When ChatGPT first arrived on the scene, we were all awestruck by its capabilities and couldn't wait to go to the website and try it out. But soon, the allure faded. Now, going to the website or the app for a chatbot seems like such a chore. We wish that AI could assist us wherever we are. On desktop browsers, it's become relatively easy with browser extensions or inbuilt browser assistants like Copilot in Microsoft Edge. But on our phones? Well, you can use an app like Sider!

What is Sider? Sider is an AI assistant app that provides access to various chatbots – ChatGPT-3.5/4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet/ Haiku, Gemini 1.5 Flash/Pro, and Llama 3 – all in one place. You can use it as a desktop app on Windows and Mac, as a Chrome extension on your desktop browser, or as an app on your iPhone (the app is also available in Play Store on Android but it seems it hasn't been updated in over a year so doesn't offer all the latest models like its counterparts).

But what I like about it most on the iPhone is that you can access it anywhere on your iPhone with the ChatScreen shortcut.

How does it work? You can sign up for Sider for free. When you use ChatScreen to chat with the contents of the screen, it sends a screenshot to the Sider app which you can then chat with using your chosen model. With the free account, you get 30 free text queries, 20 image queries, and 10 PDF queries. You can also select Sider Fusion as your default model which automatically selects the most efficient and fast model for the task at hand. For free users, ChatGPT-3.5, Claude Haiku, Gemini 1.5 Flash, and Llama 3 are available.

For more queries and access to the rest of the models, you'll need to upgrade. It offers three paid subscriptions: Basic ($9.99/month), Pro ($19.99/month), and Unlimited ($39.99/month). Let's see how you can set it up.

Install Sider and Set Up ChatScreen

  1. Go to the App Store on your iPhone, search for Sider, and install it if you don't have the app. If you do have the app already, make sure it's updated to the latest version.
  2. Now, open the app, tap on 'Next' on the onboarding screens, and get started with the app.
  1. Create an account using your Google or Apple account to access the app.
  2. You'll reach the Home screen for the app with the option to enable the shortcut right there. Tap on 'Initiate now' to get started.
  1. If you don't see it, tap on the 'Profile' icon at the bottom left of the screen.
  2. Next, tap on 'ChatScreen'.
  1. Then, tap on the 'Add ChatScreen Shortcut' option.
  2. It will open in the Shortcuts app. Tap on 'Add Shortcut' to proceed.
  3. The ChatScreen shortcut will be added.

Now, you need to assign it to the back tap to easily run it anywhere.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Then, go to Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. You can also use the search bar to search for 'Back Tap'.
  3. Now, select one of the options from 'Double Tap' or 'Triple Tap'.
  4. Then, select 'ChatScreen Shortcut' from the options.

If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you can also assign the shortcut to the Action Button.

Using the Shortcut

  1. Now, when you want to get AI assistance anywhere, whether you're on a webpage or elsewhere, simply double/ triple tap the back of your screen.
  2. The first time, you will need to give it certain permissions. Tap on 'Always Allow' if you don't want the hassle of dealing with permissions every time.
  3. After that, another permission pop-up might appear for sharing the 'localhost' URL with the shortcut. Again, tap on 'Always allow'.
  1. The Sider AI will appear. Use one of the pre-defined prompts like 'Translate', 'Analyze', 'Share', or type your request to the AI.
  2. You can also change the AI model by tapping the current model icon in the bottom-right, which by default is 'Sider Fusion'.

Sider is a great app by itself which gives you access to myriad LLM models. But with the ChatScreen shortcut on iPhone, it is a great tool to have in your arsenal so you can interact with AI anytime, anywhere.