Foursquare Founder Launches BeeBot, an AI‑Powered Audio Companion for On‑the‑Go Updates

Dennis Crowley, the co‑founder of Foursquare, has introduced BeeBot, an AI‑driven app that delivers contextual audio snippets about people, places and events as users move through their day. Designed to work with AirPods, other headphones and even smart glasses, BeeBot activates when users put on their audio device and deactivates when they remove it. By combining location data with user‑specified interests and contacts, the app’s AI "DJ" provides personalized, on‑demand updates while minimizing interruptions to music, podcasts or calls. BeeBot marks Crowley’s latest venture under Hopscotch Labs, aiming to revive the playful spirit of early Foursquare in a modern, AI‑enhanced format.

Overview

Dennis Crowley, best known for co‑founding the location‑based social platform Foursquare, has unveiled his newest project: BeeBot. The app is positioned as an "app for AirPods" but is compatible with any headphones and even smart glasses that support audio, such as Meta’s. When users insert their AirPods, BeeBot automatically turns on; removing the AirPods switches it off. This seamless activation model allows the AI‑powered "DJ" to deliver short audio updates about nearby people, places and events without requiring manual interaction.

How BeeBot Works

BeeBot relies on three core data inputs: the user’s real‑time location, a set of personal interest keywords, and optional contact sharing. Users grant the app access to their location and specify topics they care about, ranging from local news to favorite hobbies. If they choose to share contacts, the app can pull updates from friends who are also using BeeBot, creating a social layer of real‑world notifications. The AI "DJ" then synthesizes these inputs, pulling from local Substacks, newsletters and other online sources, to generate concise audio snippets that play through the user’s headphones.

Features and User Experience

BeeBot’s audio cues are designed to be unobtrusive. The app may briefly interrupt music or podcasts to deliver an update, but such interruptions are limited to a few times per day. Calls, whether voice or video, are never disrupted. The AI voice behind the DJ combines multiple large language models and synthetic voices, delivering a tone that feels both informative and conversational. Unlike early Foursquare, BeeBot does not include gamified elements such as mayorships or badges; instead, it focuses on providing real‑time, context‑aware information that mirrors the serendipitous social interactions that originally defined Foursquare.

Launch and Vision

BeeBot is the inaugural product of Hopscotch Labs, the new company Crowley founded to explore next‑generation social experiences. The app is currently available in the App Store and is described by Crowley as a "very much a work in progress." He likens its current state to Foursquare’s launch at SXSW in 2009—a compelling vision executed well enough to invite user feedback and iterative improvement. By integrating a TikTok‑style algorithm that emphasizes nearby, real‑world activity, BeeBot aims to blend the immediacy of audio with the personalization of AI, offering a fresh way for users to stay informed about their surroundings.

Potential Impact

BeeBot seeks to revitalize the playful and exploratory spirit of early location‑based social networking while leveraging modern AI capabilities. By delivering audio updates directly to users’ ears, it creates a hands‑free, context‑rich experience that could reshape how people discover local events, receive friend updates and consume neighborhood news. Whether it will achieve widespread adoption remains to be seen, but its blend of familiar location‑based concepts with cutting‑edge AI suggests a promising direction for the next evolution of social apps.