Swiss company launches a ChatGPT alternative that promises to keep data in Europe
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- Botts.ai launched Internal AI, a ChatGPT alternative that keeps chats, storage, and servers in Switzerland.
- The company says American and Chinese model creators cannot access user requests or train on user data.
- The launch reflects growing European concerns over foreign cloud laws and access to sensitive user data.
- European AI alternatives are expanding, including Mistral AI’s Vibe and Denmark’s GDPRchat.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Botts.ai’s chatbot is marketed as a specialized alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, promising to keep data in the EU and not use it to train AI models.
The Switzerland-based company’s services include Internal AI, a ChatGPT alternative that can be powered by Chinese and American large language models (LLMs), including Qwen 3.6 27B, Kimi K3, DeepSeek V4 Pro, Claude Opus 4.7, and GPT-5.4.
In addition, Botts.ai offers AI agents for customer support, including health-focused support agents, negotiation bots, and an AI learning assistant for universities.
The company says the model creator – whether it is an American or Chinese AI lab – doesn’t have access to user requests and responses.
This is because models can run on Swiss or European servers hosted by companies such as Infomaniak and Nebius.
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The ChatGPT alternative is launched amid rising concerns over how foreign companies handle European users’ data.
US laws, such as the 2018 Cloud Act, obliges American companies to provide data requested by its law enforcement agencies regardless of where it is stored.
Meanwhile, China’s National Intelligence Law requires all companies operating in the country to assist with national intelligence and data collection.
Political tensions between European countries and Beijing and Washington have reignited the interest in European tech sovereignty, which emphasizes replacing foreign technologies with local, often open-source, alternatives,
Some models powering Internal AI are hosted on the servers of Azure Switzerland and Azure Sweden, Microsoft’s local solutions with data centers located in Europe, and operated by European nationals.
However, critics say US companies behind these local solutions engage in “sovereignty washing,” as they still fall under US jurisdiction and therefore may be subject to the US Cloud Act.
Claus Balslev, head of digitalization at Denmark’s labor agency, recently made headlines by saying that data uploaded to an American cloud is shared directly with US intelligence agencies.
Botts.ai, however, says that regardless of the model the user chooses, its server, knowledge base storage, and chat storage always remain in Switzerland, while model training on user data is always off.
How much does Botts.ai cost?
The Personal tier of Botts.ai, with 1 agent for 1 user and 1,200 credits, costs 19 CHF ($23.50) per month.
A Business tier with 2 agents and 4 deployments costs 169 CHF ($209) per month and includes 10,000 credits.
Meanwhile, the Business Plus tier offers 5 agents across 8 deployments and 30,000 credits costs 699 CHF ($865).
Emerging European alternatives to ChatGPT
While ChatGPT remains the most-used chatbot in Europe, followed by Gemini and Perplexity, local companies can already offer viable alternatives.
Mistral AI’s agent, Vibe, is based on the company’s own LLMs. It connects to Google Workspace, Outlook, SharePoint, Slack, and other custom connectors. Vibe also includes Code Mode, a coding surface in the web app.
In July, Danish company FRITS AI Aps launched GDPRchat, an AI assistant designed to keep user data within Europe and comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Unlike Botts.ai, which is powered by Chinese and American models, GDPRchat integrates a Mistral LLM and is hosted on Hetzner's infrastructure, a German cloud hosting company.