Meta launches a standalone AI app to compete with ChatGPT

After integrating Meta AI into WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger, Meta is rolling out a standalone AI app. Unveiled at Meta’s LlamaCon event on Tuesday, this app allows users to access Meta AI in a standalone app, similar to the ChatGPT app and other AI assistant apps.

To win over users, Meta is trying to leverage what makes it different from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic — Meta already has a sense of who you are, what you like, and who you hang out with based on years of data that you’ve likely shared on Facebook or Instagram.

Meta’s AI app can differentiate itself from existing AI assistants because it can “[draw] on information you’ve already chosen to share on Meta products,” the company said, such as your profile and the content you engage with. So far, these personalized responses will be available in the US and Canada.

You can also give Meta more information about you to remember for future conversations with its AI — for example, you can tell the AI that you are lactose intolerant, which it could remember before recommending that you go to a wine and cheese tasting on your next vacation.

As with any AI product, users should be aware of how Meta may use the data that they share with its chatbots. Meta relies on its wealth of user data to power its targeted advertising business, which makes up the bulk of its revenue.

Meta’s AI app also introduces a Discover feed, where you can share how you’re using AI with your friends — in a mockup image, Meta shows someone asking the AI to describe them in 3 emojis, which they then shared with their friends. A user’s interactions with Meta AI will only be shared to the feed if they choose to do so.

This feed might amplify certain generative AI trends, like the recent trend in which people tried to make themselves look like Barbie dolls or Studio Ghibli characters. But then again, not every app needs to have a social feed — we’re looking at you, Venmo.