Meta launches AI chatbot across WhatsApp and Facebook in India

Meta is rolling out its AI chatbot, Meta AI, in India, following tests with a segment of users. This launch is part of Meta’s strategic push into the competitive AI sector, where it vies with companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Meta AI is now available on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and through the Meta.ai website, supporting English language interactions.

Meta AI, powered by the Llama 3 language model, can answer questions, generate text and images, summarise lengthy texts, assist with writing tasks, and translate languages. It also offers interactive features like providing recommendations for trips or dinner recipes directly in group chats on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. Users can invoke the assistant by typing ‘@’ in the chat field. Additionally, Meta AI is integrated into the search bars of Meta’s apps and can provide more information about posts seen in the Facebook feed.

The imagine feature of Meta AI allows users to create and animate images from text, with the images evolving in real-time as users type. This feature was initially launched in beta on WhatsApp and the Meta AI web experience in the US.

Key use cases include factual inquiries, instructional advice, quizzes, and learning support.