How is Meta's AI chatbot changing?

Meta's AI chatbot is getting a major overhaul, with the goal of turning it into a personal assistant that's actually helpful. The latest update gives the chatbot access to users' calendars, so it can generate daily briefings and even help plan events - a pretty big deal. This shift in strategy is interesting, because up until now, Meta's focus has been on entertainment and social connection. But now, it's all about productivity, with the chatbot being positioned as a tool to help users manage their time and tasks more efficiently.

The updated chatbot can do a bunch of useful things, like browse Facebook Marketplace for items that fit within a user's budget, or search for restaurants that are suitable for an event. It can also provide calendar briefings without needing to be re-prompted, and even generate meal plans on a weekly basis. And if you need a summary of information from across the web, it can do that too, creating reports, presentations, or plans. One of the coolest features, though, is that users can now adjust the chatbot's direction mid-response - kinda like how you can with other AI assistants like ChatGPT.

The changes are all thanks to Meta's newly released Muse Spark 1.1 model, which is enabling the chatbot to do a lot more than it could before. For now, the updated AI assistant is only available in select markets, through the Meta AI app and on the web - but don't worry, it'll be rolling out to more countries and platforms (including WhatsApp) in the coming weeks. As Meta keeps working on its AI chatbot, you can bet that we'll see even more features and improvements down the line, making it an increasingly useful tool for managing daily tasks and responsibilities.

Source: The Verge