Here are all the new Meta AI features on WhatsApp
What's the story
Meta has introduced a range of artificial intelligence (AI) enhancements for WhatsApp, as announced at the recent Meta Connect event. These updates include real-time voice interaction, celebrity voices, and image editing capabilities. The company believes that these features will stimulate user creativity, enrich their conversations, and encourage them to experiment with new ideas.
Voice interaction
Voice mode enables real-time conversations
The most significant update is the introduction of Meta AI's voice mode on WhatsApp. This feature allows users to engage in real-time discussions with the AI chatbot, similar to ChatGPT. The voice mode had been previously detected in WhatsApp's beta version but has only now been officially launched for users.
Celebrity voices
Meta AI to feature celebrity voices
In addition to real-time conversations, Meta has also announced that its AI will soon feature various celebrity voices. Notable names include Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan Michael Key, and Kristen Bell. Users can interact with Meta AI by tapping the waveform button and asking questions to the chatbot. This enhancement is expected to further enrich the experience on WhatsApp.
Image editing
Image analysis and editing capabilities
Meta AI on WhatsApp can now analyze images and answer related queries. For instance, users can send a picture of a dish to the chatbot and ask for detailed cooking instructions. Additionally, they can request the chatbot to edit their photos by removing unwanted elements or altering the background or color of an object.
Vision recognition
Vision capabilities and image recognition
The new features are powered by Meta's latest Llama 3.2 model, which has vision capabilities. This model can bridge the gap between vision and language by extracting information from an image, understanding the scene, and then crafting a sentence or two that you can use as an image caption to help tell the story." According to Meta, Llama 3.2 is competitive on image recognition and a range of visual understanding tasks compared with similar offerings from ChatGPT and Claude.
Future applications
Meta AI's application on Instagram and future plans
Beyond WhatsApp, Meta AI can also be used on Instagram. When a photo is reshared from the feed to Instagram Stories, the AI technology can analyze the photo and generate a suitable background for the Story. Additionally, Meta is testing translation tools for Facebook and Instagram Reels that include automatic dubbing and lip-syncing. These tests will initially be conducted in small groups in both English and Spanish languages.