Meta is preparing to launch a standalone AI app during the second quarter of this year, sources familiar with the matter have revealed.
This move is a significant step in CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy to position Meta as the frontrunner in the artificial intelligence sector by the end of the year, aiming to surpass competitors like OpenAI and Alphabet.
Additionally, Meta intends to test a paid subscription model for Meta AI, echoing OpenAI’s strategy of charging monthly fees for access to more advanced versions of ChatGPT.
Meta AI, currently accessible through the company’s apps and website, will soon have its own dedicated app, joining the ranks of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The Meta AI chatbot, which debuted in September 2023, is designed to provide answers and generate images based on user prompts.
In April, Meta AI became the primary method for Zuckerberg to demonstrate the company’s generative AI technology to billions of consumers, replacing the search feature across the company’s family of apps.
“This is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant,” Zuckerberg stated during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in January.
Unlike its competitors, Meta AI currently exists only as an in-app feature or on the web, with limited standalone presence.
In January, Zuckerberg responded favorably to a Threads user who proposed a standalone Meta AI app, suggesting it could unify the digital assistant across smartphones and other platforms, provide better conversation management, and offer deeper personalization.
Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, indicated in January that the company sees clear opportunities for monetization, including paid recommendations and premium offerings, even though the focus currently remains on user experience.
Data from January reflects burgeoning usage.
Although detailed comparisons are difficult to make, given that the functionality isn’t available in a standalone app, Meta AI boasts an estimated 700 million monthly active users up from 600 million in December.
Notably, India is the main market for Meta AI usage, with engagement high on WhatsApp and Facebook.
The introduction of a standalone Meta AI app mirrors the actions of Google and Elon Musk’s xAI, both of which have recently released dedicated apps for their AI assistants, Gemini and Grok, respectively.
ChatGPT remains the most popular AI-powered app by downloads. According to a January report from Sensor Tower, ChatGPT leads the top generative AI chatbot apps, followed by Google Gemini, ByteDance’s Doubao, and Microsoft’s Copilot.
According to sources, Zuckerberg has been increasing pressure on Meta’s AI teams to improve its products, and he wants Meta AI to be the most-used chat app in the world by the end of this year.
“Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies of the world. AI, glasses as the next computing platform and the future of social media,” Zuckerberg said to employees in a January memo.
“This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams.”, “image_handling”: “No images were identified in the original content that directly illustrate the main subject.
