Meta has unveiled a standalone artificial intelligence application, designed as a direct competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar offerings. The announcement came during Meta’s LlamaCon event, marking the company’s expansion beyond embedding AI within existing platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
This new standalone AI app utilizes Meta’s robust database of user preferences and interactions accumulated from their activities on Meta platforms. In its initial release, the app’s personalized response feature is available exclusively to users in the United States and Canada. According to Meta, the AI assistant will draw upon information already provided by users to help deliver more tailored and relevant interactions. For instance, users can proactively share personal details with the AI—such as dietary restrictions—that the assistant could reference in future conversations, enriching user interactions and customization.
Meta also integrates social elements into the AI experience with its “Discover” feed, enabling users to showcase and share AI-driven interactions with their friends. A demonstrated use case shows a person asking the AI to describe them using three emojis, then sharing the response on the feed. However, Meta emphasizes that sharing interactions publicly is not mandatory and will happen only at the discretion of the user.
Despite the potential benefits of deeper personalization and social sharing capabilities, privacy implications remain a significant consideration, as Meta’s business model heavily relies upon user data for targeted advertising, the company’s primary source of revenue.
By launching this independent AI-focused app, Meta seeks to differentiate itself among competing AI tools, leveraging the extensive user profile data it already holds to offer more personalized and contextually accurate assistance.
