US tech giant Meta AI announced on March 19 that it is rolling out its AI chatbot in Europe almost one year after pausing its launch in the region. This week, a limited version of Meta’s AI chatbot will head to WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
Meta AI disclosed that its AI chatbot will roll out across WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in 41 European countries and 21 overseas territories—but it will be limited to text-based chat features for now.
Starting with an intelligent chat function in six European languages, this is the first step in Meta’s ongoing efforts to bring more intuitive AI to people in Europe. The European rollout comes after a year of regulatory delays and does not use EU user data for training. However, Meta plans to expand features over time to reach parity with the US version but currently offers fewer capabilities than in other regions
The company revealed that the chatbot’s inclusion in conversations could help “deep dive on topics of interest, or get help with a ‘how-to’ or a problem that needs solving,” such as planning a trip. However, Meta claimed that developing large language models (LLMs) like Meta AI required “vast reserves of data,” which is heavily regulated in the European Union where it relates to individual users.
Meta rolls out limited version of AI chatbot in Europe
Meta AI is finally launching in Europe across WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in 41 countries. However, it is limited to text-based chat features only, with no image generation or photo analysis capabilities.
Meta AI was rolled out in the US in September 2023, followed by India in June 2024 and the UK in October. Its plan to continue expanding in Europe was halted last summer due to “regulatory unpredictability.”
Last year, Meta said it was withholding the rollout of certain AI models in the EU due to what it described as the “unpredictable nature” of the European regulatory environment. However, the company has since addressed these concerns and is proceeding with the launch.
The Irish Data Protection Commission claimed it had been examining Meta AI with its fellow EU data watchdogs over recent months and that it would keep Meta’s AI chatbot under review as it rolled out to users over the coming weeks.
“It’s taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system – but we’re glad we’re finally here.”
–Meta
Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner at the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), said there were still some questions that required answering in terms of WhatsApp, but the DPC was engaging with WhatsApp regarding these issues. A spokesperson for WhatsApp said that “Meta AI can only read messages that are shared with it, and that personal messages remain end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one outside of the chat, not even WhatsApp, can see them.”
Meta AI continues to lead the AI assistant space
Meta AI continues to be the leading assistant for people around the world, with over 700M monthly active users. Since Meta AI launched in the US in 2023, all corners of the world have embraced free access to an intelligent and conversational assistant, which has seen rapidly enhanced product experiences.
According to Meta, having a reliable and intelligent assistant was already proving to be one of the real values that this generation of AI created–giving everyone an opportunity to have an assistant that people can engage with throughout their daily lives to enhance social experiences and unlock new possibilities. Meta will be rolling out its AI chatbot for free across Europe through the messaging apps people already know and love. The ease of access makes it perfect on-the-go, and intuitive for people already using Meta apps.
Meta AI will now make it easier to discover content that is relevant to users and their interests. Meta AI will enable users to generate results across a range of content–from reels or posts from friends and followers. The Meta AI chat feature will also include access to information from the internet, making it an easy and efficient way to get all the information needed by users in one place–with added context and conversation.
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