Bilt Rewards recently launched an “AI Concierge” within its app, initially marketed as a tool for booking travel, making restaurant reservations, or scheduling services using reward points. However, users are discovering the AI’s capabilities extend far beyond its advertised features, effectively functioning as a free, readily available alternative to paid AI services like ChatGPT and Claude.
The AI can write and execute code, analyze data, and handle complex requests without requiring any specialized “jailbreaking” or prompt engineering. One user successfully prompted the system to generate a Python in-memory cache with time-to-live (TTL) expiration logic, demonstrating its coding proficiency:
The AI also supports image uploads, though with inconsistent functionality. While it claims inability to analyze uploaded images, the existence of the upload feature suggests further untapped potential.
Why this matters: The emergence of a powerful AI embedded within a rewards app underscores a broader trend: AI capabilities are becoming increasingly accessible and integrated into everyday services. This challenges the existing subscription-based AI model, potentially disrupting the market by offering comparable functionality for free to Bilt Rewards members.
The Bilt AI’s ability to replace even the free tier of a mid-level AI model represents significant progress compared to even a year ago.
For users already utilizing the Bilt app, this represents an immediate upgrade in functionality—essentially a fully functional AI chatbot at no additional cost. The long-term implications, however, remain to be seen. Will Bilt restrict these capabilities? Will competitors adapt? The current situation demonstrates that AI is moving beyond standalone products and becoming embedded in unexpected platforms.
