I Tested Meta AI on WhatsApp And Here’s Everything It’s Capable Of

Apr. 14, 2024

Earlier this week, Meta quietly rolled out its AI-powered chatbot called Meta AI on WhatsApp and Instagram to some users. Given I never tried Meta’s AI chatbot, this looked like a good opportunity to test it out. Moreover, I wanted to test the waters of what an AI chatbot offers within amessaging app like WhatsAppand what kind of utility it can provide. So, today, I share my first impressions of Meta AI on WhatsApp.

What is Meta AI: A Quick Overview

Before we start, here’s a brief overview ofMeta AIitself. This chatbot ispowered by Llama 2, a generative text model, along with Meta’s Large Language Model (LLM) research.

This helps this chatbot provide swift responses to your prompts without having to make you wait an eternity for a reply. Meta has alsopartnered with Microsoft’s Bingsearch to provide real-time information in conversations if the topic comes up.

So basically, it can do text conversations, fetch the latest information available on the internet, link sources, and not to forget that itcan also generate images(more on that later). What it can’t do is receive voice prompts or reply in one likeChatGPT or Google Geminican do.

There are a few different ways to access Meta AI on WhatsApp. The easiest way is to open the app and tap on theMeta AI button(indicated by a blue circle icon) right above the chat icon at the bottom right corner. This will take you to Meta AI’s chat. I was expecting that Meta AI would have its page or something, but it just blends with all the other chats you have going on in the app. This makes it similar toMyAI on Snapchat.

The other way is to access it through the search bar. However, this option is currently rolling out to a limited number of users. Of course, you can alwayspin Meta AI’s chatto show up at the top of your conversation page for quick access.

If you have ever tried out ChatGPT, Google Gemini (formerly Bard), or Microsoft’s Copilot (formerly Bing AI), then the experience is on par. Ask a question and it shows you the answer within seconds. I asked it some run-of-the-mill questions like “Write a good morning message to send to my family members“, or “What is the weight of the earth?” By now, most if not all AI models available on the market can easily answer these questions.

I even tried asking some questions related to real-time events to see how accurate its information is like “Who won yesterday’s IPL match?“, “Who has been cast as the new Superman?“, and “What is the latest song by Selena Gomez?”It answered them without breaking a sweat while adding links to the sources. This is something that I feel Microsoft had a hand in since Copilot does the same.

Of course, since we are on WhatsApp, I had to ask it to respond to some of my friend’s texts. It tried but given there was little context to go off, it couldn’t offer a satisfactory result. This is one limitation that comes up when you add an AI-powered chatbot in a messaging app but limit its resources.

You can also askMeta AI to generate imagesand the results show up quite quickly I must say. Though not accurate to the prompt that I provided. As is evident from the image below, where I asked it to“show a plane flying over the New York skyline“. It, however, generated an image of a plane landing on the wing of another plane flying over the Big Apple.

But in other instances, it managed to create the exact image I asked for. Like this “squirrel riding a skateboard” or this “monkey doing math“. So basically it is a hit and a miss but over time it will improve. Plus it alsoadds a watermark to every imageit creates on the bottom left side.

Itcan also translate textsbut does struggle with certain slang terms which is not an issue for me. You can also simply just use it tosearch the web, get recipes, make holiday plans, and more. It is up to you to test its boundaries and speaking of boundaries….

Like its other chatbot buddies, Meta AI won’t do anything naughty for you. Itdenies answering or creating images on sensitive topics. I asked it to generate religious good morning messages which it had no trouble doing. But when I asked to create an image for it containing a religious idol, it refused to do it.

This is the same situation when asking it to make jokes on certain topics and subjects. However, I would say it isnot as sensitive as ChatGPT. Lately, even the slightest mention of such things on ChatGPT discontinues the conversation. So I refrained from pushing Meta AI to its limits.

But in case you don’t learn, thenyoumight get blockedby it. This is something that happened to us as Meta AI’s profile image stopped showing. But we could still talk about it so, I guess it can’t completely block the user.

Before I wrap up, I would like to ask you, did you ever ask for an AI chatbot in WhatsApp? Did you ever feel the need for it? I assume your reply was a big no. And I agree because it does feel a bit out of place. It is being tested on Facebook and Instagram too, which is great. However,WhatsApp is something personaland Meta AI just doesn’t feel right for the platform.

Going forward, it is a good step on Meta’s part that it prevents the AI from generating certain types of images as fake news tends to travel faster via WhatsApp. The platform has a massive audience in regions like India, so my first impression won’t sum up the creative ways people can use it here. I feel its best integration would be as a search engine on the app to ask quick queries. In its current state, I don’t see much use of it but that opinion might change in the future.

Have you received Meta AI on WhatsApp, if so then what are your thoughts about it? Share with us in the comments below.

As a tech journalist, I dive into the ever-evolving tech landscape with a particular interest for smartphones, apps, and gaming. With a passion for sharing insights, my articles blend expertise with a friendly touch—think of me as your friendly neighborhood tech support.