After Jesus chatbot, Utrecht-based Watermelon launches special AI agent dedicated to Pope Francis

Utrecht-based Watermelon, a startup specialised in AI chatbot solutions, announced the launch of a special AI agent — Pope Francis.

The announcement comes a couple of days after Pope Francis died at the age of 88. His funeral will be held on Saturday, according to a Reuters report.

Through WhatsApp, people can ask him questions about his life, the follow-up process in the Catholic Church and the Vatican, or other personal topics.

Previously, Watermelon developed a successful Jesus chatbot, with which tens of thousands of conversations have been held worldwide and are still being held daily.

Also, the company launched Kiesbot, an AI chatbot that facilitates vote choice for the House of Representatives elections, in 2023.

Agent Pope Francis

Currently, the Dutch startup is offering people the chance to engage in another conversation via AI, this time with Pope Francis.

The AI agent has been developed using thousands of public speeches, interviews and letters from the Pope. AI agent Pope Francis speaks multiple languages.

Alexander Wijninga, co-founder of Watermelon, says, ‘Globally, we saw a deep need for contact with spiritual role models, as evidenced by our Jesus chatbot. With AI agent Pope Francis, we keep his words and wisdom alive for anyone seeking comfort, hope, or direction.’

What makes this AI pope special is that it has facts and also reflects Pope Francis’s empathy and wisdom. It uses the same technology as ChatGPT.

You can ask questions anytime via WhatsApp at +31 85 130 0493 or www.appmetpausfranciscus.nl.

Watermelon: Chatbot management software

Founded by Alexander Wijninga and Charl Haas, Watermelon is a Dutch AI startup specialising in creating chatbot management software for businesses, allowing them to develop an AI-powered chatbot without programming it themselves. 

The primary goal behind this is to help companies save time and reduce their workload.

The Dutch company currently offers chatbots for services such as WhatsApp, Facebook chat, Instagram, or a website. However, the company aims to add more channels, including Microsoft Teams and Slack, for internal company communication.