Meta, the company behind Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has launched its Llama-3-powered AI chatbot, Meta AI, in India. This move came only a few days after Google announced that the Gemini app would support nine Indian languages. However, as of now, Meta AI will work only in English.
As reported by TechCrunch, Meta began testing the chatbot across multiple platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, for the India launch. However, the general Indian elections delayed the company’s plan.
Meta introduced the bot in 13 countries, including Australia, Ghana, Canada, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The company also launched a meta.ai website to facilitate a more direct conversation with the bot.
When used in Instagram, Meta AI can suggest reels to users based on recent searchers. Similarly, on Facebook, users can ask questions about a particular post and get answers.
For example, if users notice a picture of aurora borealis on their Facebook feed, they can ask Meta AI for suggestions on when to visit countries to see this phenomenon.
Similarly, on WhatsApp, users can use the chatbot to communicate with other users and to generate lists or movies based on group chats.
Furthermore, Meta AI can generate pictures based on users’ text prompts. Meta is finally releasing the chatbot in India, the world’s biggest tech market. The country has around 500 million WhatsApp users, over 350 million Instagram users, and about 375 million Facebook users. With Meta AI integrated into these apps, Meta aims to enter this market and compete with other major companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic.
Integrating with Meta-owned apps is expected to benefit Meta AI because users won’t need to take any additional steps, such as downloading a new app or visiting a website. Additionally, at this time, there is no competition for these apps, so the user base is likely to grow without any obstacles.
However, with all this, the question of privacy should always take precedence. The company’s track record with privacy isn’t good, and recently Spain halted Meta’s election data processing. In April, it was reported that NSFW app ads are proliferating Meta-owned platforms.
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