Meta Launches Standalone AI App In Bid To Compete With ChatGPT

Meta Platforms Inc. released a new standalone artificial intelligence app on Tuesday in a bid to compete with other popular chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The AI assistant, called Meta AI, is built on the back of the company’s large language model technology, called Llama, and was already available across the company’s various social apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook. With the new standalone app, users can access Meta AI without going through Meta’s other products.

“Meta AI is designed to be your personal AI — that means, first, it’s designed around voice conversations,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted to Instagram. He described the voice assistant as a tool that can help users learn about news or navigate personal issues. “You’re going to be able to let Meta AI know a whole lot about you and the people you care about across our apps if you want,” he added.

The new standalone app will also feature a social feed where people can post about the ways in which they’re using AI. “This is the beginning of what’s going to be a long journey to build this out,” Zuckerberg said.

Meta announced the new app ahead of its inaugural AI-focused conference, called LlamaCon, which will be held in Menlo Park, California on Tuesday.