Meta to Reportedly Launch a Standalone Meta AI App to Take On OpenAI and Google

Meta is reportedly planning to launch its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot as a standalone app. The company currently offers Meta AI within its social media apps including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. It is also available as a web client, however, the social media giant does not offer the platform as a mobile or desktop app. As per the report, the company now wants to increase the footprint of its AI assistant and create a deeply personalised experience for users to compete with major players in the space such as OpenAI and Google.

Meta AI Standalone App Reportedly In the Works

A CNBC report claimed that the tech giant is planning to launch Meta AI as a separate app, alongside its existing social media platforms. Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the report claimed that the app could be launched in the second quarter of the year, which is between April and June.

The plan to launch a standalone Meta AI app is reportedly part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's ambition to make the company a leader in the AI space before the end of 2025. The company is said to look at OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini as major competitors, both of which are available as independent apps.

Apart from this, the company is reportedly also planning to test a premium version of Meta AI that will offer additional features. This is said to be available to paid subscribers, similar to the monetisation models leveraged by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. Susan Li, the Chief Financial Officer at Meta reportedly told analysts that the company is aiming to build a “great consumer experience” with the AI assistant earlier this year. Additionally, Li reportedly highlighted “clear monetisation opportunities” with Meta AI via paid recommendations.

Zuckerberg reportedly expressed the ambition to build Meta AI as a “highly intelligent and personalised AI assistant” that reached more than one billion people during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call in January. As per a separate report, he also said the tech giant will spend as much as $65 billion (roughly Rs. 5,61,908 crore) on AI projects in 2025. The amount is said to include a new data center and expansion of the AI teams.