Meta launches AI app to rival ChatGPT
Meta Platforms has officially entered the AI arena with the launch of a standalone app powered by its in-house Llama AI model, intensifying the tech industry’s arms race for generative artificial intelligence dominance. This new offering directly targets OpenAI’s ChatGPT, staking Meta’s claim as a serious contender in the battle for the next-generation digital assistant.
Announced during the company’s inaugural LlamaCon developer event in Menlo Park, the Meta AI app marks a strategic pivot beyond integrating AI into its existing ecosystem. Now, Meta is placing its AI front and center, offering users an independent interface equipped with a Discover feed to showcase prompt ideas and highlight user interactions—a feature designed to boost engagement and learning.
This week’s announcement solidifies Meta’s commitment to positioning Meta AI alongside—and against—other major players in the space, including Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and Elon Musk’s Grok. The standalone app marks a strategic move to expand Meta’s AI presence beyond its existing platforms and into the broader generative AI market.
Meta originally debuted its AI chatbot in September 2023, embedding it across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger. In April, it took a bolder step, replacing the search bars in those apps with Meta AI, signaling CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for AI as the default interface layer of the future internet.
Zuckerberg has made his ambitions clear: “2025 is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant,” he said in January. At the time, Meta AI had already reached 700 million monthly active users, up from 600 million just a month earlier.
Meta’s approach mirrors strategies by rivals like Google and xAI, both of which have also launched standalone apps for their respective assistants. Yet Meta brings a unique advantage: the unmatched scale of its social platforms, which could accelerate Meta AI’s adoption well beyond niche usage.
Investors are watching closely. The company has committed up to $65 billion in AI infrastructure spending this year alone, underscoring how seriously it’s treating this transition. With its Q1 earnings report set for release on Wednesday, the pressure is on to prove that these bold AI investments are not just speculative, but commercially viable.
The launch of the standalone Meta AI app isn’t just a product update—it’s Meta's declaration of war in the AI space. The battlefield is set, and the outcome could redefine how billions interact with technology.
