Instagram co-founders are back with Artifact, a text-based version of TikTok

Artifact is opening up its waitlist to the public today and plans to let users in quickly.

Where all social platforms are betting on video, Artifact is focused on text (Image: Artifact)

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Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have made a comeback with a new venture that delivers personalised news using artificial intelligence, according to a new report by The Verge. Called Artifact, the app uses machine learning to understand your interests and even lets you discuss articles with friends.

If you are questioning how the app stands out among the sea of personalised news apps like Feedly and Google News, then the easiest way to clear that up is by drawing a parallel between it and TikTok. Artifact aims to work similarly to the popular shortform video app (that’s banned in India), except it will serve up text instead of videos. It opens to a feed of popular articles chosen from a curated list of sources which include both large publications and small-scale blogs. To suggest more engaging material, Artifact will measure the time you spend reading an article and use that over populating your feed with articles with the most comments and views.

Similar to how algorithms work on other social apps, Artifact will get better at suggesting content more relevant to you with time. The report from The Verge also says that users part of the Artifact beta are testing two features expected to become core features of the app. One is a feed showing articles from users you follow along with their comments, while the second is a direct message inbox where you can discuss posts with friends.

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This isn’t the first time an app has pulled inspiration from TikTok’s massive success. The endless array of short colourful videos is designed to be an extremely addictive format – and it’s worked well as apparent from TikTok’s evergrowing userbase. Seeing this, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook have rushed to implement their own TikTok spin-offs on their platforms. However, where everyone else is focused on video, Artifact is betting on text.

Artifact has yet to commit to a business model, though, according to the report. Systrom says that advertising would be an obvious fit but he’s also interested in revenue-sharing deals with publishers. The news app will also try to combat fake news on its platform by removing individual posts.

Artifact is opening up its waitlist to the public today and plans to let users in quickly. All you need to register is input your phone number. The app will be available on both Android and iOS.