WhatsApp already allows some users to use its own ChatGPT
Meta has no plans to miss the generative artificial intelligence (AI) train. As with Google or Microsoft, the technology company led by Zuckerberg plans to fill its platforms with solutions similar to ChatGPT. In this case, it will be your social networks. And very soon. As reported by the specialized publication Techcrunch, the company has already begun adding conversational assistants to its WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger applications in African countries, in addition to the US and India; indicating widespread spread is imminent. Perhaps within a few months.
The social media company unveiled its artificial assistant called Meta AIlast fall during the Meta Connect event. The system works exactly like ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini: users can give orders or ask questions to the machine, and then it will respond by text. As simple as that.
Meta will also add virtual avatars across all of its platforms with different personalities and backgrounds, such as culinary or sports experts. They are designed to make the experience more fun and friendly for the user. This is something that large competing companies have not yet dared to do.
As a Meta spokesperson explained, the AI capabilities that some users are starting to test are still in the testing phase; therefore, the user experience remains limited.
Months of testing on WhatsApp
WhatsApp has been working on adding this technology for several months now. The specialized portal WABetaInfo discovered a new product in March as part of the beta version of the Android application. He also noted that users will be able to use the chatbot directly from the search bar built into the platform, specifically on the chat screen.
Although the chatbot was then tested in the version of WhatsApp for mobile phones with the Android operating system, the new product will also reach the iPhone. And it is likely that he will do both at the same time.
The advent of AI can prove quite useful in an app like WhatsApp, which is usually widely used for work purposes and also has a huge user base of over 2 billion people. On paper, the new product has everything to work and even be used more than similar competitors’ tools.
The emergence of Meta AI could also be a boost for the messaging app in countries where it has fewer capabilities than other similar tools. This is exactly what happens in the US, for example, where the most used platform of this type is iMessage, present on the iPhone.