Meta Platforms' AI assistant, Meta AI, has rapidly gained traction since its launch less than a year ago. According to a report from The Information, the assistant reached 400 million monthly active users and 40 million daily active users in early August.
These numbers highlight Meta's advantage in being able to leverage its massive user base (0ver 3 billion people daily) across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The company has integrated Meta AI into its apps' search functions, its Ray-Ban smart glasses, and launched a standalone website, to boost adoption.
While the user figures are impressive, they raise questions about intentional usage. Some users have complained about Meta's aggressive promotion of the assistant, leading to internal discussions about accidental interactions.
Connor Hayes, Meta's VP of product for generative AI, acknowledged the learning curve: "People are still learning how to use Meta AI. They might run across it while scrolling through Facebook or choose to message with it on WhatsApp."
The 10% ratio of daily to monthly users for Meta AI is notably lower than the 80% ratio Meta reported for its main apps in February. This disparity suggests that while many users encounter the AI, fewer are engaging with it regularly.
Despite these challenges, Meta AI's rapid growth positions it as a significant competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT, which recently reported over 200 million weekly users.
Richard Banfield
As Meta continues to refine its AI assistant, the company faces the task of converting casual encounters into meaningful, intentional usage. The success of this effort will be crucial in realizing CEO Mark Zuckerberg's ambitious goal of making Meta AI the world's "most used AI assistant" by year's end.