Meta AI

See also: Terms and Artificial intelligence terms

See also: Meta AI (Company)

Meta AI is an artificial intelligence assistant developed by Meta Platforms. Initially launched as an integrated assistant within Meta's social media platforms on September 27, 2023, it became available as a standalone application on April 29, 2025. The app represents Meta's effort to compete directly with ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other AI assistant applications, offering unique social features and deep integration with Meta's ecosystem.

Overview

Meta AI is designed as a personal AI assistant powered by Meta's Llama family of large language models, specifically utilizing Llama 4 for the standalone app's conversational capabilities. The assistant can understand user preferences and provide personalized responses based on data from connected Meta accounts, with user consent.

The application serves multiple functions: as a standalone AI assistant, the companion app for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses (replacing the previous Meta View app), and as an integrated feature across WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. As of May 2025, Meta AI reached one billion monthly active users across Meta's family of apps, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing the milestone at the company's annual shareholder meeting.

Features

Feature	Description
Voice Interaction	Supports natural language processing for text and voice inputs, with full-duplex voice mode for conversational flow. Available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Discover Feed	A social feed where users can share, like, comment on, or remix AI-generated content, fostering community engagement.
Image Generation and Editing	Generates photorealistic images from text prompts and supports editing features like restyling and animation.
Personalization	Uses data from Facebook and Instagram profiles (with user permission) to tailor responses, remembering preferences like dietary restrictions.
Real-Time Information	Accesses web-based information via Google and Microsoft Bing for up-to-date answers on topics like weather or travel.
Document Handling	Web version includes rich document editor, PDF export, and document import for AI analysis (select countries).
Device Integration	Operates on Ray-Ban Meta glasses for hands-free tasks and Meta Quest headsets with Meta AI with Vision for visual input.

Voice Features

The Meta AI app emphasizes voice-based interaction as its primary interface:

• Standard Voice Mode: Allows users to have conversations with the AI assistant using natural speech
• Full-Duplex Speech Demo: An experimental feature using real-time voice generation technology that creates more natural, conversational responses without relying on text-to-speech conversion
• Ready to Talk: An optional setting that enables voice interaction by default when opening the app

Platform Integration and Availability

Platform	First Supported	Availability	Notes
WhatsApp	September 2023	Global (select countries)	Inline replies and group-chat commands using "@Meta AI"
Instagram	September 2023	Global (select countries)	Direct messages; image generation prompts
Messenger	September 2023	Global (select countries)	Text and voice responses
Facebook	September 2023	Global (select countries)	Feed search suggestions
Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses	September 2023	Where available	Wake-word "Hey Meta" plus visual recognition
Standalone App (iOS, Android, Web)	April 2025	U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, others	Full features; voice mode limited to select countries
Meta Quest	2024	Where available	Via Horizon OS v68; Quest 3, Quest Pro, Quest 2

Language Support

Languages	Status
English	Available since launch
Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian Bokmål, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish	Available
Hindi, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese	Available or rolling out
Arabic	Announced

Development History

Initial Launch (2023)

Meta unveiled Meta AI during the Meta Connect keynote on September 27, 2023, initially powered by a custom model based on Llama 2. The assistant gained real-time information access through a search partnership with Bing and was rolled out in English to users in the United States and 13 other markets.

Platform Expansion (2024)

In April 2024, Meta upgraded the assistant to use Llama 3, adding faster image generation and inline web results. The assistant was progressively integrated across all major Meta platforms throughout 2024, with multilingual support added in July 2024.

Standalone App Launch (2025)

Reports of a standalone Meta AI app first emerged in February 2025. The app was officially announced and launched at Meta's inaugural LlamaCon developer conference on April 29, 2025, powered by an early Llama 4 checkpoint.

Technical Specifications

• AI Model: Powered by Llama 4 large language models (standalone app); previously Llama 2 and Llama 3
• Voice Technology: Full-duplex speech technology for natural voice conversations
• Knowledge Sources: Integration with Google and Microsoft Bing for real-time information
• Hardware Integration: MTIA v1 AI accelerator (7nm chip delivering 102.4 TOPS for INT8 and 51.2 TFLOPS for FP16) and Nvidia GPUs for compute power
• Platform Requirements: Compatible with iOS 15.2+, Android, and modern web browsers

Business Model

While the basic Meta AI app is free, Meta has indicated plans for monetization:

• Premium Subscription: Testing of paid subscription tiers for advanced features planned for Q2 2025
• Advertising Integration: Potential for "paid recommendations" within the AI responses
• Enhanced Compute Access: Subscription users may access more computational resources for complex queries

Reception and Controversies

Privacy Concerns

The Discover Feed feature has raised significant privacy concerns:

• Unintentional Sharing: Reports of users unknowingly sharing personal conversations publicly, including medical queries, personal data, and work-related information
• UI/UX Issues: Criticism that the app interface doesn't clearly indicate when content will be shared publicly
• Data Usage: Meta has stated that public posts may be used to train AI models in regions like the European Union

Mozilla Foundation launched a petition demanding Meta improve the app's design to ensure users understand when they're sharing content publicly.

User Experience Issues

Users have reported several technical challenges:

• Android users experiencing significant battery drain (1% every 2 minutes in background) and device overheating
• Sign-up difficulties for users without existing Facebook or Instagram accounts
• Glitches when importing media from Ray-Ban Meta glasses

User Growth

Despite concerns, the app has shown rapid adoption:

• 600 million monthly active users reported in December 2024
• 700 million users by January 2025
• 1 billion users across all Meta platforms by May 2025

Competition

Meta AI competes in the AI assistant market with:

• ChatGPT by OpenAI - Known for advanced conversational abilities
• Gemini by Google - Offers robust web integration
• Claude by Anthropic - Emphasizes safety and interpretability
• Grok by xAI - Focuses on truth-seeking and external perspective

Meta's competitive advantages include integration with its social media ecosystem and the unique social Discover Feed feature, though its voice mode capabilities lag behind ChatGPT's advanced voice features.

Future Development

Meta has outlined several areas for future development:

• Expansion of voice features to additional countries and real-time web access integration
• Enhanced personalization capabilities leveraging Meta's ecosystem data
• Integration with upcoming Meta hardware products, including a more expensive Ray-Ban Meta model with heads-up display planned for late 2025
• Development of subscription tiers with advanced features
• Expansion to reach 1 billion standalone app users by end of 2025

CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that 2025 would be "the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people," positioning Meta AI as that leading assistant.

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See Also

• Meta AI (Company)
• LLaMA
• Meta Platforms
• ChatGPT
• Virtual assistant
• Ray-Ban Meta
• Artificial intelligence
• M (virtual assistant)