Menlo Park, California – Meta is making significant strides in promoting its AI services on its platform. The company has recently upgraded its AI chatbot with the latest large language model, Llama 3, and has implemented it in the search bar of its major apps like Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp across multiple countries. In addition to this enhancement, Meta has introduced new features such as faster image generation and access to web search results.
This latest development follows a previous test that was reported on TechCrunch last week, which revealed Meta’s experimentation with Meta AI on Instagram’s search bar. Furthermore, Meta has launched a new meta.ai website to provide users with access to the chatbot.
Meta’s recent initiatives highlight the company’s proactive efforts to establish itself as a key player in the realm of generative AI tools, aligning with the growing demand for such services among consumers. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, touted Meta AI as potentially the “most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use,” positioning it in competition with other popular AI services like those offered by OpenAI.
Initially introduced in the U.S. last year, Meta AI is now expanding its presence in over a dozen English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, and Nigeria. While the company recently began testing Meta AI in countries like India and Nigeria, India was notably absent from the latest announcement, with Meta opting to keep the AI tool in test mode in the country for the time being.
Users can now enjoy new features like the ability to request web-related search results from Google and Bing through Meta AI. Additionally, the company has enhanced the speed and quality of image generation capabilities, allowing users to animate images or transform them into GIFs in real-time.
Meta is strategically deploying Meta AI across various platforms, making it accessible in search bars, individual and group chats, and even feed sections. The AI tool will soon be integrated into the Meta Quest headset, expanding its reach further. However, the widespread deployment of AI tools may present challenges in content moderation, as models can sometimes produce nonsensical or inaccurate responses, as seen in recent incidents reported by 404 Media involving Meta AI. Meta reassures users that it is continually working on improving its AI models to deliver more accurate and appropriate results.