Logitech's booked a seat on the AI hype train with its new AI Prompt Builder and forthcoming AI button-enabled mouse
ChatGPT at the press of a button might not sound all that impressive, but it's surprisingly quite good.
It's the year of the AI PC, don't you know? So that means every tech vendor is getting in on the machine learning hype train, including peripherals maestro Logitech with a new feature in its Logi Options+ app. Creatively titled AI Prompt Builder, it fires up a little ChatGPT window at the press of a button, allowing you to rephrase or summarise blocks of text, along with some other actions. And if your current Logitech mouse isn't one that the system recognises, then don't worry—at least one new model will sport a soon-to-be-ubiquitous AI button.
I'll confess to being rather partial to Logitech's mice, namely the MX Master series and my current choice of rodent, the MX Vertical. However, I've never bothered to dig into what the Logi Options+ app has to offer, mostly because it's never really had anything worth digging into. That could well change with the introduction of the AI Prompt Builder feature in the latest 1.7 version of the software, which was released today (via The Verge).
Essentially, it's a simplified interface for using ChatGPT 3.5, or if you have a Pro account with OpenAI, ChatGPT 4. By default, the system offers the choice of rephrasing or summarising a body of text, along with the ability to generate a reply to something or create a new email. That's no different to the numerous other AI systems that are starting to embed themselves into every aspect of a modern PC, but at least it's very unintrusive.
During the AI Prompt Builder setup process, you're forced to assign the tool to one of the buttons on your Logitech mouse. Not all models will let you do this, but I had no issues with my MX Vertical and I chose the 'cursor speed' switch on the top of the mouse, as it never gets used. I have to say that it all worked rather nicely, though if you've ever used ChatGPT before, you'll know exactly what to expect concerning the responses it generates (i.e. it's pretty variable in terms of quality and accuracy).
If you like this idea and don't have a mouse with a suitable button, then fret not as Logitech is launching at least one mouse that does—the Signature AI Edition M750 wireless. At $50/£55, it seems a tad pricey for an ordinary mouse with a pre-configured button to launch AI Prompt Builder when its Signature M650 model is $10/£10 cheaper.
The software feature is pretty nice, with a clean and relatively minimal interface, and for those users who use ChatGPT a lot, it's a great way to quickly jump into the system whenever you need it. On the other hand, shoehorning one more button onto a standard mouse and charging you an extra 10 notes for the privilege is a bit cheeky, in my opinion.
At the moment, we're in the calm before the storm, and it won't be long before there's an absolute flood of AI-buttoned mice, keyboards, gamepads, headsets, and other peripherals all offering the same feature. Because it's the year of the AI PC, in case you weren't aware.