Meta on Thursday announced that Meta AI is coming to Europe after a rather long wait. It’s not going to be the full Meta AI experience you get in the US and elsewhere, as the standalone Meta AI service won’t be available here. Instead, Meta AI will come to all of Meta’s social and chat apps, whether you like it or not.
I say that as someone who absolutely does not want any trace of Meta AI in WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram. I’d prefer to use the AI in a separate, standalone app like I already do with ChatGPT, but that’s not the case with Meta.
Maybe that’s how Meta reached over 700 million monthly Meta AI users: by shoving the feature in their faces, regardless of what users really wanted. With a massive user base, some of them might tap that circular Meta AI button if it’s present everywhere in the apps with no way of disabling it.
That said, Meta users who can’t wait to use Meta AI in chat apps or aren’t bothered by Meta forcing the AI on them should be excited to hear that Meta AI is coming to 41 European countries, including the entire European Union and 21 overseas territories.
Meta AI is launching in Europe later than Meta would have wanted due to regulatory pressures, something Meta makes clear in the blog post:
It’s taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system – but we’re glad we’re finally here. Over the coming weeks, we’ll take the first step in making Meta AI’s chat function available in six European languages, with a view to find parity with the US and expand our offering over time.
It’s unclear what took Meta so long to deploy Meta AI in Europe when rivals like ChatGPT and Gemini are already available in the region. Yes, the latest ChatGPT features take more time to arrive in the EU, but OpenAI still launches them in the region.
Strangely, Meta also makes the point that Meta AI will be available for free on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger as if Meta could charge users for Meta AI access it already forces on them:
To make Meta AI accessible to everyone, we’ll be rolling out Meta AI for free across Europe through the messaging apps people already know and love – across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. To find it, just look for a new blue circle icon – tap on it to find out more and start exploring its potential.
I’m not saying Meta AI can’t be useful because I really think everybody should start chatting with the AI as soon as possible. We’re in the age of AI, and not getting used to chatting with it will not be in your favor. But rather than placing that blue circle icon inside every Meta app, Meta could focus on bringing a standalone Meta AI app to Europe, whether it’s on the web or a separate iPhone and Android app.
A standalone Meta AI app would probably let Meta offer European users a richer AI experience. Instead, you only get the text-only chat integration, where Meta AI can only answer text prompts and reply in kind.
Meta AI isn’t a multi-model AI to rival ChatGPT and Gemini in Europe. You don’t get features like image generation, voice support, file upload, deep research, or any of the cool features Meta AI rivals already offer in the region. Meta would have mentioned such features otherwise.
Meta AI can only generate text results and answer questions about topics of interest. It can be added to group chats for specific prompts if the AI’s help is needed. That also explains why Meta AI can only be free in Europe. There are no advanced features to charge for here.
