To get mad officially released SquatchBot, the brainchild of a mad scientist that combines the legend of Sasquatch folklore with the power of artificial intelligence. The furry chatbot is live on the GoWild social media app and is actively helping thousands of outdoor enthusiasts.
GoWild, a social gear shop for anglers and hunters, has a feature that allows members to ask questions of the community. This feature uses the platform’s algorithm to find other members who are knowledgeable about the topic of the question. With the addition of AI chatbot, members get immediate response to their SquatchBot questions. Members can also ask SquatchBot questions via direct message.
GoWild quietly launched a beta version of SquatchBot in early December 2022. The company monitored and refined the bot for several months, fine-tuning its responses to be more accurate. The product is now available to everyone on the app and is actively training on the content it creates as well as historical content.
SquatchBot creator and GoWild co-founder, Director of Development Chris Gleim predicts that SquatchBot will make hunting forums and Facebook groups obsolete when it comes to Q&A.
“When you ask redundant questions on Facebook forums or groups, one of two things usually happens,” Gleim said. “Either they scold you for asking something that has already been asked, or they ignore you because people get tired of answering the same questions. SquatchBot never tires of helping and is constantly digesting historical content to make it smarter.”
Gleim and a small team within GoWild created proprietary tools to automate SquatchBot training, which consists of both human reviews of content and the creation of automated feedback loops.
“As the community interacts with your content, such as upvoting your comments, we learn which responses were helpful and which weren’t,” Gleim said. “This is helping us build an AI mentor who has digested years of content out in the open online and is now learning from the experts in our community.”
Over the past few weeks, SquatchBot has provided great advice in hundreds of posts:
• SquatchBot recommended 5 books on bird dog training to a member with a 6 month old pup.
• Broken down the main differences between fixed and mechanical broadheads for a new archer.
• When someone said they had a mink eating their chicks, SquatchBot gave a list of tips for catching live mink.
• Recommended a Jetboil Instant Cooker System for backcountry hunting due to its light weight and efficiency.
• SquatchBot helped a member who was tanning a hide and trying to decide whether or not to tan his hide. The bot provided specific examples of when to pickle.
• Gave a list of tips on how to train a member’s dog to shed.
• SquatchBot helped someone traveling through Lexington, Ky. find half a dozen fishing lakes within easy reach.
To try out SquatchBot, download GoWild for iPhone or Android and create an account. Tap + in the bottom menu, then toggle “Mark my post as a question” or you can message him directly by searching for his account.