Meta launches standalone AI apps with a bold challenge to ChatGpt

Meta is bolstering AI ambitions with the launch of a standalone meta AI app and is directly competing with Openai’s ChatGpt.

It’s hard to ignore the timing. The announcement comes less than a month after Meta’s longtime AI research chief Joel Pineau resigned amid increasing internal tensions as the company’s AGI push and pressure was increased to keep up with its open source rivals. Some reports explain that the atmosphere within Meta’s AI units is becoming increasingly chaotic.

Meta escalates AI battles with new apps to rival Chatgpt and Gemini

The move is also supported by reports from CNBC in February. Meta initially introduced chatbots in September 2023 and built them directly into apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and more. The assistant can respond to prompts, create images, and process casual queries without the need for users to leave the app.

In April, Meta went a step further by using Meta AI to swap search bars for these apps. The move shows the company’s intention to make AI feel like a core experience across the platform.

Currently using a standalone app, Meta goes where Google and Elon Musk already go. The companies have released separate apps for AI products Gemini and Grok. Meta clearly doesn’t want to be ruled out of that category.

Mark Zuckerberg appears to be confident in that direction. In January, he said 2025 will be the year “year in which highly intelligent and personalized AI assistants reach over 1 billion people,” adding that he hopes Meta AI will reach it first.

The user number suggests that he may not be bluffing. Meta CFO Susan Lee said as of January, as of January, there were around 700 million active users with around 700 million active users as of January, according to CNBC.

Meta is betting that not only will it incorporate AI into its products, but its assistants can become a go-to option for a billion people. And with the mix having a new standalone app, the company is clearly all in.