Skip to main content

Meta to introduce AI agents to ‘billions of people’

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said that recent advances in artificial technology present an “opportunity to introduce AI agents to billions of people in ways that will be useful and meaningful.”

The Zuck made the remarks during a call with investors on Wednesday following Meta’s release of company data for the first quarter.

Recommended Videos

His words were a reminder to investors that Meta is intent on competing with the likes of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google when it comes to creating generative AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT and Bard, which have gained huge attention in recent months.

As Microsoft and Google set about injecting AI technology into their online products, Zuckerberg was keen to let investors know that similar tools developed by Meta will “touch every single one of our products” and be useful for everyone from “regular people to creators to businesses.”

As an example, the Facebook co-founder talked about how “tens of millions of AI agents” working for companies could boost customer support interactions, resulting in “way more businesses that can afford to have people engaging in chat.”

Meta’s boss added that his company is still intent on developing the metaverse, despite recent reports suggesting a shift toward AI.

Zuckerberg’s comments come just a couple of months after he revealed that Meta was bringing together its AI teams in a structural change designed to “turbocharge” its work in that area.

They also follow major changes at Meta that have seen more than 20,000 jobs go in recent months, with Zuckerberg earlier marking out 2023 as the “year of efficiency.”

Meta on Wednesday reported $28.6 billion in income for the first quarter ending March 31. Profit came in at $5.7 billion, marking a dip of 24 percent compared to the same period last year.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
AI enables slain man to address courtroom at killer’s sentencing
An abstract image of a person and a blue background.

In what’s believed to be a world first, artificial intelligence (AI) has allowed a slain man to address his killer at the sentencing hearing.

Christopher Pelkey was shot dead in a road rage incident in Chandler, Arizona, four years ago, but just recently, AI was used to recreate a digital version of the victim that was allowed to make a statement during the trial, a local news site reported.

Read more
Meta’s new AI app lets you share your favorite prompts with friends
Meta AI WhatsApp widget.

Meta has been playing the AI game for a while now, but unlike ChatGPT, its models are usually integrated into existing platforms rather than standalone apps. That trend ends today -- the company has launched the Meta AI app and it appears to do everything ChatGPT does and more.

Powered by the latest Llama 4 model, the app is designed to "get to know you" using the conversations you have and information from your public Meta profiles. It's designed to work primarily with voice, and Meta says it has improved responses to feel more personal and conversational. There's experimental voice tech included too, which you can toggle on and off to test -- the difference is that apparently, full-duplex speech technology generates audio directly, rather than reading written responses.

Read more
Meta’s display-toting AI smart glasses could spoil Apple’s party in 2025
Phil Nickinson wearing the Apple AirPods Pro and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Meta has tasted quite some unprecedented success with its camera-equipped smart glasses made in collaboration with Ray-Ban. They started off with social media capture as their key trick, but have now evolved into a vehicle for AI features. 

Now, Meta is reportedly eyeing next-gen smart glasses that add a display unit into the mix. Interestingly, they could arrive in the same window that is usually reserved for the launch of new iPhones and other Apple gear in the Fall season. Apple's smart glasses project, on the other hand, is reportedly a few years behind the competition.

Read more