Why Meta could be the dark horse in the generative AI war

The news: Meta entered the AI race in a big way last week, and the company is in it to win it.

• Meta AI is now integrated into the search bars on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in the US and a dozen other countries. Facebook users can also use Meta AI while scrolling through the feed and in chats on Messenger.
• Meta AI is also available as a standalone tool on the website Meta.ai, putting it in direct competition with the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
• Meta AI is powered by Llama 3, Meta’s newest and most powerful large language model, which was released simultaneously.

Why it matters: Meta could be the dark horse in the generative AI war.

• Meta AI has a built-in audience. Fewer than half (43%) of US Facebook users need to use Meta AI at least once per month for it to be as big as market leader ChatGPT, per our estimates. That’s not unthinkable given how prominently Meta AI is now placed in Meta’s apps.
• Meta already has a robust role in product search. One-fifth (21%) of US consumers started their online product searches on Facebook in Q3 2023, per Jungle Scout. Some 17% did so on Instagram.
• Meta AI is free to use, even as a standalone tool. The most accurate and up-to-date version of ChatGPT, ChatGPT Plus, costs $20 per month.
• Llama 3 is open-source, meaning that anyone can access and build products on it for free. Independent researchers can also spot and solve problems with the technology, including mistakes and copyright issues.

Yes, but: Meta AI will only be as good as its underlying model, and Llama 3 still has some work to do. Meta says it is currently training a new version that is six times as powerful as the biggest Llama 3 model and aims to make it “multilingual and multimodal.”

• Meta AI is currently only available in English, while ChatGPT supports 10 languages.
• Llama 3 can currently generate text, images, and animated GIFs. Some users have also complained that Meta AI is more conservative in its responses than other generative AI chatbots.

The big picture: The sheer size of Meta’s existing audience, combined with the convenience of being able to access Meta AI in Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will make the company stand out in a crowded genAI market. Meta’s powerhouse ad platform also gives it a leg up in monetization as genAI search advertising gains steam.

• Meta is a staple in most marketers’ ad strategies and will account for 22.8% of worldwide digital ad spending in 2024, per our forecast.
• Both Facebook and Instagram already offer some search ad placements, while WhatsApp monetizes via business messaging tools. There’s little doubt that Meta will ultimately introduce ads or other paid business features into Meta AI as it scales.
• Meta has already introduced Meta AI as a search assistant in its Ray-Ban smart glasses. Users can capture images and video, ask questions, and get results back. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Meta could develop this into a paid visual search tool.