Meta has officially entered the AI chatbot arena by introducing its own virtual assistant and a lineup of AI characters that will be integrated into popular platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.
Meta envisions this virtual assistant as a versatile tool capable of performing various tasks, from coordinating group activities in chats to answering questions that users would typically direct to a search engine.
One notable feature of Meta AI is its ability to generate images, similar to Midjourney or OpenAI’s DALL-E, with a simple command, “/imagine.” It can produce captivating high-resolution images within seconds, and what’s even better is that this image generation capability is entirely free for users, just like all of Meta’s AI functionalities introduced recently.
In conjunction with the virtual assistant, Meta is launching an initial collection of 28 AI characters across its messaging apps. These characters include famous personalities like Charli D’Amelio, Dwyane Wade, Kendall Jenner, MrBeast, Snoop Dogg, and Paris Hilton, among others. Some characters are designed for specific purposes, such as a travel agent character.
One fascinating innovation is what Al-Dahle refers to as “embodiments” within these characters. When you engage in a conversation with one of them, their profile image subtly comes to life, responding to the dialogue. This adds a more immersive dimension compared to conventional 2D chatbots.
Currently, Meta AI isn’t trained on public user data from Instagram and Facebook, but it appears that integration of such data is on the horizon. Imagine being able to ask it to “show me reels from the south of Italy,” a compelling use case that sets it apart from other chatbots.
The exact timeline for when Meta’s AI will appear on Instagram and Messenger remains unclear, but it seems that WhatsApp will be among the first to integrate it.
Already Making an Appearance in WhatsApp Beta Excitingly, we’re already catching a glimpse of Meta’s AI in WhatsApp. The WABetInfo team has noted a significant update in the messenger’s app beta version, as shown in the screenshot below.
This suggests that we can anticipate the AI chatbot to roll out on WhatsApp very soon.
