As the artificial intelligence market continues to thrive, the intersection of cryptocurrency and AI has become a focal point for numerous players in the industry. Among them is, the Solana Foundation, the nonprofit organization responsible for the Solana blockchain. 

Solana has taken a significant step by integrating AI into its network through a cutting-edge ChatGPT plug-in developed by Solana Labs.

The plug-in, which was teased by Solana Labs in late April, will be geared toward end users initially, with a focus on helping them onboard into the Web3 space. It can be used to buy and list NFTs, transfer tokens, check out transactions, interpret data and find NFT collections by floor price, Solana Foundation shared.

Solana Labs’ Head of Product, Tal Tchwella, explained that Solana is integrating ChatGPT into an RPC node, allowing it to retrieve data from various on-chain sources and provide that information to users who have queries. This integration opens up a range of possibilities for users to interact with the AI, such as seeking insights about NFT collections or finding out which NFTs they can purchase using their SOL tokens.

Tchwella also expressed optimism about the potential applications of the ChatGPT plug-in, emphasizing the importance of dApp experimentation in utilizing this powerful tool. As the initial focus of the plug-in centers around NFTs, it aligns well with Solana’s thriving NFT ecosystem. With NFT sales on Solana reaching approximately $58 million in the past 30 days, it is evident that this subsector is widely embraced by both the blockchain and its user base. The integration of ChatGPT holds promising prospects for further enhancing the NFT experience and expanding its utility on the Solana network.

“This integration from Solana Labs serves as a reference for how AI can make it easier to understand Solana data and protocols, or surface data about Solana’s computing infrastructure and DeFi projects,” he noted.

The Solana co-founder and Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko also commented that AI would make the Solana blockchain more usable and understandable.

“Every developer building consumer-oriented apps should be thinking about how their app is going to be interacted with through an AI model because this is a new paradigm for telling computers what to do,” Yakovenko said.

Solana has seen a surge in activity this month, as higher fees on Ethereum and Bitcoin have pushed some users to explore alternatives. The network saw the seven-day moving average of new addresses hit 323,000 last week, the highest number since June 2022, according to data.