Duolingo is one of the first companies to integrate OpenAI’s GPT-4 AI model, launching a new subscription tier called Duolingo Max. Announced on the same day as GPT-4, Max utilises the new AI model’s capabilities — which is claimed to be faster and more accurate — in two new features that are aimed at making learning new languages easier.
Duolingo Max is being marketed as a tier above the current Super Duolingo subscription. While still offering the same benefits as Super such as unlimited hearts, unlimited Legendary challenges, no ads, and personalised reviews, Max also gives users access to its latest features using GPT-4: Explain My Answer and Roleplay.
Explain My Answer is for users to get more in-depth explanations about lessons, whether their answers were correct or incorrect. After finishing an exercise, users can enter a chat with the Duo AI to get an explanation as to why their answers were right or wrong, with the option to ask for examples or further clarification.
Roleplay lets users practice real-world conversations using the language that they are learning. Through the use of characters, learners can talk to these chatbots about everyday topics in different scenarios as if they were real people, with guides to assist them with the conversations.
While the Max tier sounds exciting, it is unfortunately only available for English speakers learning Spanish and French on iOS at launch, although it will be coming to Android and web in a few months. Moreover, the new tier is currently limited to Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.
The company said that humans are still partly involved in its AI-generated content, such as the scenarios in the Roleplay feature. Duolingo Max costs US$29.99 (~RM134) per month or US$167.90 (~RM752) per year, which is substantially more expensive than the Super tier.
