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Meta AI now has a standalone app

Now, it wants our full attention.

by Kelechi Edeh

Updated April 30, 2025

Meta has already slipped its AI assistant into WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. But now it wants your full attention with a new standalone Meta AI app that’s going head-to-head with ChatGPT.

Unveiled at its first-ever LlamaCon developer event, the app marks Meta’s biggest public AI swing yet. Like its rivals (OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude), it lets you ask questions, generate images, and get help with day-to-day stuff, but with one key difference: it already knows a lot about you.

That’s because, unlike most other AI tools, Meta AI draws on years of user data you’ve already shared across its platforms. If you’ve liked posts, followed pages, or shared your interests on Instagram or Facebook, this new chatbot could tailor responses based on that. It even lets you teach it more, like telling it you’re vegetarian or allergic to cats, for more personalized help later. Plus, Meta adds that its model is more "cost-efficient" than other chatbots including DeepSeek.

Beyond chat, the app includes a Discover feed where you can choose to share your AI chats (like getting emoji descriptions of yourself) with friends. And if that sounds like something pulled from OpenAI’s rumored “social AI network,” well, it kind of is.

The app runs on Meta’s new Llama 4 model, which the company claims is faster and more efficient than GPT-4 or Gemini. But early impressions suggest Meta isn’t just chasing benchmark wins — it’s leaning into openness, offering an API for developers looking to tap into Llama and build their own tools.

Still, it’s a crowded field. OpenAI has the early mover advantage and 400 million weekly users. Claude is known for better reasoning. Google’s Gemini has slick integrations with Android. As well as Grok.

But Meta’s play here feels strategic. With nearly 600 million monthly users already using Meta AI across its apps, this standalone launch could quietly scale that further, especially among younger users.

If it works, it might not just be a ChatGPT competitor. It might be the most personalized AI on the planet. You can download Meta AI app via the App Store, Google Play Store, and through the web at ai.meta.com.