Meta AI: The Social Media AI Tool That Reached 500m Users

With companies of all industries racing to implement AI across their operations, AI providers themselves are in a race against each other to up their AI offering and increase their base.

Social media firms have also entered the game. Realising the wealth of data they control would make perfect training for AI models has seen the like of Elon Musk create Grok, which is trained on X’s data. 

Equally, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is on a similar pursuit with his Meta AI. Yet, the difference is that Meta AI, the chatbot, integrated across Meta's social media platforms, has surpassed 500 million users since its wide release in April 2024. 

The rise of Meta AI

Meta AI's ascent to 500 million users in just seven months is a testament to its accessibility and utility. 

Meta AI's journey began in November 2023 with a limited beta release, followed by a broader rollout in April 2024. 

The assistant, built on the foundation of Meta's Llama 3 language model, was designed to seamlessly integrate into the company's suite of applications, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. 

This strategic integration has played a crucial role in its rapid adoption, allowing users to access AI capabilities within their familiar social media environments.

The assistant's capabilities span a wide range of functions, from answering queries and providing real-time information to generating images and assisting with tasks. 

Its integration into Meta's platforms has made it a ubiquitous presence in users' daily digital interactions.

Mark’s confidence in Meta AI's trajectory is evident in his prediction that it will become the "most-used" AI assistant by the end of the year. 

This ambitious forecast places Meta AI in direct competition with established players like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.

Yet Meta AI's success is not limited to user numbers alone. The company has been steadily expanding the assistant's availability across the globe. 

As of October 2024, Meta AI is available in 43 countries and supports more than a dozen languages.

The assistant's feature set has also evolved significantly since its inception. Users can now employ Meta AI for a variety of tasks

Meta's AI initiatives extend beyond consumer-facing assistants. The company reported that over 15 million advertisements have been created using its Gen AI tools, demonstrating the technology's impact on Meta's core advertising business.

Additionally, AI-powered feed recommendations have boosted engagement on Facebook and Instagram, further integrating AI into the fabric of Meta's social media ecosystem.

A new AI contender

Despite its impressive growth, Meta AI faces several challenges.

One significant hurdle is Meta AI's absence in the EU due to regulatory disagreements. 

This gap in coverage could potentially limit Meta AI's global dominance and provide opportunities for competitors in the European market.

Equally, the lack of an enterprise model means its use outside of that arena is stuck to individuals. 

Yet Looking ahead, Meta's focus on AI extends beyond its social media platforms. The company has integrated Meta AI into its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and plans to bring the assistant to its Meta Quest virtual reality devices. 

These expansions signal Meta's ambition to create a comprehensive AI ecosystem that spans social media, wearables, and virtual reality.

As Meta AI continues to evolve, its integration into the daily lives of hundreds of millions of users represents a significant shift in how people interact with AI. 

The assistant's rapid growth and Meta's ongoing investments in AI technology suggest that this is just the beginning of a new era in social media and AI integration.

******

Make sure you check out the latest edition of AI Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Tech & AI LIVE 2024

******

AI Magazine is a BizClik brand ​​​​​​​