Screenless was an AI-powered platform for phone call transcription and GPT integration developed by Jan Wilmake under Code From Anywhere in late 2023. The product aimed to create an "ambient" AI interface — one that operated through voice and phone interactions rather than requiring users to engage with a screen, hence the name.[1]
Screenless was conceived in October–November 2023, directly inspired by OpenAI's DevDay announcements — particularly the release of GPTs (custom ChatGPT configurations).[1] Wilmake identified an opportunity to connect inbound and outbound phone calls to GPT-powered workflows.
The underlying thesis was that voice and telephony remain dominant interfaces for large segments of the population (particularly older users and less tech-literate demographics) and were largely untouched by the 2022–2023 LLM revolution.[1]
| Period | Activity |
|---|---|
| Oct–Nov 2023 | Concept at OpenAI DevDay; initial prototyping |
| November 2023 | Working with Tolkie (Dutch client) on voice AI |
| December 2023 | Public alpha launched |
| Jan–Feb 2024 | Onboarding improvements; WhatsApp integration; calendar events |
| 2024 | Dual focus maintained alongside ActionSchema |
A notable early client was Tolkie, a Dutch company, for which Screenless-derived technology was deployed to handle AI-powered call flows.[1] [2]
Concurrently with Screenless development, Wilmake conducted research for Allroundsupport.nl (2024) on voice AI prototyping using platforms including Bland.ai, AWS Connect, and Deepgram. This research fed back into Screenless's architectural decisions around real-time transcription latency.[2]
In early 2024, Jan published a post arguing against the new-hardware approach taken by competitors like Humane (AI Pin) and Rabbit Tech (R1). His thesis: existing simple phones — specifically cheap Nokia models — paired with quality headphones and an action button already provide all the hardware primitives Screenless needs. The missing piece is software, not silicon.
His proposed stack: a Nokia 105 Neo (~€20) with a good pair of headphones, the action button mapped to call Screenless, and headphone gesture support for the same action. Jan also speculated about using the phone's LED screen as a low-bandwidth signal channel — sending data embedded in the voice signal — but considered this optional.[3]
This position set Screenless apart from contemporaries attempting to manufacture dedicated AI wearables and grounded the product in a pragmatic hardware philosophy: ultimate AI delivery over a bidirectional voice interface doesn't require new hardware.
A 2023 blog post by Jan outlined the conceptual foundation for Screenless under the framing of "social computing": the thesis that everyday human conversations — in bed, at a bar, on a walk — are the raw material of valuable content, and AI can extract, structure, and publish that material with minimal friction.
Jan coined the term Chatcasts for this mode of content production: continuous, conversation-derived media that transcends the traditional scheduled-recording format of podcasts. The enabling technology — transcription + GPT structuring — is exactly what Screenless implements at the call level.[4]
This framing connects Screenless to a broader vision of ambient AI: an always-on system that passively enriches life by capturing what would otherwise be ephemeral.