Threads is testing a Meta AI integration that works similarly to X’s Grok. Users with a public account will be able to mention Meta AI in a post or a reply to get more context. The feature is currently in beta testing in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina, and Singapore.
Meta told TechCrunch in an email that the feature is designed to help people get real-time context about trends and breaking stories, as well as receive recommendations, all within conversations.
Now users can mention Meta AI to ask questions like, “Why are people talking about the World Cup this month?,” “Whose Met Gala looks are trending right now?,” or “How are the Knicks doing in the playoffs?” Meta AI will then process the invocation and respond as a public reply authored by the @meta.ai account. Meta AI will respond in the language used in the post it was mentioned in.
By integrating Meta AI into its platform, Threads is positioning itself as not just a destination for chatting about news and trends, but also a place where you can get information and recommendations without having to leave the app.
The idea is similar to Grok’s role on X, which is filled with posts of users asking the AI chatbot questions like, “Is this real?” or “Explain this.” Of course, giving an AI chatbot this level of visibility carries risks, as seen on X when Grok generated posts praising Hitler. Still, Meta AI notably has stronger safeguards in place than Grok, though it remains to be seen whether it will be prone to similar issues.
Meta notes that if you want to see fewer Meta AI replies in your feed, you can mute @meta.ai, use the “Not interested” option on any Meta AI post, or hide a Meta AI reply that appears directly on your post.
The company says it plans to learn from early feedback and will continue improving the experience before expanding it to more people.
Topics
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Aisha Malik
Consumer News Reporter
Aisha is a consumer news reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining the publication in 2021, she was a telecom reporter at MobileSyrup. Aisha holds an honours bachelor’s degree from University of Toronto and a master’s degree in journalism from Western University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Aisha by emailing aisha@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at aisha_malik.01 on Signal.
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