You control it, you shape it, without having to write code or know how to set up these feeds." He sees this as "the beginning of just having a lot more people be able to build on top of the Atmosphere."

Furthermore, he noted, "It is an AI product, but it’s an AI product that’s very people-focused … We think AI is a very powerful technology, but we want to make sure that we use it to build things that really benefit people."

Initially, Attie enables the creation and viewing of these custom feeds, which will subsequently be accessible within Bluesky or any other atproto application. The long-term vision includes empowering Attie users to "vibe-code" their own social apps and develop tools for others.

Schneider revealed that Graber and her team commenced work on Attie several months ago, coinciding with Graber's decision to transition from company operations back to product development.

"I think she realized that there was so much more that she wanted to build, and just doing the CEO job kept her busy, and she felt like she wanted more time," Schneider shared with TechCrunch. He continued, "As she spent more time, [and] got freed up, I think it became clear that this is her happy place. She’s an amazing leader and visionary, and we want her building more things and not worrying about operating the company."

Graber criticized the current application of AI by major platforms, arguing that it primarily serves their own interests—by increasing user engagement, harvesting data, and manipulating algorithms—rather than benefiting users.

In her announcement of Attie, Graber asserted, "We think AI should serve people, not platforms." She added, "An open protocol puts this power directly in users’ hands. You can use it to build your own feeds, create software that works the way you want it to, and find signal in the noise."

Graber's renewed focus on protocol and product development follows Bluesky's announcement of securing an additional $100 million in funding from a round that concluded last year. This capital infusion is intended to reassure the broader community of Bluesky's sustained presence and stability.

Schneider informed TechCrunch that this funding "means we have three-plus years of runway, which is great. That means stability and security for the rest of the ecosystem." He also highlighted that it provides Bluesky's team with the necessary time to address significant future challenges, such as implementing privacy controls within the protocol and formulating monetization strategies for its 43.4 million users.

However, Schneider firmly stated that crypto integration is not on the horizon, despite financial backing from several crypto investors. This assurance aims to alleviate concerns among some Bluesky users who feared the platform might become inundated with crypto scams or function as a payment tool.

Regarding Bluesky’s crypto-aligned backers, Schneider clarified, "It’s the kind of investors who were attracted to crypto because of its decentralization, and they were investing in things built on the blockchain that were super decentralized." He explained, "This is decentralized social, so it fits those who are invested to believe in the platform and the ecosystem opportunity."

Instead, the company plans to explore alternative monetization avenues. While a decision on whether Attie will eventually require a fee is pending—as it is currently in private beta—other concepts under consideration include subscriptions and hosting services for those wishing to establish their own communities on the protocol.

Schneider, who previously served as CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, drew a parallel between the potential of the Atmosphere and the success of WordPress.

He elaborated, "At the center of [the Atmosphere] is a completely open system, so anybody can participate. You can have all of these independent, decentralized pieces that work together. With WordPress, that turned into a huge ecosystem with billions of dollars — over $10 billion a year, now — flowing through it."

Schneider concluded, "So it’s gotten very big, even though it’s completely decentralized. And this is what we’re hoping for, for the Atmosphere to have that similar ability for lots of these apps and services to coexist and work together and build an ecosystem."