Watch: Facebook parent Meta launches standalone AI app to rival ChatGPT

Dubai: Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has launched a new standalone artificial intelligence application, Meta AI. The social media giant unveiled the app on Tuesday, positioning it to compete directly against generative AI applications like ChatGPT and Gemini by offering users a dedicated path to its generative AI models.

Interestingly, Meta AI features a social feed called the ‘Discovery’ tab, unlike other generative AI applications. According to Meta, this has been designed to foster a social element around AI usage, allowing users to share and explore how others interact with AI, making it easy to discover effective prompts and even ‘remix’ shared examples for their own needs.

Users of Meta products can continue to access existing AI features by clicking on the familiar blue and purple circle integrated within WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.

Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the application via his Instagram account. At the same time, the company shared additional details in a blog post on its website. In a video, Zuckerberg highlighted the app’s purpose: "A billion people are using Meta AI across our apps now, so we made a new standalone Meta AI app for you to check out.”

The social media giant launched the application in 36 countries globally. While users in all 36 countries will have access to text capabilities, only US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand users will initially get access to both text and voice functions.

The app is built with Llama 4, which Meta describes as its latest AI model. This technology powers memory and personalization capabilities, initially available for users in the US and Canada. Users can tell Meta AI to remember specific things about them, such as interests, enabling the AI to provide more tailored responses and recommendations.

According to the company’s post, the app opens to a Meta AI chat homepage, where users can interact directly with the AI assistant. In addition to the ‘Discovery’ tab, the app includes a ‘History’ tab that stores past conversations and prompts, allowing users to easily “so you can pick up where you left off.” A ‘Devices’ tab enables users to manage integrated Meta AI devices, such as Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, including managing the image gallery and device settings.

For users in the United States, Meta AI includes an improved voice function allowing for more natural, back-and-forth conversations. As a demonstration and a glimpse into future AI experiences, it features “full-duplex speech technology,” designed to feel “more like a telephone conversation.”