Bluesky is expanding beyond its core social network with a brand-new standalone app called Attie, an AI assistant designed to put users in charge of their own algorithms. Revealed at the Atmosphere conference, Attie isn’t meant to be another timeline competitor. Instead, it’s a tool that helps people create custom feeds, discover posts they’re more likely to enjoy, and eventually even “vibe-code” their own apps on top of Bluesky’s open infrastructure.
Attie was introduced by Jay Graber, Bluesky’s former CEO and now chief innovation officer, alongside CTO Paul Frazee. The app is built as an agentic social experience powered by Anthropic’s Claude, and it runs on Bluesky’s underlying AT Protocol (often shortened to atproto). The first beta testers will be conference attendees, giving the team early feedback before a broader release.
A key point: Attie is not a feature inside the Bluesky app. Interim CEO Toni Schneider says this is a separate product and also the first major project from Graber’s newer innovation-focused team. While Bluesky has already launched features like Starter Packs and user-made feeds, Attie aims to make feed-building dramatically more accessible by removing the technical barriers.
With Attie, creating a custom feed can be as simple as typing what you want in plain English—similar to chatting with any AI assistant. Users will sign in using their Atmosphere login, meaning the same credentials they use across apps built on atproto, including Bluesky. Because the network is built as an open system, Attie can quickly understand your interests and the kinds of conversations you’ve been engaging with, helping it suggest feed ideas, surface relevant posts, or recommend things you may want to repost.
Schneider describes the goal as giving people direct control: you shape what you see without needing to write code or learn complicated setup steps. The broader vision is to help more users build on top of the Atmosphere ecosystem, using AI as a practical creative tool rather than a black box that dictates what you see.
At launch, Attie focuses on building and viewing custom feeds. Over time, Bluesky plans to let users go further—creating their own social apps and even building tools that other people can use. It’s an ambitious bet on a future where social experiences are modular, personal, and user-directed instead of controlled by a single platform’s algorithm.
Graber’s return to hands-on building is part of what sparked Attie’s development. Schneider says the work began a few months ago, around the same time Graber chose to shift away from the day-to-day CEO role to focus on protocol and product innovation—what he describes as her “happy place.” The idea is to free her to build new things while the company’s operations are handled by others.
The philosophy behind Attie is also a direct critique of how AI is commonly deployed in social media today. Graber argues that major platforms often use AI to benefit themselves—driving more time spent in apps, extracting data, and tightening control over algorithmic distribution. Her pitch with Attie is the opposite: AI should serve people, not platforms. And an open protocol makes that possible by giving users the power to create feeds, build software that behaves the way they want, and filter real signal from the noise.
Bluesky’s long-term confidence is backed by its financial position, too. The company recently shared it has secured $100 million in additional funding from a round that closed last year. Schneider says that gives the organization more than three years of runway, which he believes helps provide stability not only for Bluesky but also for the wider atproto ecosystem that depends on continued development.
With a reported 43.4 million users, the team still has major challenges ahead, including building stronger privacy controls into the protocol and finding a sustainable business model. Schneider also addressed a concern some users have raised: despite financial backing that includes crypto investors, he says there are no plans for crypto integration. According to Schneider, those investors were drawn to decentralization as a concept, and decentralized social aligns with that thesis—without turning Bluesky into a payments product or a magnet for scams.
What monetization might look like is still undecided. Attie is currently a private beta, and the company hasn’t confirmed whether it will eventually be paid. Other ideas being considered include subscriptions and hosting services for people who want to run their own communities on the protocol.
Schneider, who previously led Automattic, points to a familiar comparison: WordPress. He sees a similar ecosystem opportunity in the Atmosphere—an open system where anyone can participate, independent services can coexist, and value can grow across a decentralized network rather than being owned by a single gatekeeper. In his view, the long-term goal is an ecosystem where many apps and services built on atproto work together, giving users more choice, control, and room to create.
Attie represents that strategy in a single product: AI-guided customization that makes building feeds and, eventually, building apps feel approachable for everyday users—while keeping power closer to the people using the network.
