No company is immune to the wave of generative AI, and everyone wants to get in on it. Meta is the latest entrant to test AI-powered tools for its products. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is creating “a new group of high-end products” to integrate generative AI into its services used by billions of users.
Zuckerberg said the team will focus on creating creative tools at first, but their long-term goal is to create “AI personalities that can help people in a variety of ways.” However, the company has to do a lot of groundwork before sharing these “futuristic” experiences with users, he warned.
The company is starting by testing text-based AI tools in WhatsApp and Messenger, presumably ChatGPT-style chatbots. While these could be a fun use case for users, Meta could also eventually take advantage of these features by offering them to businesses in areas like sales and customer support.
Meta is also experimenting with AI-assisted filters and ad formats on Instagram along with “video and multi-modal experiences.”
According Axiosthe project will be led by former Apple executive Ahmad Al-Dahle, and the team will report to Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.
While generative AI tools have been around for a while, the technology found mainstream stardom only with OpenAI’s ChatGPT bot. Microsoft has already integrated some of that AI goodness into Bing search and the Edge browser. In response, Google also said earlier this month that it is experimenting with a rival product called Bard. Other search engines like You.com and Neeva have also announced AI-powered chat product integrations. Facebook rival Snapchat also launched a custom chatbot for its paid subscribers this month.
It’s not surprising to see Meta go on an AI offensive. Zuckerberg’s big gamble in the metaverse hasn’t paid off yet, and the company will need to find new ways to earn revenue. Last week, it debuted the Meta Verified subscription program, but as we’ve seen with other social networks, the paid plans still don’t show the appearance of a major revenue generator.
