In a move that underscores its growing ambition in the artificial intelligence race, Meta Platforms has unveiled a dedicated app for its Meta AI assistant—separating it from its integration within WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. The standalone release puts Meta in closer competition with AI-first platforms from Google and OpenAI.
This strategic shift is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s broader push to elevate Meta’s status in the generative AI space, leveraging its in-house large language model, Llama 4. The new model boasts improved reasoning, multilingual understanding, and overall efficiency—key features designed to compete with offerings from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Deepseek.
Beyond its availability across Meta’s ecosystem, the app aims to deliver more personalized and context-aware interactions by drawing on data from users’ Facebook and Instagram activity. It also integrates with Meta’s smart glasses and is expected to absorb functionality from the current companion app.
The launch coincides with Meta’s inaugural LlamaCon developer event, which spotlighted the company’s AI research and ambitions. Meanwhile, the tech giant is preparing to report its Q1 earnings following Wednesday’s market close.
Looking ahead, Meta plans to begin testing a paid subscription tier for advanced AI capabilities in the second quarter, according to a Reuters report from February. However, insiders suggest revenue impact from this model won’t be significant until 2026 at the earliest.
Meta AI, first introduced in September 2023, continues to evolve as the company doubles down on building its own AI infrastructure instead of relying on third-party tools.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram, © 2025 Reuters)
