Meta unveils major expansion of Meta AI across platforms, introducing Llama 3 and enhanced features

Meta has taken significant strides today to bolster its AI services across its platforms. The company has integrated its latest Large Language Model, Llama 3, into its AI chatbot, now operational in the search bars of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp across several countries. This expansion follows a recent TechCrunch report highlighting Meta's initial testing of Meta AI on Instagram's search bar.

In addition to the upgraded chatbot, Meta has introduced new features like quicker image generation and access to web search results. To provide users with easier access, Meta has also launched a dedicated meta.ai website for the chatbot.

These developments reflect Meta's commitment to establishing itself as a leading player in the burgeoning market for generative AI tools. Mark Zuckerberg touted Meta AI as potentially the "most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use," positioning it against other popular services like those from OpenAI.

Having initially launched Meta AI in the U.S. last year, Meta is now expanding its reach to over a dozen English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

While Meta recently commenced testing Meta AI in countries like India and Nigeria, notably absent from today's announcement, the company plans to maintain the chatbot in test mode in India.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson explained, "We continue to learn from our users' tests in India. As we do with many of our AI products and features, we test them publicly in varying phases and in a limited capacity."

New features

Users could already ask Meta AI for writing or recipe suggestions. Now, they can also ask for web-related results powered by Google and Bing.

The company said that it is also making image generation faster. Plus, they can ask Meta AI to animate an image or turn an image into a GIF. Users can see the AI tool modifying the image in real-time as they type. The company has also worked on making image quality of AI-generated photos better.