What is You.com?

Introducing: Personalization

You.com is an AI-powered platform designed to improve your productivity and search capabilities. It’s a personalized assistant that uses advanced artificial intelligence to tailor search results, manage tasks, and streamline workflows.

You.com was founded in 2020 by Richard Socher and Bryan McCann. Socher and McCann previously worked at Salesforce, with Socher as the Chief Scientist and McCann as the Lead Research Scientist.

An AI-Driven Approach to Search

Socher and McCann saw a problem with how we search the web and decided to fix it. Rather than regurgitate links like other search engines, You.com uses AI to analyze context and provide more meaningful, personalized results.

For example, if you use You.com to find a recipe, you’ll get a smorgasbord of information, including recipes, videos, and nutrition facts, all on one page. You.com’s search results are much more personalized, organized, and comprehensive than a list of links.

You.com vs. Traditional Search Engines

Unlike traditional search engines, You.com is not just about giving answers. Its mission is to help you be more productive and get things done.

They have AI Modes (Smart, Genius, Research, and Create) that handle prompt engineering for you. They simplify finding the best answers, visualizing data, and creating content.

You.com is also committed to privacy and giving you control over your data preferences. Traditional search engines monetize through advertising based on your data, while You.com prioritizes a secure experience that respects your privacy.

Mission & Vision

Looking ahead, You.com has some pretty lofty goals. They're not just trying to be another search engine. They want to revolutionize how we interact with information online.

You.com is constantly adding new features and improving its AI. Who knows? Maybe one day, we'll look back and wonder how we managed without it.

Who is You.com Best For?

You.com best suits those who value personalized search experiences, privacy, and advanced AI functionalities. Here’s a breakdown of who can benefit most from You.com:

• Researchers: People needing in-depth research, analysis, and problem-solving will find You.com invaluable for complex queries in marketing, finance, and academia.
• Privacy-Conscious Users: Those who prioritize privacy will appreciate You.com's data security and control, offering a safer alternative to traditional search engines.
• Content Creators: Writers and bloggers can generate original images and text using AI Modes.
• Students: You.com’s comprehensive, contextual search results help students find reliable data and insights across various topics.
• Marketers: Use You.com to optimize keywords for content, generate content that aligns with your brand voice, and elevate your writing with the Ghostwriter.
• Sales Teams: Sales professionals can gather information on prospects and industries and prepare better for client meetings. They can also invite each other to collaborate.
• Engineers: Debug code, compare LLM responses, create Python unit tests, and summarize research papers.
• Brand Strategists: You.com's AI tools and brainstorming strategies can be used for market research, competitor analysis, and trend identification. Brand strategists can also brainstorm product names and create strategies for those products.
• Data Analysts: Use AI to gather, interpret, and analyze complex data sets to identify patterns and trends.
• Business Owners: You.com allows businesses to create AI Agents tailored to their unique needs. These agents help improve team collaboration, streamline operations, and boost productivity with advanced insights and data analysis.

You.com Key Features

Here are You.com’s key features:

• Personalized Search: You.com offers tailored search results based on your preferences for the most relevant search results.
• Privacy-Focused Approach: You.com prioritizes privacy with strict data security and encryption to give you control over your personal information. You can also turn on “Private mode,” so chats are not saved to the history.
• AI Modes: Switch between different AI modes to optimize results for various tasks, such as research, content creation, or problem-solving.
• Custom Assistants: Create custom AI agents to handle specific tasks and streamline your workflow.
• Latest LLM Integration: You.com integrates with the latest large language models, often on the same day they are released.
• Networking and Community: Connect and collaborate with the You.com community on Discord.

How to Use You.com

Here’s how I used You.com to create an account, conduct research, and create a custom agent.

You.com has a very clean interface and a very straightforward process. If you’ve used other LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity, you should be able to get the hang of You.com in no time.

1. Create a You.com Account
2. Adjust Your Settings
3. Type in a Search Query
4. Create a Custom Agent

Step 1: Create a You.com Account

I started by going to You.com. As soon as the page loaded, I was asked to create an account.

Once my account was created, I was welcomed by the You.com homepage! The homepage is similar to LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.

Step 2: Adjust Your Settings

You might feel tempted to start asking You queries, but adjusting the settings to suit your preferences is important.

Select your Avatar on the bottom left to access your Settings on You.com.

These settings allow you to manage your subscriptions and invite others to collaborate, among other general settings. I want to highlight the “User Preferences” settings.

To get the AI to generate responses tailored to you, go to “Chat” and select “Configure Personalization.” You can also turn on Private mode here so the chats are not saved in your history.

A window will open where you can add information about yourself for more personalized responses from the AI.

Under “User Preferences,” you can also select “Web Search,” where you can manage explicit search results, set the region for your results, and choose the recency of your results.

Step 3: Type in a Search Query

At the bottom, I could ask You.com anything by typing a search query. I could also hit “More” to choose from 20+ models. You’ll want to be as specific as possible for the best responses.

In the middle were the AI Modes. These modes were organized into the following categories:

• Featured:
  • Research: Specify a topic you'd like to analyze in detail.
  • Creative: Explain the visual or graphic you're envisioning.
  • Genius: Address multi-step problems with coding solutions.
• Marketing:
  • SEO Content Crafter: Optimize keywords.
  • Brand Voice: Generate content that matches your brand’s voice.
  • Ghostwriter: Enhance your content quality.
• Sales:
  • Sales Emailer: Generate a tailored company email in seconds.
  • Company Profiler: Access key information about a company.
  • Meeting Summarizer: Organize your meeting notes.
• Engineering:
  • LLM Answer Comparer: Compare LLM responses.
  • Unit Test Creator: Generate unit tests for functions and components.
  • Research Paper Pro: Upload and condense the key points of a research paper.
• Product:
  • Product Namer: Come up with product name ideas.
  • Product Strategist: Develop a detailed product strategy.
  • Agent Prompt Pro: Create effective Custom Agent prompts.
• Data Analysis:
  • SQL Generator: Generate SQL from natural language.
  • Python Functions: Write Python function code using natural language.
  • SQL Optimizer: Improve SQL query performance for MSSQL and PostgreSQL.
• Finance:
  • Procurement Helper: Compare products.
  • Company Profiler: Gather essential details about a specific company.
  • 10-K Reader: Upload and summarize a 10-K.

Each mode focused on a specific task, making it easier to accomplish what I needed.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to ask You.com, so I selected “Research” and one of the suggested prompts: “Explain the Big Bang Theory.”

You.com instantly generated an explanation of The Big Bang Theory with sources, images, videos, and news! On the left panel was my chat history, where I could access my past chats, resume conversations, delete conversations, or start new ones by selecting “New Chat.”

Compared to traditional search methods like Google, this was a much more easily accessible and visually appealing way to learn about complex topics like The Big Bang Theory. I was happy to see citations alongside the sources for reference!

Step 4: Create a Custom Agent

I could also create my own custom agent for tasks tailored to my specific needs by going back to the homepage and selecting the “Build your own” option.

I could choose the base AI model, name, tagline, and view access. Additionally, I could decide whether or not I wanted the AI to access the Internet for real time information from the web, include custom personalization, or include follow-up questions.

That’s my crash course on using You.com! The AI Modes can feel a bit overwhelming at first, but overall, they’re pretty simple.

Integrating You.com into your daily workflow might take some getting used to. But stick with it, and you'll start to see the benefits.

I've found it particularly useful for research. The way it organizes information makes it easier to get a comprehensive view of a topic without jumping between a million tabs! It might initially feel overwhelming, but before you know it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Top 3 You.com Alternatives

Here are the best You.com alternatives I've tried and recommend you consider.

Perplexity

What is Perplexity Copilot?

The first You.com alternative I’d recommend is Perplexity. I’ve been using Perplexity for a while now, and it makes complex research easy by giving me accurate, comprehensive answers without ads.

Despite not always being correct, Perplexity is still great for research because it aggregates information from various sources for a well-rounded answer to my queries. It helps save time and effort by compiling relevant information in one place.

Perplexity and You.com offer personalized AI-powered search experiences and prioritize privacy, making them great for secure browsing users. However, Perplexity stands out for its simplicity and clean interface.

Perplexity allows for more focused research without overwhelming you with options. It keeps things simpler with two search options: Quick Search and Pro Search. Meanwhile, You.com has AI Modes that simplify research, content creation, debugging code, and image creation.

You.com also offers more customization with its ability to create custom AI agents and handle complex workflows. At the same time, Perplexity’s strength lies in its ability to provide concise, real-time information quickly, with fewer distractions.

If you’re looking for detailed AI-powered productivity, You.com is a great choice! Meanwhile, Perplexity is perfect for streamlined research with reliable sources on a simple interface.