Meta Unveils New AI App to Compete with ChatGPT

SAN FRANCISCO: Meta has officially launched its first standalone AI assistant app, directly competing with ChatGPT by providing users with an independent entry point to its generative artificial intelligence capabilities.

On Tuesday, the social media powerhouse introduced the new application as a personal AI companion, primarily accessible through voice interactions and tailored engagement.

“One billion people currently use Meta AI across our platforms, so we developed a new standalone Meta AI app for you to explore,” said Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s CEO and founder, in an Instagram video.

According to Zuckerberg, the app is crafted to serve as a personal AI assistant and will be predominantly accessed via voice commands, with interactions customized for each individual user.

“We’re starting simple, with just some basic understanding of your interests,” the CEO explained.

“Over time, you’ll be able to share extensive details about yourself and your loved ones across our applications if you choose to.”

True to the company’s social media roots, the app includes a social feed where users can view posts generated by AI from other users.

“We learn from observing each other’s interactions, which is why we included this feature in the app,” Chris Cox, Meta’s chief product officer, stated as he kicked off the tech giant’s LlamaCon developer event focusing on its open-source AI model.

“You’ll be able to share your prompts and your creations. It’s a lot of fun!”

The new application replaces Meta View as the companion app for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, enabling seamless conversations across mobile devices, glasses, and desktop interfaces.

“We aimed to create the most natural voice interaction experience,” Cox added.

‘Like a Phone Call’

Meta has also introduced an experimental mode that allows the AI app to engage in conversations that closely mimic human interactions.

“You’ll notice features like interruptions and laughter, creating a real dialogue—just like a phone call,” Cox mentioned.

He clarified that currently, the feature does not have web searching capabilities, meaning users can’t inquire about topics like sports teams or the Papal conclave for the time being.

Users have the option to let Meta AI learn about them by examining their activities on their Instagram or Facebook profiles.

“It will also retain information you provide, such as your children’s names, your spouse’s birthday, and other details you want your assistant to remember,” Cox noted.

The release comes as OpenAI remains a dominant player in direct-to-user AI with its ChatGPT assistant, continuously updated with new features.

During the one-day event, Meta emphasized the benefits of their open-source Llama model, allowing developers the freedom to customize critical aspects of the software according to their requirements.

Unlike OpenAI’s closed model, which keeps its features under wraps, this open-source approach offers flexibility and adaptability.

“The value of open source lies in the ability to combine the best elements from various models to create exactly what you need, which is going to be incredibly powerful,” Zuckerberg explained to developers participating in LlamaCon.