Foursquare’s Founder Built an AI That Whispers About Your Neighborhood

Dennis Crowley just launched another location app. But this time, there are no check-ins or mayorships.

Instead, BeeBot talks directly into your ears. The app uses AI to deliver audio updates about nearby places, events, and friends as you move through your day. Think of it as a robot DJ for your neighborhood, minus the music requests.

Crowley says it captures the “same playful spirit” of original Foursquare. Yet the execution couldn’t be more different from the check-in craze he started 15 years ago.

Your AirPods Become a Location Awareness System

BeeBot activates automatically when you put in headphones. Take them out, and it goes silent.

While active, the app pushes brief audio snippets about your surroundings. These updates come from multiple sources. Friends using BeeBot can share their status. Local Substacks and newsletters provide neighborhood intel. The AI voice weaves it all together into contextual alerts.

You’ll need to grant location access and share some interest keywords. Plus, connecting your contacts lets BeeBot notify you when friends are nearby. That’s the tradeoff for getting updates that actually matter.

The app works with any headphones. But Crowley specifically designed it for AirPods and smart glasses like Meta’s Ray-Bans. Devices that people already wear throughout the day.

Location-Based AI and Real-Time Neighborhood Data

Multiple large language models run under the hood. Synthetic voices deliver the audio. A “TikTok-style algorithm” decides what to tell you.

But unlike TikTok’s endless scroll, BeeBot focuses exclusively on physical proximity. The algorithm prioritizes what’s happening around you right now, not what’s trending globally.

This selective approach matters. Otherwise, you’d get bombarded with audio interruptions all day. Crowley says the DJ only jumps in “occasionally.” Most users should expect just a couple updates during normal daily activities.

The app won’t interrupt phone calls. It might briefly pause your music or podcast to deliver an alert. Then your audio resumes automatically.

From Foursquare Check-ins to Ambient Audio Discovery

Crowley seems to be recreating the serendipity that made early Foursquare special. That feeling when you discovered a friend was at the coffee shop next door. Or learned about a hidden bar from someone who just checked in nearby.

BeeBot ditches the gamification entirely. No points. No badges. No competition for mayorships. Just information about your immediate surroundings delivered through audio.

The app draws inspiration from another Crowley project too. Remember Marsbot from 2016? That chat-based app proactively recommended restaurants based on your location and preferences. It lasted less than two years, but the core concept lives on in BeeBot.

Marsbot tried to be your personal food advisor. BeeBot expands that vision to cover everything happening around you. Events, landmarks, friend updates, local news. All filtered through AI and delivered as audio.

BeeBot Beta Limitations and Missing Features

Crowley launched BeeBot through his new company, Hopscotch Labs. He’s upfront about the app’s current state.

“Kind of where Foursquare was when it launched at SXSW in 2009,” he writes. That means interesting vision, decent execution, but rough around the edges.

The app needs user feedback to reach its potential. Early adopters will shape what BeeBot becomes. That’s exactly how Foursquare evolved too.

Original Foursquare shut down its city guide app earlier this year. The check-in app Swarm still exists for nostalgic users. Meanwhile, Crowley’s betting on a completely different approach for 2025.

Privacy Concerns with Always-On Location Tracking

Will people actually want AI voices in their ears all day?

Notification fatigue is real. Most of us already silence dozens of app alerts daily. Now Crowley wants to add audio interruptions to that mix. Even occasional ones.

The concept works if BeeBot’s updates feel genuinely useful. If the AI actually knows what you care about and when to speak up. But if it gets annoying fast, people will just turn it off permanently.

Success depends entirely on that algorithm’s ability to be helpful without being intrusive. That’s a incredibly narrow target to hit.

BeeBot is available now in the App Store. It’s free to try. Whether it evolves into the next big location app or becomes another Marsbot remains to be seen.

The technology certainly exists to make this work. Question is whether anyone wants their neighborhood narrated by AI.