Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that the company is working on integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) into its services, including Instagram and WhatsApp. The social media giant aims to create AI personas that can help users in diverse ways, starting with the development of creative tools. Zuckerberg said that the team would focus on foundational work before sharing "futuristic" experiences with users. Meta will test text-based AI tools on WhatsApp, Messenger, and ChatGPT-style conversation bots, with the potential to expand to businesses for sales and customer support. The project will be led by former Apple executive Ahmad Al-Dahle, while the team reports to Chris Cox, the Chief Product Officer.
Meta's move into the AI space comes as the technology gains momentum in the tech industry, with OpenAI's ChatGPT bot, Microsoft's Bing search and Edge browser, Google's recently announced "Bard," and other engines like You.com and Neeva already utilizing AI-powered chat products. Snapchat also recently launched a custom-trained chatbot for its paid subscribers.
The integration of AI into Meta products is unsurprising, given the company's recent struggles with layoffs and court cases, along with its big bet on the metaverse yet to pay off. Last week, Meta introduced the "Meta verified subscription program," allowing users to verify their accounts using a government ID and pay a fee for a blue badge. However, paid plans have yet to show significant adoption in terms of revenue.
Chatbots have been around since the 1960s, but AI-powered chatbots began in earnest in 2016. Social media platforms enabled developers to build chatbots for their brands or services, allowing customers to carry out daily actions from within their messaging platforms. An AI chatbot responds to questions in natural languages, like a person, using pre-programmed scripts and machine learning algorithms to answer using the available knowledge database.
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