Meta launches stand-alone AI app to take on ChatGPT

Meta Platforms is rolling out a new, stand-alone artificial intelligence app to directly compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

This new AI assistant is powered by Meta’s own Llama AI model. It features a “Discover” feed, which shows how other users are using the assistant and gives prompt suggestions to try out.

The launch had been rumored earlier this year, and now it’s official. Meta’s app enters a growing field of AI tools, alongside big names like ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini, and Elon Musk’s Grok.

Meta first introduced its AI chatbot in September 2023. It was built as a digital assistant that could answer questions and even create images from user prompts — all within Meta apps. In April, the company gave Meta AI a bigger role by replacing the search bar across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger with the chatbot.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has big plans. In January, he said he believes 2025 will be the year when AI assistants become a part of everyday life for over a billion people — and he hopes Meta AI will lead the way.

As of January 2024, Meta AI had about 700 million monthly users, according to Meta’s finance chief, Susan Li — up from 600 million in December.

Meta’s new app launch comes right before the company hosts LlamaCon, its first developer event for Llama AI models at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Meta is investing heavily in AI, planning to spend up to $65 billion in 2024 to grow its AI systems.