Meta's new AI features could revolutionize our social media experience
Meta unveiled a slew of AI-powered features and products for its messaging apps at its annual Connect conference yesterday. This includes an AI assistant and a new image generation model called Emu that will power AI stickers and image editing functions. The event also featured Meta's latest mixed-reality headset, called Quest 3, and smart glasses developed in partnership with Ray-Ban. The new AI features aim to "give you the tools to be more creative, expressive and productive," says Meta.
AI assistant integrates with Bing to provide real-time information
Meta's AI Assistant will be made available in beta on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, in the US and soon on Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and the Quest 3 headset. The assistant offers real-time information and generates photorealistic images from text prompts within seconds. It can help plan trips with friends in group chats, answer general knowledge questions, and search the internet using Microsoft's Bing for real-time web results.
Introducing AI personality chatbots based on celebrities
Meta has developed 28 AI personality characters based on famous individuals from various fields like sports, music, and social media. Accessible on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, these chatbots include "Bru," a sports chatbot modeled after Tom Brady, and "Tamika," a character inspired by tennis player Naomi Osaka. Meta plans to integrate its Bing search function into these AI characters in the coming months. These characters will also be able to talk by next year.
AI Studio lets businesses create their own AIs
With Meta's AI Studio platform, businesses can build AI chatbots for Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. AI Studio will also allow businesses to "create AIs that reflect their brand's values and improve customer service experiences," per Meta. Initially available in alpha, the company aims to expand the toolkit further next year. In the future, creators will also be able to use AI Studio to build AIs that "extend their virtual presence" across Meta's apps.
AI stickers will be generated based on text prompts
AI Stickers use Meta's language model as well as the Emu image generation model to create stickers based on text prompts. The feature will allow users to create unique AI stickers in seconds across Meta's messaging apps, including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook Stories. The feature will initially be available in English and will start rolling out over the next month.
Meta will let you co-create AI images with friends
There are new image editing features as well, which let you transform images or co-create AI-generated images with friends. The new features, "Restyle" and "Backdrop" will soon be available on Instagram in the US. Restyle lets you "reimagine your images" with different styles, say a "watercolor" effect. You can also experiment with effects like "collage from magazines and newspapers, torn edges, says Meta. Meanwhile, the Backdrop feature, as the name suggests, changes the scene or background of your image.
