Meta plans to introduce AI avatars on Instagram that can chat on users' behalf | The Tatva

Meta is finally set to introduce the AI Studio feature it unveiled last year. Currently in the testing phase, the feature is available exclusively to certain Instagram creators in the US. However, it will eventually be accessible to all users. In 2023, Meta announced plans to roll it out across WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.

According to a report by India Today, users can create their very own AI avatar through AI Studio. The avatars will have the capability to chat on certain topics, generate memes or even provide advice. The AI chatbots will feature Meta’s new Llama 3.1 model. Users will have access to an overview of how many people are interacting with them. However, they won’t be allowed to view the interactions other users have with their chatbots.

By now, there has not been any announcement regarding its rollout for Indian creators and users. Meta has not given a specific timeline regarding the rollout.

The AI Studio feature and customized chatbots are designed to address a common issue for Instagram users, especially the creators with millions of followers, and that is handling the overwhelming number of daily messages. Meta’s VP of Product for AI Studio, Connor Hayes, labelled these AI designs as “an extension of themselves,” during his conversation with Engadget.

Hayes further stated, “These creators can actually use the comments that they’ve made, the captions that they’ve made, the transcripts of the Reels that they’ve posted, as well as any custom instructions or links that they want to provide … so that the AI can answer on their behalf.”

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Meta, also expressed his ambition for the AI Studio in a recent interview with Bloomberg. The billionaire entrepreneur projected that Meta’s apps would eventually host “hundreds of millions” of creator-made AIs.

This new feature follows Meta’s earlier experiment with AI chatbots designed to copy celebrities and influencers, such as Tom Brady and Snoop Dogg. Although, this feature did not work well. Google is now planning to execute a similar ambition with its Gemini project.