ChatGPT developer OpenAI offers a mobile app for its popular chatbot. But for now, the app supports only iOS, which means Android users are out of luck. Well, maybe not because there are a host of third-party AI chat apps available for Android users. 

Also: The best AI chatbots

With my four favorites–AI Chatbot Nova, Bing AI, ChatOn, and Genie — you can pose questions and requests, find information, and generate content. Here’s how they work.

1. AI Chatbot Nova

Powered by ChatGPT, AI Chatbot Nova is adept at answering a variety of questions as well as generating different types of content. The basic version of Nova is free and quite capable, though it restricts you to only three chats per day. For $4.99 a week or $39.99 a year, the app kicks in unlimited chat messages, more detailed answers, instant responses, a chat history, image-to-text OCR, and access to GPT-4.

Fire up the app, and the Explore screen suggests various categories and questions to get you started. Ask Nova for advice on places to visit, generate a poem or job listing, explain specific scientific theories, or recommend interesting books. Select the question you want to pose and you can then modify it before submitting it.

Back at the main screen, tap the Chat icon at the bottom. Tap in the Type here field. 

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You can now type any question or query you want or tap the Suggestions button to view suggested topics such as math problems, translation, coding, entertainment, fitness, mindfulness, or mental health.

Pick a specific topic and you can then modify the question. Submit it to receive the response.

Next, you can dictate your query to Nova. At the Chat screen, tap in the Type here field and then tap the microphone icon. Speak your question and then wait for the response.

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You’re also able to use text in a photo or other image to generate your query via OCR. At the message field, tap the camera icon. Tap the green shutter icon to snap a photo or tap the photos icon in the lower left and select an existing image from your library. Allow the app to capture the text and then submit the question.

After the response appears, you continue to chat with Nova. Tap the Share icon and you can share all of the text or just the last message. Further, tap the Explore icon to access the history of your chats. Select a specific chat to display it or delete it.

2. Bing AI

Microsoft’s free Bing AI chatbot is another solid third-party app for Android users. It’s powered by ChatGPT but also works like a traditional search engine with up-to-date information and results. Launch the app and tap the Bing icon to reach the chat screen. Microsoft suggests some questions and topics.

Also: 7 ways you didn’t know you can use Bing Chat and other AI chatbots

Here, you choose a conversation style — More Creative, More Balanced, or More Precise. Select one of the suggested questions to get started or type your own query in the Ask me anything field. Depending on your question, Bing uses online sources to generate its response, even citing those sources so you can check them on your own.

Based on the topic, Bing may suggest follow-up questions. Tap one of those questions to continue the conversation or come up with additional queries of your own.

To start a new topic, tap the icon to the left of the Ask me anything field. Next, you can dictate your query by tapping the microphone icon in the Ask me anything field and speaking.

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You can also create a query from text in a photo or image. For this, tap the icon to the left of the microphone icon. Tap the shutter button to take a photo; otherwise, tap the other icon to access your photo library. The image is then added to the Ask me anything field where you can submit it

To rename or delete a chat, tap the ellipsis icon at the top. Select Rename, type a new name for the chat, and then tap the check button. To remove the chat, tap the Delete button.

To view and manage your chat history, tap the icon in the upper left. Tap a specific chat to open it. You can then tap the ellipsis icon to rename or delete it.

3. ChatOn

Similar to Nova, ChatOn is able to generate any type of text from blog posts to articles to songs. But it can also answer an array of questions to provide the information you need. Plus, it kicks in a variety of special features, including text recognition, voice-to-text conversion, text-to-voice technology, and multi-language support.

The basic version is free and more than does the job. For $6.99 a week or $39.99 a year, a Pro edition grants you unlimited chat messages, more detailed answers, instant responses, a chat history, image-to-text OCR, and access to GPT-4. A three-day free trial lets you check out the Pro version before you plunk down any money.

Also: 5 ways to explore generative AI at work

Right off the bat, ChatOn tries to guide you by suggesting various categories and questions. You can request explanations of specific concepts, ask for advice, get travel tips, discuss philosophy, play games, have fun, generate content, and even tell ChatOn to engage in some roleplaying.

Choose one of the suggested questions to see how the app responds or use them to fashion your own queries.

With each response, you can copy and paste the text, listen to it spoken aloud, pin the answer so that it’s easily accessible, and share the text with someone else.

The app also presents specific types of tasks that it can carry out, such as writing job descriptions, creating a script for a video, sending someone a comforting message, solving a math equation, translating text into a different language, and analyzing computer code for bugs. Tap the icon at the bottom for Tasks for Al. Choose the tasks you want to submit. ChatOn will ask for more details and then provide a response.

To speak your question, tap the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen and dictate your words. To use a photo or other image with text as your query, tap the icon next to the message field. 

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Choose whether to open the camera to snap a photo or pick an existing image from the gallery. Tap the Recognize button to tell ChatOn to read the text in the image. Edit the text if necessary and then submit it as your query.

4. Genie

Another AI app powered by ChatGPT, Genie is skilled at answering questions and generating content. The free version limits you to 10 chats per day. For $7.99 a week or $44.99 a year (after a free three-day trial), the pro version offers unlimited chats, a higher word limit, and access to GPT-4.

After launching the app, tap the Chat icon at the bottom to ask any question you want. Otherwise, tap the Explorer icon to view a list of suggested categories through which you’re able to submit specific queries.

Genie’s true forte is creating content. From the Explore screen, you can ask it to generate advertisements, emails, social media posts, programming code, poems, stories, music lyrics, and more. Give Genie a topic for the content, and it will come up with an appropriate response.

Next, you can ask it to summarize an image, web page, or PDF file. To get a summary of an image, tap that option and then either snap a new photo or pick one from your local library or from Google Drive. 

Also: ChatGPT productivity hacks: Five ways to use chatbots to make your life easier

For a web page, type or copy and paste the URL in the displayed field. And for a PDF file, select a file from your device or from Google Drive.

Finally, tap the Recents icon at the bottom to view recent chats. For any chat, you can delete it or copy and paste your question and the response.

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