How to use You.com for beginners

Introduction to You.com

You.com is an AI assistant and search engine designed to provide a more personalized, private, and productive search experience compared to traditional search engines like Google. It offers various features and tools to help users find information, complete tasks, and explore new ideas.

A short background of You.com

You.com initially launched as a personalization-focused search engine, but it has since transformed into a chat-first AI assistant, while still offering web search capabilities. This strategic transition was designed to set it apart from major players like Google and Bing.

This evolution has propelled You.com to the forefront of the AI-powered search engine industry. Its emphasis on personalization, security, and innovative features has earned it significant recognition, including being named TIME’s Best Invention of 2022. As You.com continues to grow, it’s expected to further enhance its AI capabilities, improving user experience and strengthening its standing in the competitive search engine market.

Getting started with You.com

Getting started with You.com is straightforward, thanks to its user-friendly website. Here are the steps to begin using this innovative AI assistant:

1. Visit You.com: Open your web browser and go to You.com.
2. Create an Account: While you can use You.com without an account, creating one allows for a customized search experience. Click “Sign Up” and follow the instructions to create an account.
3. Conduct Your First Search: Enter your queries in the search bar on the homepage. You.com will give you responses based on various sources, including web pages, news articles, and other sources across the web.
4. Set Preferences: Once you have an account, go to your profile and click personalization to help the AI provide answers better suited to you. This step is optional but can be beneficial if you prefer customized responses from the AI.

Search types and modes

You.com offers several search types and modes (also known as Assistants) to meet the needs and goals of every user, and to help you find information and accomplish tasks with ease.

• Smart Mode: Uses natural language processing to give direct answers, like a chatbot. It’s great for quickly completing logical tasks, creating content, checking the news, and finding web results. This is the most popular mode and offers search results based on your preferences.
• Genius Mode: For complex multi-step challenges, Genius Assistant combines advanced tools like code execution, image generation, comprehensive searching, data visualization, and conversational flexibility. It also allows for file uploads (PDFs, text, images, etc.).
• Research Mode: Ideal for creating analyses and comparisons with extensive citations. This mode is perfect for in-depth analysis and exploring specific topics thoroughly.
• Create Mode: Allows you to transform any prompt into a stunning AI image with unlimited styles without using input commands like “draw” or “create.”

To access more modes, click the “More” button in the search bar and select the desired option from the dropdown menu. If you don’t find the AI assistant you desire, you can click “add new” to create a personalized assistant.

Selecting AI models in You.com

You.com offers multiple enhanced models, including popular ones like Gemini, Llama, Claude, and GPT models. This makes it easy to evaluate each model’s capabilities without needing multiple platforms or subscriptions.

To access different AI models, follow these steps:

1. Go to the homepage or start a new chat. If you’re on desktop, you can press Ctrl + K to bring up the prompt form.
2. Click on the “More” button on the right. You will see a list of AI Assistants at the top of the menu and a list of enhanced AI models below.
3. Choose your desired model from this list to chat with it. You can change your selection anytime by repeating these steps.

Note that models are a premium feature, but free users can access them with daily request limitations (currently 3 premium requests per day). Once you reach the limit, you can only use the “smart” assistant.

Providing feedback and reporting issues

If you encounter any issues or have feedback about You.com, you can get in touch with them in a few ways:

• Feedback Form: Access the feedback form by visiting the contact us page on home.you.com or clicking on the Contact Support link in the website footer.
• Email: Send feedback via email to [email protected], for support use [email protected]. Be specific about the problem you encountered and include relevant details, such as the search query you used or any error messages received.

Additional You.com features to explore

You.com has extra features, including a classic search engine that works like traditional ones. It also offers special AI tools not found on the main AI assistant page. These tools include writing assistants, image generation, and more. However, they are only available on the web app, not on the Android app.

If you want to try these extra features follow these steps on You AI website:

1. Log in to your account.
2. Click on your profile info in the sidebar.
3. In the popup, click on YouApps, then YouWrite. A new page resembling a search engine will appear with multiple tabs:
   • All: Displays search results across the internet, for the search query.
   • Chat: Opens the main You.com AI assistant.
   • Images: Shows images for the search query.
   • Videos: Shows videos for the search query.
   • News: Returns news articles matching the search query.
   • Maps: Takes you to Google Maps and shows you the search results for your query.
   • YouWrite: The YouWrite tab opens the YouWrite assistant, which helps you create different types of written content. You can pick a tone, choose your audience, and say what you want to write about. Then, it makes the content for you. You can make up to 10 pieces of writing on YouWrite then you will need to upgrade to the paid plan.
   • Imagine: Includes tools for image content, such as YouImage for generating images and an image resolution enhancer. Both tools in the Imagine tab have a limit of 10 generations if you are a free user.

You.com offers a powerful and unique search experience that combines traditional search engines’ best features with AI assistance capabilities. By using different search modes, you can find information more efficiently and accomplish tasks more effectively.