Meta plans to launch a standalone Meta AI app. OpenAI's Sam Altman responds.
Zuckerberg seeks to challenge Altman, but the latter is not willing to concede.
Meta is preparing to launch Meta AI as a standalone application aimed at competing with ChatGPT. This move has sparked ironic reactions from Sam Altman of OpenAI. Reports suggest that this new application is expected to be unveiled in the second quarter of the year.
Meta AI, which is currently integrated into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, aims to position itself as a leading artificial intelligence assistant. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has expressed his ambition for Meta AI to become the most widely used personal AI assistant, surpassing rivals like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Grok from xAI. During an investor call in January, Zuckerberg mentioned that this year could be crucial for an intelligent, personalized AI assistant to reach over a billion people.
However, the company faces a significant challenge, as the public reception of Meta AI has not been as positive as that of ChatGPT, the fastest-growing app at its launch. When Meta tried to implement Meta AI as the default search bar, users expressed dissatisfaction as they were unable to disable it. Although Meta reports that over 700 million people interact with Meta AI monthly, this could be attributed to its integration into the apps, which complicates the actual measurement of its usage.
Upon learning of Meta's intentions, Altman showed skepticism and made sarcastic comments on social media, suggesting it would be amusing if Facebook tried to compete and ended up being outperformed in its own game. This confrontation may reflect Zuckerberg's desire for Meta AI to be a driver of engagement and monetization for its applications, despite previous setbacks in user interactions.
Meta has also failed in past attempts to engage its users, such as the poorly received celebrity AI avatar, which was canceled after failing to capture public interest. Additionally, the controversy over invented AI characters, which were deemed problematic, adds further challenges to the company's credibility regarding its use of user data.
Meanwhile, concerns over data collection to train Meta AI could affect user trust, although similar practices have been implemented by competitors like Google. Now, attention is focused on which path Zuckerberg will take in light of these criticisms and his ability to navigate the competitive landscape in the field of artificial intelligence.
