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Javier Pastor
Senior WriterComputer scientist turned tech journalist. I've written about almost everything related to technology, but I specialize in hardware, operating systems and cryptocurrencies. I like writing about tech so much that I do it both for Xataka and Incognitosis, my personal blog.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Meta is in an unusual position in the AI race. Its open source model, Llama, is like the Linux of AI systems—fueling various derivative projects. While Meta is popular among academics and independent developers, it has little commercial presence. That could soon change.
A standalone Meta AI app is coming. Sources cited by CNBC report that Meta plans to launch an independent AI app in the second quarter of 2025.
Meta AI: an unknown veteran. Meta launched its AI chatbot in September 2023 but integrated it into WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook rather than offering it as a standalone app. While this leveraged the company’s massive user base, it also meant Meta AI remained relatively unknown outside these platforms.
Meta CFO Susan Li recently revealed that Meta AI has about 700 million monthly active users—meaning they’ve accessed it at least once a month.
Meta needs its own ChatGPT. Because Meta didn’t offer an independent chatbot—it’s available online but not for users in the EU—it has been outpaced by competitors. ChatGPT remains the industry reference, but Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek and Copilot have become go-to options, all offering standalone mobile apps.
Even Perplexity has one. Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, has also positioned itself as a hub for accessing different open source AI models in a single interface. Meta could adopt a similar approach, as its LLM is open source, but so far, Meta AI has remained focused exclusively on Llama.
Zuckerberg already hinted at this. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg signaled his ambitions in AI development during a January call with investors: “This is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant.”
He reinforced this vision again on Jan. 10, when a Threads user suggested Meta AI should have a standalone app. His response? An emoji confirming 100% agreement.
A subscription model on the horizon. CNBC reports that Meta plans to introduce a subscription model for Meta AI, following in the footsteps of OpenAI, Google and Microsoft. As with its rivals, the strategy would offer a basic free version alongside premium, more powerful options for paying users.
Image | Muhammad Asyfaul (Unsplash)
Related | Rumors About Meta’s Massive Data Centers Highlight One Issue: Big Tech Is Going All In on AI
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