Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, has announced the rollout of its advanced artificial intelligence tools across its popular apps in India. This strategic move aims to enhance user convenience and experience, offering a seamless integration of AI within some of the most widely used mobile applications in the country.
The generative AI tool, named Meta AI, is being introduced for free, providing users with a variety of functionalities directly within their existing apps without the need for additional downloads. “Use Meta AI on WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram to get things done, learn, create and connect with the things that matter to you,” stated a press release from Meta India.
Unlike other leading AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Meta AI operates within the existing interfaces of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, enhancing ease of use and accessibility. However, it remains to be seen how Meta AI will compete with Google’s Gemini AI, which already supports multiple Indian languages, whereas Meta AI currently only responds in English.
The rollout of Meta AI is being implemented progressively and will soon be available within chats on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, as well as within social feeds on Instagram and Facebook. According to the company, users will be able to “get things done, create content, and deep dive on topics, without having to leave the app you’re using.”
Meta AI is expected to provide a wide range of services, including restaurant recommendations, general knowledge tips, assignment assistance for students, and more. A particularly notable feature is the ‘Imagine’ spec, which allows users to create photos and animated visuals through text prompts.
Desktop users will also be able to access Meta AI via their web browser on meta.ai, broadening the tool’s availability beyond mobile applications.
Meta’s journey in AI development began over a decade ago with the establishment of Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR). The organization, headquartered in Silicon Valley with labs worldwide, was rebranded as Meta AI following the transformation of Facebook Inc. into Meta Platforms. This rebranding led to the launch of the Large Language Model Meta AI, or LLaMA, which came about three months after OpenAI’s groundbreaking release of ChatGPT-3. LLaMA boasts a range of up to 6,500 crore parameters, showcasing the extensive capabilities of Meta’s AI advancements.
Initially unveiled at Meta’s Connect event, Meta Llama 3 was first launched in the US and a dozen other countries two months ago. Notably, Pakistan was prioritized over India in the initial rollout phase, according to a Meta newsroom note.