Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced that it is making its AI chatbot, powered by Llama-3, available to all users in India. This move comes after months of testing the chatbot during the general elections in the country.
Initially, Meta AI was rolled out to select users across various platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook. However, it was not made available in India at that time, likely due to the ongoing elections. Now, users in India can access the chatbot through the search bar in Meta’s apps or through the meta.ai website.
The functionality of Meta AI is similar to other popular chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Users can ask the chatbot for suggestions on various topics such as recipes, workouts, email writing, or text summarization.
On Instagram, the chatbot can suggest Reels to watch based on a user’s search query. Similarly, on Facebook, users will see a Meta AI prompt that allows them to ask questions related to a post. For example, if someone sees a photo of the aurora borealis, they can ask Meta AI for suggestions on the best places and times to see the northern lights.
One interesting feature of Meta AI is its ability to generate images based on user prompts. However, there have been reports of biases in the generated images. TechCrunch found that the chatbot has a tendency to add turbans when generating images of Indian men. It also consistently generates images of old-school Indian houses with vibrant colors, wooden columns, and styled roofs. Meta has stated that it constantly updates its models to address these biases, but it is unclear if any changes have been made yet.
Meta’s decision to bring its chatbot to India is significant considering the country’s massive user base of 500 million WhatsApp users and hundreds of millions of users across its other apps. On WhatsApp, users can chat with Meta AI individually or within a group chat for activities like trip planning or movie selection. However, the chatbot only has access to the text within the group conversation when invoked.
It is worth noting that Meta AI cannot be turned off or hidden in the app, but users have the option to engage in a search without invoking the chatbot.
This move by Meta comes shortly after Google released its Gemini app in India, which supports nine local languages. With both Meta and Google expanding their AI offerings in India, it is clear that there is a growing demand for AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants in the country.
Overall, the availability of Meta AI in India provides users with a convenient and efficient way to access information and assistance across various platforms. As the technology continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how users in India embrace and utilize this AI-powered chatbot in their daily lives.
