Check out Meta’s not-so-cunning plan to take on ChatGPT

By Trevor Mogg Published February 27, 2025

Meta wants a piece of the pie — a big piece — when it comes to generative AI. As part of its long-term strategy to embed itself in every part of our lives, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company is planning to launch its Meta AI chatbot as a standalone app, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources claiming to have knowledge of the matter.

Meta is aiming to launch the AI chatbot app between April and June this year, the sources said. The company may also offer a subscription model with more advanced features.

Recommended Videos

A standalone Meta AI app would compete with the slew of other AI chatbots already out there, including popular ones like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, X’s Grok, Perplexity, and DeepSeek, a Chinese effort that burst onto the scene just last month.

Meta unveiled Meta AI in September 2023 before incorporating it into its stable of apps — among them Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — starting last April. Like other generative AI apps, Meta AI can converse in a natural, human-like way, and also create images in response to prompts input by users.

Speaking in January, Zuckerberg said that 2025 would be “the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than one billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant.”

By offering Meta AI as a standalone app rather than only as a part of its social media apps, Meta believes it will lead to deeper, more rewarding interaction with the AI, sources told CNBC.

Certainly, if a big hitter like Meta does release Meta AI as a standalone app, it will increase competition and potentially further fragment the AI chatbot sector.

Additionally, Meta’s huge data resources could give its AI an edge in personalization, but at the same time its arrival may raise more privacy concerns compared to other AI chatbots.

Responding to news that Meta may be about to release a standalone app for its AI chatbot, OpenAI chief Sam Altman quipped in a post on X: “OK, fine, maybe we’ll do a social app,” adding, “lol if Facebook tries to come at us and we just uno reverse them it would be so funny.”

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Topics

Phones

The Xteink e-reader didn’t make sense to me until I did this one thing

I replaced the stock firmware on my Xteink X4 and finally got the typography, customization, and reading stats I wanted.

CrossInk running on Xteink X4

I got my hands on the Xteink X4 a few weeks back, and I was really excited. But as soon as I started using it, I realized the reading experience wasn't that great. The font rendering was poor, the line and word spacing was haphazard, and I couldn't customize much of anything.

Don't get me wrong, the stock firmware has received several updates over the past few months. Many of its issues are gone, and some things, like sleep and wake time, are way better now. Still, something was missing, and I kept leaving the X4 on my desk instead of reading on it.

Phones

The iPhone Duo is already sold out for Christmas, and you might not get one until 2027

Missed the preorder? Your best shot is a store line.

iPhone Duo

Preorder day is supposed to be the easy part of buying a new iPhone. It should involve little more than visiting Apple’s website, choosing the storage and color options, and paying the asking price to reserve a unit.

With Apple’s first foldable, that isn’t the case. Apple opened pre-orders for the iPhone Duo on Friday, October 16, 2026, and within an hour, delivery dates had slipped well into next year.

Phones

Samsung might swap the Galaxy S27 Ultra’s chip if Qualcomm can’t keep it cool

Qualcomm has until mid-October to chill out, or Exynos gets its comeback moment.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone in blue color.

Nobody wants a phone that doubles as a hand warmer, and Samsung clearly agrees. As reported by Seoul Economic Daily, Samsung is unhappy with how Qualcomm’s next flagship chip handles heat, and that could shake up what powers the Galaxy S27 Ultra when it arrives early next year.

Qualcomm revealed the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme 6th generation last month, and Samsung has been putting it through its final round of testing. The results haven’t been great. During long, demanding tasks, the chip kept running hotter than Samsung’s limits allow, and its performance took a hit.