Meta to Launch AI-Powered Chatbots With Different Personalities
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is reportedly planning to introduce a series of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots with unique personalities. These bots are expected to provide a new search experience and offer recommendations, according to the Financial Times. One of these chatbots is designed to speak like Abraham Lincoln, while another will offer travel advice in a laid-back surfer-like manner.
The company’s upcoming AI products are also meant to attract more users and boost engagement on its social media platforms. The company has been making a strong push in the area of generative AI, a type of machine learning that uses data to create and modify its own programs. It’s also working on augmented reality (AR) applications that are set to improve user experience across all of its apps and services.
In July, Meta introduced Llama 2, a commercial version of its open-source AI model that was first developed last year. The release of Llama 2 was a major milestone in the AI world, as it was the first open-source generative AI model to be available for use on a commercial basis. The new model is intended to be distributed through Microsoft’s Azure cloud service and run on the Windows operating system. Other companies have also been preparing to release AI chatbots that are based on their own generative AI models. These include OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, with Apple rumored to be working on its own offering as well.
During a earnings call last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made it clear that the company’s plans in the field of AI are more extensive than just chatbots. “You’ll see lots of ways that AI will help people connect and express themselves in our apps, creative tools that make it easier and more fun to share content, agents that act as assistants or coaches and many other things,” he said. “We’re going to continue to invest in the technology and research around it.”
While Meta is focusing heavily on AI, it’s not completely free of challenges. The company’s new text-based app Threads experienced a significant drop in registrations following its July 5 launch, and executives are working to improve the retention rate of the platform.
Despite the setbacks, the company remains confident about its future prospects, and shares rose to a 1-year high last week. The rebound was fueled by strong advertising revenue in the latest earnings report and expectations that third-quarter revenues will exceed market expectations. The strong performance has been driven by a focus on emerging AI technologies and cost-slashing measures that led to the company’s recent recovery from a challenging 2022. Moreover, the strong popularity of its short-video Reels product and the success of TikTok rival Threads are providing additional growth opportunities for the company. https://www.youtube.com/embed/12tou13wfKk