Meta AI chatbot launches in Europe after year-long regulatory delay
What's the story
Meta has announced the launch of its AI chatbot, Meta AI, across Europe. The rollout comes nearly a year after it was initially planned but halted due to regulatory issues. Starting this week, the chatbot will be available on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in 41 European nations as well as 21 overseas territories. However, its capabilities will be limited to text-based chat features for now.
Launch delay
Initial launch was halted due to regulatory issues
Meta AI was first launched in the US in 2023. However, plans to expand its availability in Europe were blocked by Ireland's privacy watchdog, which sought a delay in training on content posted by Facebook and Instagram users. Meta also had to delay the rollout of its multimodal Llama AI model in the European Union over regulatory issues.
Functionality scope
Meta AI's capabilities limited to text-based chat
For now, Meta AI will function as a chatbot for European users, helping them brainstorm ideas, plan trips, or answer specific questions using web information. It will also help users discover certain types of content on their Instagram feed. However, the tool won't support tasks like generating/editing images or answering questions about photos. The model hasn't been trained on EU user data either.
Future plans
Meta plans to expand AI features in Europe
Despite the current limitations, Meta isn't giving up on its plans to bring more features to the European version of its AI chatbot. The company said it will work toward "finding parity with the US and expanding our offering over time." Last November, Meta started introducing some of its AI features into Ray-Ban smart glasses in the EU. However, they don't yet support multimodal capabilities allowing users to ask about what they can see.