Meta working on AI-powered chatbots to stay in the game
Facebook owner Meta is developing AI-powered chatbots to boost engagement and retain users, according to a new report
When Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms launched Threads last month, it was dubbed as the Twitter-killer and thought to be Twitter's (now X) strongest competition yet. However, in the weeks following its launch, Threads has lost more than half of its followers, according to a Reuters report.
Now, Meta is working on launching artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbots as a way to win back its users and increase engagement.
Meta is currently busy developing prototypes for chatbots that can have human-like conversations with people and showcase different personalities, a Financial Times report stated, according to Reuters.
For instance, the tech giant is exploring a chatbot that can talk like former US president Abraham Lincoln and another that can advise users about their travel options in the style of a surfer, the report added.
Also read: Beyond ChatGPT: 5 fun AI tools you should try
Although Meta lost a major chunk of its users, it reported a strong increase in advertising revenue in its earnings last week, predicting third-quarter revenue to be more than market expectations, according to the Reuters report. However, the company is yet to come back from the dip it saw in 2022 when it cut its staff by 21,000 and is investing in AI to climb up.
The new chatbots could launch by September, according to Financial Times’ source, as per the Reuters report. The chatbots will primarily have a new search function and offer recommendations. The tech giant hopes to engage users with the new tool, as the attention on AI seems to be increasing day by day.
Last month, Meta and Microsoft collaborated to introduce an open-source large language model, Llama 2. It is available for free for research and commercial use. In a press statement published on Meta’s blog, the company said it, along with Microsoft, is supporting “an open approach to provide increased access to foundational AI technologies to the benefits of businesses globally.”
Meta is not the first social media site to experiment with chatbots. Earlier this year Snapchat launched a friendly chatbot, My AI. The chatbot has been designed to provide a variety of recommendations, from last-minute ideas to planning a trip to hosting a dinner. Powered by AI technology from ChatGPT's maker OpenAI, this chatbot can also write poems about love or, even better, sandwiches.
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First Published:1 Aug 2023, 01:22 PM IST
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