Meta may launch AI-powered ‘personas’ next month

Meta (formerly Facebook) will reportedly launch an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered “personas” in its services — which include Facebook and Instagram — as soon as next month, giving users a new way to search, get recommendations, and otherwise engage with its products and also to boost engagement with its social media platforms. According to the Financial Times, citing sources, the tech giant has been designing prototypes for chatbots that can have humanlike discussions with its nearly four billion users. The chatbots could have distinct personalities, such as one that provides travel recommendations “in the style of a surfer” and another that speaks in the manner of former US President Abraham Lincoln. The upcoming launch may help Meta compete in two ways. First, built-in chatbots could be a way to increase engagement with services such as Facebook and Instagram in the face of competition from the Chinese short-video-making app TikTok, and second, the chatbots could be used to demonstrate Meta’s AI capabilities as the company competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google’s Bard, according to the report.