There are countless AI assistants to choose from, from Gemini and ChatGPT to DeepSeek and Claude. Not to be left out, Meta has also introduced its own AI assistant, coined Meta AI.
As Meta AI’s chat function is starting to roll out across 41 European countries and in six European languages over the coming weeks, now’s a great time to get a refresher on the AI service which launched in the US back in 2023.
We’ve put together everything you need to know about Meta AI, including where you can find the AI service, how it works and the privacy and security measures surrounding it. Most importantly we answer the key question of what is Meta AI.
Meta AI is a generative AI assistant found across Meta’s services, including WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram.
Akin to chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, Meta AI can reply to users’ prompts, answer questions and even identify the details of photos. Meta AI can also edit images, allowing you to remove unwanted objects or revamp the photo too, and generate pictures too.
Much like Gemini Live video and screen-sharing capabilities, you can now use your Ray-Ban Meta glasses to learn about anything you see, hands-free. Just note that you’ll need a compatible pair of glasses to benefit from this tool.
Also in a similar vein to Gemini Live, you can engage in a natural conversation live with Meta AI too. Users can also pick from a range of AI voices to chat to, from Kristen Bell to John Cena and Awkwafina.
At the time of writing, yes Meta AI is free for all users, and this is because the system is based on an open-source AI model called Llama. Essentially, Llama is Meta’s large language model (LLM) which is what the AI tool is based on. The fact it’s open-source is important here, as it means the AI model allows developers to “fine-tune, distill and deploy anywhere” without cost.
At the time of writing, there are currently a few Llama models for developers to select from, including Llama 3.1, Llama 3.2 and Llama 3.3.
Meta AI is available across all of Meta’s services including Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. You can also use Meta AI via Rayban Meta glasses too.
You can access Meta AI through your Facebook feed, which ensures you see topics that you actually care about, plus Meta AI works as an assistant in your WhatsApp and Messenger chats too. Simply tag @Meta AI and ask Meta for anything from ideas of things to do, recipe ideas and to help your group create a travel itinerary too.
One of the biggest concerns around any generative AI tool is whether it’s safe and private to use. Meta explained that it wants to ensure that it’s releasing Meta AI technology “in a way that anticipates and works to reduce risk” and promises that it takes steps to “evaluate and address risks at each level of the AI development and deployment process”.
While Apple promises that it can never see users’ data via its Apple Intelligence toolkit, WhatsApp disclaims that although messages and calls are protected with end-to-end encryption, if you or someone else mentions @Meta AI, then they can be read by Meta.
Users can also choose to share their Meta AI messages to help “improve its AI quality” too.
Users in the UK and EU are protected by GDPR, they can easily opt out of Meta AI learning. Otherwise, those outside of the UK and EU cannot turn off Meta AI altogether on Facebook or WhatsApp and instead can only disable certain features.
Users can disable Meta AI’s features on Instagram simply by opening the chat system and selecting Mute. For WhatsApp, you can only mute notifications or messages from Meta AI and on Facebook, you can turn off AI comment summaries and Ask Meta AI too.
Meta AI has just started rolling out across 41 European countries and 21 overseas territories which, at the time of writing, is the largest global expansion of Meta AI. Its rollout will begin with the chatbot function, which will be available in six European languages including English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German.
European users can find Meta AI through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger via the new blue circle icon in the respective app’s search bars.
Meta AI partially launched in the UK back in October 2024, as the chatbot was made available through Messenger and Instagram DM. Alongside the European roll-out of Meta AI, which began in March 2025, the chatbot will now also be available on WhatsApp across the UK.
Users can ask the Meta AI chatbot questions within your messages, by tagging @Meta AI within chats or can access the service by tapping on the blue circle on the Chats tab.
As mentioned above, alongside the European roll-out, UK users will now have access to Meta AI through WhatsApp. Not only will users soon be able to ask Meta AI questions, for example advice on things to do or getting the chatbot to create an itinerary for a group trip based on just a few user prompts, but users can also forward messages to Meta AI too.
You should note that if someone forwards your message to Meta AI, then Meta will be able to read it even if you’ve muted Meta AI yourself.
