Rabbit, the AI device maker behind the $200 r1 gadget, has launched “intern,” a powerful AI agent that works through web browsers to automate complex tasks like building websites, booking restaurants, and making purchases. The company is positioning itself as a serious competitor to upcoming AI hardware from Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, and Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief, having shipped over 100,000 r1 devices with continuous software improvements since its rocky 2024 launch.
The big picture: Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu believes the future lies in AI agents that understand context rather than traditional app-based interfaces, giving the company an advantage over tech giants trying to retrofit AI into existing systems.
What you should know: The r1 device has evolved significantly since its initial lukewarm reception, receiving over 30 software updates that added features like multi-language translation, custom voices, and a “teach mode” for website automation.
- The device maintains a sub-5% return rate across more than 100,000 units shipped, indicating customer satisfaction despite initial criticism.
- Unlike the Humane AI Pin, which quietly disappeared from sale, the r1 continues selling and receiving active development.
How intern works: The new AI agent operates through standard web browsers and can perform complex tasks that current AI assistants cannot handle.
- Users can ask intern to automate web-based actions like ordering Diet Coke from Amazon or booking restaurant reservations.
- The agent produces professionally formatted reports with colorful charts and graphs, going beyond simple text-based research tools.
- The first three tasks are free for new users with a registered rabbithole account.
What they’re saying: Lyu draws sharp distinctions between rabbit’s approach and competitors’ AI integration strategies.
- “You ask a question to Siri and it either decides it’s a dumb question it can answer or, if it’s too complex, it will go to its big brother, ChatGPT, but the answer you get back isn’t any different than if you’d just used the ChatGPT website,” he explained.
- On Apple Intelligence: “You’re trying to put a car engine on the back of a horse.”
- “An app’s job is to go from A to B. It doesn’t understand the context of why you want to go there or what you want to do next. Agents work in a fundamentally different way that can actually understand context.”
Competitive landscape: Rabbit faces increasing competition from major tech players but claims unique advantages in AI agent architecture.
- Jony Ive and Sam Altman are developing a screenless wearable AI device expected in 2026.
- While competitors remain tied to single AI providers, rabbit can leverage “the best part of whatever we can find” across different AI models.
- The company has built proprietary architecture that enables features like generative UI, allowing users to prompt the device to create interfaces in real-time.
Why this matters: Rabbit’s evolution from a criticized AI gadget to a platform for autonomous AI agents reflects broader shifts toward more contextual, task-oriented AI interactions that could reshape how we interact with technology beyond traditional app boundaries.
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