AI is hitting every industry like a train these days, and Meta, owner and developer of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, is also jumping on the bandwagon and plans to add AI features to all of its platforms. The Meta AI is one such feature – it's an AI-powered assistant people can ask questions and interact with on WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram.
The AI assistant on WhatsApp can answer your questions with real-time info
Meta will be rolling out these features in a phased manner, and recently, the AI assistant was introduced on the Android version of the WhatsApp beta app. This week, it is making its way to iOS. The latest beta version (23.24.10.71) of the app for iOS devices adds a shortcut to the assistant in the Chats tab.
Meta AI, like any other virtual assistant, is designed for natural conversations that make people feel like they're talking to a real person (though that's a tall order and it will probably be a while before any virtual assistant becomes that good at emulating a real person). It can provide real-time information through Microsoft's Bing search engine for the questions you ask and offer automatic suggestions for things you may be talking about in a chat.
An example of that is in group chats, where Meta AI can offer options for whatever people in the chat are talking about, such as which restaurant to visit. Meta is also designing various AI characters with different backstories, personalities, opinions, and interests that are “more fun to interact with” and will be available across all of its platforms.
Right now, Meta AI is only available in the USA, with no clear timeline on when it will become available in other countries. It's also limited to select users of the WhatsApp beta app for iOS at this time. A wider rollout will take place later, though again, there's no official word on when that will be.
Image credit: Meta
