Meta launches AI app to rival ChatGPT with social media integration

On April 29, 2025, Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled a new standalone artificial intelligence application at its inaugural generative AI conference, LlamaCon, held in Menlo Park, California. The app, designed to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT, is powered by Meta’s Llama 4 AI system and includes a unique social media component. Users can interact with AI in a number of ways, including a voice mode and a 'discover' feed that showcases interactions from other users, allowing for a more personalized experience that draws on the company’s social media roots. Meta aims to leverage its extensive experience in social media to differentiate its AI app from competitors. The app allows users to link their Facebook and Instagram accounts, giving Meta an edge in personalizing the user experience. This approach is indicative of Meta’s understanding of the marketplace, where personalization through social networks can enhance engagement with AI functionalities. According to Forrester research director Mike Proulx, the app’s discover feed closely resembles the Facebook Feed, focusing uniquely on AI use cases. During the conference, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg engaged in a technical discussion with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella regarding the rapid development of AI technologies and their implications for both their companies and the wider world. Zuckerberg acknowledged the immense hype surrounding AI, and noted the potential for significant productivity gains, adding that such advancements should reflect in macroeconomic metrics like gross domestic product. Meanwhile, Nadella proposed that real changes in productivity through AI will require both software adaptations and shifts in management approaches, referencing the historical precedent set by the adoption of electricity in industry. Both leaders expressed hope that the integration of AI technologies into businesses would not take as long to realize as it did for electricity, with Zuckerberg suggesting that their investments signal confidence in quicker progress. As Meta promotes its AI app for free as an open-source product, it highlights the fact that over a billion people currently use its AI offerings each month, indicating a substantial existing user base that could transition to the new platform effectively. Amidst this development, the discourse surrounding AI's potential societal impacts continues, echoing familiar themes in the tech industry's ongoing evolution.