Meta Makes a Move: New AI Assistant Goes Head-to-Head with ChatGPT

Meta Dials Into the AI Assistant Race

Meta is intensifying its AI ambitions with the official rollout of Meta AI, its own digital assistant now available across its platforms and on a standalone website. Built using Meta’s proprietary Llama 3 language model, the assistant integrates with Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and web browsers. The move positions Meta directly against competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. This expanded deployment marks Meta’s most aggressive push into consumer AI to date.

Baked Into the Experience, Not Just Bolted On

Unlike standalone AI tools, Meta AI is being embedded into daily user experiences — from suggesting replies in Messenger to answering questions while browsing Instagram. The assistant also includes an image generator with real-time refinement, leveraging in-house generative AI to produce visuals “while you type.” Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the value of “AI you can count on” during the launch, signaling Meta’s intent to make its tool part of everyday tasks, search, and conversations.

Global Rollout, With a Few Boundaries

Meta AI is currently launching in English across several countries including the U.S., Australia, Canada, and India, among others. While it’s not available in the EU yet due to stricter regulatory hurdles, Meta signals this is just the beginning. With Llama 3 at its core — and a public release of the model’s weights — Meta is also appeasing the open-source community while building controlled, in-platform AI experiences.