April 29, 2025 – Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has officially launched a standalone app for its Meta AI assistant, intensifying the competition in the rapidly evolving AI market.
Previously integrated into Meta’s core platforms—including WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook—the assistant is now available through a dedicated app. The move aims to increase usage and deliver a more focused, accessible experience for users interested in AI tools beyond social media.
This launch marks a strategic shift by CEO Mark Zuckerberg as Meta doubles down on its AI ambitions. By offering a distinct app, the tech giant positions itself more directly against major players like OpenAI (supported by Microsoft) and Google (via its Gemini and Bard platforms).
The app, powered by Meta’s newly released Llama 4 language model, delivers improved performance in natural language reasoning, multilingual support, and overall efficiency. It is tailored to provide more context-aware and personalized interactions by leveraging user data from Facebook and Instagram—where permissions are granted.
Meta says the new assistant app will also tie into its smart glasses ecosystem and consolidate with the existing companion app, creating a more cohesive user experience across devices.
In parallel, Meta is hosting LlamaCon, its first developer conference dedicated entirely to its Llama AI model series. The event reflects Meta’s growing investment in open-source and enterprise-ready AI solutions.
Looking ahead, Meta plans to trial a paid version of Meta AI in the second quarter of 2025. Although initial revenue from the premium subscription tier is expected to be minimal, insiders suggest this move is part of a longer-term monetization strategy for its AI offerings.
First introduced in September 2023, Meta AI is designed to act as a virtual assistant capable of performing a variety of tasks, from answering questions and summarizing content to providing creative suggestions. With Llama 4 at its core, the assistant now offers one of Meta’s most advanced AI experiences to date.
Meta will report its Q1 earnings following market close on Wednesday.
