WhatsApp's Meta AI experiment is now live for more users

The chatbot can be activated via the search bar or a dedicated button

Summary

• Meta's AI chatbot is expanding to more WhatsApp users globally, with the experiment initially being limited to some regions.
• Users can also access Meta AI in WhatsApp by tapping the dedicated icon in the top right of the Chats tab.
• WhatsApp has been testing other AI tools over the past several months, including for customer support and image editing.

Like any other modern tech corporation, Meta has also dived headfirst into the AI arena, unleashing its AI chatbot last September. At the time, we also learned that AI elements would trickle into its products, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, etc. While we've already seen elements of AI making it to Messenger and Instagram, WhatsApp has been somewhat slow to pick up features. But that could change imminently with the messaging app now expanding Meta AI's search bar integration to more users.

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We caught an early glimpse of WhatsApp's generative AI integration in November. Then a recent beta update of WhatsApp for Android brought the AI chatbot to the app's search bar. According to reporting by WABetaInfo, the Meta AI integration within the search bar was initially limited to certain regions, but WhatsApp is now expanding the experiment to more users across the globe.

Source: WABetaInfo

Interestingly, the experiment appears to be live for both iOS and Android users, with the publication not specifying a particular version of the app that enables this. Although WABetaInfo could only obtain screenshots from the iOS version, we've already caught a glimpse of this revamped search bar on Android, thanks to last month's beta update.

As you can see above, users will also be able to access Meta AI in WhatsApp by tapping the dedicated icon in the top right of the Chats tab. It's unclear at this point if WhatsApp will continue to offer Meta AI both through the search bar and the icon in subsequent releases.

Despite the search bar being supercharged with Meta AI, standard search functionality, such as finding a particular message, group, or contact, will supposedly continue to work. WABetaInfo also provides some additional info on the Meta AI integration, saying data would not be shared with Meta's servers unless the user asks the chatbot a question. Furthermore, the recommended prompts shown by Meta AI are reportedly generated at random, with no user data collected to tailor these suggestions.

WhatsApp has tested other AI tools in the past

Under-development image editing tools (left); Meta AI integration in the search bar (middle); AI-based chat support (right)

The integrated chatbot experience is among the multiple AI tools that WhatsApp has tested over the past several months. We first stumbled upon AI-based user support back in October last year, while the integrated chatbot appeared a month later. Fast forward to March 2024, when we found an Android beta of WhatsApp borrowing sister app Instagram's AI-based image editing elements like Backdrop, Restyle, and Expand.

Away from AI-based feature additions, WhatsApp devs continue to improve existing functionality in beta releases. Earlier this week, the chat app was testing a potentially significant upgrade to the image editing experience on large-screen devices like tablets and foldables, ensuring the experience remains consistent across all platforms.