Bluesky's AI assistant Attie adds research tool for social network data

Attie, Bluesky's AI assistant that debuted in March, is evolving beyond a tool for building custom social feeds. This week, Bluesky announced a new Quests feature that transforms Attie into an open-ended research tool for the social network.

Quests allows users to ask Attie open-ended questions about information and news spreading across Bluesky and other apps built on the AT Protocol—the open standard underlying Bluesky's platform and any application that integrates with it. Users can pose questions like "What's trending right now?" or ask Attie to identify the most influential accounts in a particular field or location. Bluesky's chief innovation officer Jay Graber, who stepped down from her CEO role in March and was replaced by Toni Schneider (the former founding CEO of Automattic), explained the vision in a statement: "Attie's AI is a tool that helps you make sense of the internet, helping you fight back against the proliferation of misinformation and noise by giving you the tools to find the truth yourself." She added that the company wants "Attie to reduce the barrier to entry and expertise required to learn how to use the AT Protocol, and to put the tools for customizing your experience in the hands of anyone who wants them."

The expansion comes as Bluesky's growth has moderated. The social network saw its user base double to 40 million last October, within just a year, but it now reports around 45.6 million registered accounts. The company is actively exploring ways to grow that base and generate revenue, making product initiatives like Attie central to its strategy. While Attie is currently free, Bluesky has considered charging for the service in the future. Graber noted that Attie is undergoing a redesign to add accessibility features and a new logo, with further changes planned for the coming months. The new Attie experience is in beta; users will be invited from a waitlist over the coming weeks. Bluesky's $100 million（約160億円） funding round, which closed in 2025, provides runway to continue experimenting with AI tools and other revenue-generating services like premium subscriptions and tools for power users.

Bluesky's expansion of Attie into a research tool reflects the company's shifting priorities as its growth trajectory slows. After doubling its user base to 40 million within a year by last October, the company now reports around 45.6 million registered accounts—a marked deceleration. Rather than relying solely on user acquisition, Bluesky is developing AI-driven products that could both improve user engagement and create new revenue streams.

Attie itself, which launched in March, represents a departure from Bluesky's original positioning: the AI assistant lets users design custom feeds and algorithms without coding, positioning Bluesky's open social platform as a tool for discovery and sense-making rather than passive consumption. The addition of Quests extends this vision, allowing users to investigate patterns and influence across the AT Protocol ecosystem—a broader network that extends beyond Bluesky itself to any app built on its underlying protocol. Bluesky's chief innovation officer Jay Graber framed this approach as a tool to "fight back against the proliferation of misinformation and noise," suggesting the company is positioning Attie as a counterweight to algorithmic confusion rather than a content-discovery engine in the traditional sense.

The company's $100 million（約160億円） funding round, which closed in 2025, provides financial runway to pursue these experimental services. However, Bluesky faces a tension between its community's stated skepticism of AI—many users joined partly to escape algorithmically-driven platforms—and its need to monetize in order to sustain both its own operations and the AT Protocol development it leads.