The announced artificial intelligence which will be integrated with the main Meta apps –Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp– it's taking a while. Mark Zuckerberg's company announced last September, more than half a year ago, that each of his social networks would have both custom chatbots in the image of different celebrities and characters as with Meta AI. The latter is what can be considered an equivalent to ChatGPT which will use a language model “based on many of the basic principles behind Llama 2“, as indicated then Ahmad Al-Dahlevice president of generative AI at Meta, will be able to chat and generate images at the user's request and will be integrated with each of the Meta apps as if it were just another contact to chat with.
In the announcement, Meta noted that the AI was being tested by a limited group of users in the United States and there has been no news since then, until now. According to the specialized media WABetainfo, Meta has extended the testing of Meta AI in WhatsApp to several countriesboth in Android like in iOSwhich has made it possible to discover that AI will also be available to interact with it via the app search bar.
Traditionally, the WhatsApp search engine is there to help the user locate conversations, files, contacts and other content in the app. This function will continue to be maintained, but also will allow you to chat with the AI without having to search for the specific chat opened with it. It is what Meta considers a improved access to functionality.
Meta starts limited testing of Meta AI on WhatsApp in different countries!
Some users in specific countries can now experiment with the Meta AI chatbot, exploring its capabilities and functionalities through different entry points. https://t.co/PrycA4o0LIpic.twitter.com/BB2axOGnEj
— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) April 12, 2024
Although they coincide in their location, both functionalities will remain separate. That is, the searches carried out by users will continue to be private and will not feed the language model. This will only come into action when the user specifically addresses it.
By tapping on the search interface, WhatsApp will display a series of propositions to start a conversation. In the screenshot published by the media, the 'Ask Meta AI' section appears under the search bar, 'Ask Meta AI', with proposals such as 'Teach me everything about K-Pop', 'Tell me a scary story' or '5 vegan sources of protein', among others. These are randomly generated topics and not based on Meta information about the user. Under this section, the app shows the usual search filters for Photos, Documents, Surveys, etc.
WABetainfo does not reveal the countries in which selected users are able to access the AI, it only cites India and clarifies that the app must be configured in English to be able to use it. In any case, Meta AI is expected to be available to more users in the coming weeks, so its launch could be closer than it seems.