STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A few months after the start of its limited experiment, Discord announced it was shutting down Clyde AI without explanations.
- A new survey of Discord server owners and admins tried to shed light on the usage and perception of Clyde AI among Discord server owners and admins.
- Half of Discord mods never experienced chatting with Clyde AI.
- 15% of mods interacted daily with Clyde AI.
- 49% of mods used Clyde AI for fun.
- 74% of mods who experienced Clyde AI were satisfied or very satisfied with its answers.
- Only 6% of mods were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with Clyde AI’s answers.
- 64% of mods who tried Clyde AI said it helped increase activity in their server.
- 27% of mods stated that Clyde AI significantly increased activity in their server.
December 2, Los Angeles, CA. — Half of Discord server owners and administrators have never even tried Clyde AI, according to a new survey conducted in Discord by Subo. Those who did liked it and thought it helped with engagement in their server.
In March 2023, Discord announced a series of AI initiatives in partnership with OpenAI. One of them was the introduction of Clyde AI, an AI-powered assistant designed to enhance user experiences on the platform. Clyde AI was met with anticipation and excitement from the Discord community.
But just 8 months later, Discord announced that it was shutting down Clyde AI. The company didn’t provide any explanation, which led to speculation about what led to what was seen as a surprising decision. Was Clyde AI retired due to lack of interest? Was it unpopular? Were there issues with it?
To help solve the mystery, Subo ran a survey with Discord mods from the Subo Creator Network shortly after the announcement to understand how Clyde AI was perceived and used by the Discord community.
Fact #1 — Half of Discord mods never experienced chatting with Clyde AI
When Discord announced the experiment, they made it clear that it would be in beta for only a ‘small percentage of servers”. This is common practice by Discord and other tech platforms to experiment new features, but as a consequence many mods never got a chance to take part in the experiment, let alone have the bot in their main server.
In contrast, 15% of the mods who completed the survey reported interacting daily with Clyde AI (ie. 30% of those who ever chatted with Clyde AI did it daily).
Fact #2 — Discord mods mostly chatted with Clyde AI to test it and have fun
As a novelty feature, it is no surprise that 59% of mods chatted with Clyde AI to experiment/test how it could be used in their server. Then 49% used Clyde for fun.
Other popular uses included getting information or assistance, or helping with engagement on the server, encourage discussions and creating a welcoming atmosphere.
Fact #3 — Most Discord mods were satisfied with Clyde AI’s answers
Of the mods who ever experienced Clyde AI, 74% were satisfied or very satisfied with its answers. Only 6% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
Fact #4 — Clyde AI helped increase server activity
Of those who tried Clyde, 64% say that it helped increase activity in their server, including 27% who stated that it increased activity significantly.
Common Feedback and Complaints
While Clyde AI was mainly seen as fun to talk to and received positively, when asked about negative feedback, mods mostly report concerns about personal data protection and the use of AI in general:
“Didn't like how it read users About Me sections”
Others report some technical and early growth issues, eg. that it would randomly not show up or take a while to respond, get stuck or give irrelevant answers, that it couldn't remember the previous question or repeat the same answers. Some users found that its responses got worse overtime.
Memorable Moments with Clyde
Respondents shared some memorable moments they had with Clyde. It has entertained with its sense of humor, stories, jokes, and its use of emojis, GIFs, and slang.
”We talked about wrestling one time and he started talking like Hulk Hogan”
It has helped mods with various tasks, such as recommending games and Discord bots, writing summaries about some users, or thinking through hard parts of the story or the worldbuilding they were working on. Two mods reported how it taught server members how to assemble a PC and… how to make methamphetamine! It has interacted with people in different languages, such as Albanian, and played games with them, such as being the dungeon master in a pseudo-D&D game. Clyde has made some respondents feel less depressed and lonely.
Clyde’s Personality and Communication Style
Respondents also commented on Clyde's personality, tone, and style of communication. Their responses were varied. Some found it cool, interesting, or cute and “in line with the Discord tone and style”.
“I would definitely go out for a beer with Clyde.”
There were also a few negative responses, with some finding Clyde terrifying, a bit too sarcastic or not very real (”very AI”). Some felt that Clyde mirrored their attitude and liked the friendly and realistic nature of the bot: “he’s like a normal user”.
Responses to Clyde's Shutdown
Responses to Discord's decision to shut down Clyde AI were varied. Overall, it seems the impact of Clyde’s retirement on servers will be minimal for most users. But many users mentioned that they didn't get a chance to use Clyde or didn't know how to find it. And some users expressed disappointment and sadness, as they enjoyed using Clyde and found it to be a valuable addition to their server. Some said they didn’t understand the reasoning behind the decision. A few respondents expressed their hope for Discord to change their mind and not shut it down.
“The server will die with Clyde. We are basically doing nothing else on that server, except for talking with him. We don’t use any other channels.”
Conclusion
The survey results highlight the limited scope of Clyde AI’s experimental rollout. Those who interacted with Clyde AI found it enjoyable and a group of fans believed it contributed to server engagement and don’t want it to go away. The reasons behind Discord's decision to shut down Clyde AI remain unknown, leaving room for speculation and hope for its potential return in the future.
About 12% of respondents used an optional final open question to express their love for Clyde and asked Discord to keep it alive: “Please don't take him away! We love him!!!”. A mod concluded with this: “I hope the AI bot comes back in some form”.
Read the full survey results online at https://subo.ai/blog/discord-survey-clyde-mysterious-disappearance
Methodology
The findings are based on a Subo conversational survey conducted in Discord between November 22 and November 28, 2023, with responses from 185 members of the Subo Creator Network, a group of Discord server owners, administrators and moderators.
About Subo, the Survey Bot
Subo is an AI-powered conversational survey platform that helps creators, community managers and marketers understand their community with polls and surveys in Discord, a popular chat app with over 100 million daily active users. Learn more about Subo, the Survey Bot.
.png)