Meta Prepares Standalone AI Chatbot App to Rival ChatGPT and Gemini

Meta is developing a standalone AI chatbot app, marking a shift from its current AI integrations within Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Expected to launch in Q2 2025, the app will compete directly with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini, both of which have already established themselves as standalone AI platforms, reports CNBC.

The move follows a growing trend where AI assistants are shifting beyond text-based interactions and into multimodal AI. Google has already expanded Gemini AI to iOS, allowing users to interact through voice commands, image recognition, and deep cross-app integration.

Meanwhile, xAI’s Grok AI launched as a standalone app with real-time web connectivity and the ability to generate photorealistic images using Aurora.

Why Meta Is Moving AI Beyond Social Media

Until now, Meta’s AI assistant has been embedded within its messaging platforms, primarily offering text responses, image generation, and simple automation tools. However, keeping AI confined to these services has limited its broader applications.

By creating a dedicated AI app, Meta aims to position its chatbot as a standalone digital assistant that extends beyond casual social interactions.

Meta has invested $65 billion into AI development, focusing on model training, infrastructure, and data center expansion. While OpenAI and Google have heavily invested in multimodal AI assistants, Meta’s chatbot could stand out if it integrates AI-generated content tools or introduces social media-based AI interactions that its competitors lack.

Meta will need to differentiate itself in a competitive market where chatbots are evolving into AI-powered work assistants. Anthropic’s Claude AI recently expanded to desktop platforms, allowing users to execute tasks beyond mobile-based conversations.

Similarly, Perplexity AI introduced an app with its live search-based AI, integrating real-time web browsing with conversational AI. If Meta’s chatbot fails to offer similar real-time capabilities, it risks falling behind. Trying to catch up, Meta has been developing its own proprietary AI search engine.

What Meta’s AI Chatbot Might Offer

Meta has not revealed full details of the AI chatbot’s capabilities, but based on its current AI features, the standalone app will likely include text-based assistance, voice interactions, and image generation.

Given the industry’s shift toward multimodal AI, Meta could expand these features to include real-time AI search, document summarization, or AI-driven automation for social media content creation.

Another possibility is deeper AI integration with Meta’s existing services, such as its advertising tools and AR/VR platforms. With Meta continuing to develop augmented reality experiences, its AI assistant could eventually be used in metaverse-based applications, though this remains speculative.

How Meta’s AI Will Compete With OpenAI and Google

Google and OpenAI have already expanded their AI models into standalone digital assistants with cross-platform functionality. Google’s Gemini AI is integrated into Android and Search, while OpenAI is offering real-time voice interactions with video support, document analysis, and more.

If Meta wants its chatbot to stand out, it will need to offer functionality beyond basic chatbot responses.

One approach could be leveraging AI-driven social interactions, such as content recommendation engines, automated video editing, or even AI-generated influencers.

Given Meta’s expertise in social media engagement and ad-based revenue models, it could explore AI-powered advertising tools or AI-assisted content curation.

Meta’s AI Infrastructure: Can It Compete With OpenAI and Google?

The success of any advanced AI model depends not just on its software but also on the infrastructure behind it. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft have been scaling their computing power to support larger language models, real-time AI processing, and multimodal interactions.

Google has integrated Gemini AI into its cloud ecosystem, OpenAI continues to optimize its dedicated AI training clusters, and Elon Musk’s xAI follows an aggressive expanding strategy, expanding its Colossus supercomputer that powers its Grok chatbot to one million Nvidia GPUs.

Meta has committed $65 billion toward AI research and infrastructure, with an expected increase to $200 billion, but it remains unclear whether its AI chatbot will have the same level of computing efficiency as its competitors.

Unlike OpenAI and Google, Meta has not publicly detailed its AI model’s computational scale or if it plans investing in custom AI training hardware. If Meta intends to make its AI chatbot a serious contender, it will need to ensure it has the data processing power to handle real-time AI conversations at scale.

Regulatory Scrutiny and Privacy Concerns

As AI-driven services expand, so does regulatory oversight. In October 2024, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into Google’s $2 billion investment in Anthropic, citing concerns that such partnerships could consolidate AI power within a few dominant companies.

If regulators begin scrutinizing AI development deals more aggressively, Meta’s AI chatbot launch could attract similar regulatory attention.

Meta has already faced privacy-related controversies, particularly around data collection and targeted advertising of teenagers. If its chatbot gathers user interactions for AI model improvements, it will need to clarify its data retention policies to avoid backlash.

Companies like OpenAI and Google have faced similar concerns, but Meta’s history with personalized ad tracking and algorithm-driven recommendations means it may receive greater scrutiny than its AI competitors.

Another area of potential regulation is AI-generated content and misinformation. With ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI chatbots capable of producing large volumes of text, images, and videos, concerns have been raised about the potential misuse of AI in spreading false information.

If Meta plans to integrate AI-generated content into its chatbot, it may have to introduce content moderation systems similar to those found on its social media platforms.

Will Meta’s AI Be Free or Subscription-Based?

Most leading AI platforms now use subscription-based models to monetize their advanced AI features. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus costs $20 per month as the base plan, while Google’s Gemini AI offers a $19.99 per month premium plan under Google One AI.

Meta has yet to confirm whether its AI chatbot will follow a similar pricing structure or whether it will be offered for free with an ad-supported model.

Given Meta’s dominance in digital advertising, it could explore AI-generated ad integration within its chatbot, monetizing interactions through sponsored AI recommendations.

Another possibility is that Meta introduces premium AI tools for businesses, similar to how ChatGPT Enterprise targets corporate users with advanced AI automation and document analysis capabilities.

Meta’s AI Strategy: A Competitive Gamble

Meta’s entry into the standalone AI chatbot market puts it in direct competition with OpenAI, Google, xAI, and Perplexity AI, all of which are rapidly expanding their AI ecosystems.

The company has a massive built-in audience through its social platforms, which could help drive initial adoption. However, user retention will depend on whether Meta’s chatbot offers meaningful differentiation beyond standard AI-generated responses.

For now, the biggest question is how Meta will position its AI chatbot. Will it function primarily as a content creation assistant, a real-time AI companion, or a social media-integrated AI tool? While OpenAI and Google have focused on productivity and knowledge-based AI, Meta could carve out a different niche by integrating AI into interactive social experiences, advertising, and entertainment.