Meta is taking several important steps today to promote its AI services on its platform. The company upgraded its AI chatbot with its new large language model, Llama 3, and now runs it in the search bar of its four main apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp) in several countries. At the same time, the company launched other new features, such as faster image generation and access to web search results.
This confirms and expands on a test reported by TechCrunch last week, when we noticed the company had started testing Meta AI on Instagram’s search bar.
Additionally, the company is also launching a new site meta.ai allowing users to access the chatbot.
The news highlights Meta’s efforts to position itself as a mover and shaker amid the current hype for generative AI tools among consumers. Chasing other popular services on the market such as those of OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg today claimed that Meta AI is perhaps “the smartest AI assistant you can use freely.”
Meta first deployed Meta AI in the United States last year. The company is now expanding the English chatbot to more than a dozen countries, including Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The company began testing Meta AI in countries like India and Nigeria last week, but India was notably absent from today’s announcement. Meta said it plans to keep Meta AI in test mode in the country for the time being.
“We continue to learn from our user testing in India. As we do with many of our AI products and features, we are publicly testing them in various phases and in a limited capacity,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
New features
Users could already ask Meta AI for writing or recipe suggestions. Now they can also request web results provided by Google and Bing.
Image credits: Meta
The company said it is also speeding up image generation. Additionally, users can ask Meta AI to animate an image or turn an image into a GIF. Users can see the AI tool modify the image in real time as they type. The company has also worked to improve the image quality of AI-generated photos.
Image credits: Meta
AI-based image generation tools fail to spell words. Meta says its new model has shown improvements in this area as well.
All AI things everywhere at once
Meta is taking the approach of making Meta AI available in as many places as possible. This makes the bot available on the search bar, in individual and group chats and even in the feed.
Image credits: Meta
The company said you can ask questions related to posts in your Facebook feed. For example, if you see a photo of the Northern Lights, you can ask Meta AI for suggestions on the best time to visit Iceland and view the Northern Lights.
Image credits: Meta
Meta AI is already available on Ray-Ban smart glasses, and the company announced that it will soon be available on the Meta Quest headset as well.
There are downsides to having AI in many places. Specifically, models can “hallucinate” and make up random, often nonsensical responses, so their use across platforms could end up presenting a content moderation nightmare. Earlier this week, 404 Media reported that Meta AI, speaking in a parents’ group, said she had a gifted and academically challenged child who attended a particular school in New York. (Parents spotted a strange message, and Meta eventually took notice as well and deleted the response, saying the company would continue to work on improving these systems.)
“We share information within the features themselves to help people understand that AI may return inaccurate or inappropriate results. Since our launch, we have constantly released updates and improvements to our models, and we continue to work to improve them,” Meta told 404 Media.
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