Meta to bring generative AI assistant to EU this week

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, on Thursday announced the launch of its generative artificial intelligence assistant Meta AI in the European Union starting "this week".

This development comes more than a year after its initial unveiling in the United States in September 2023 and subsequent expansion across all Meta platforms in April 2024.

"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," the tech giant said in a statement.

"Starting this week, Meta AI will begin rolling out across 41 European countries."

While EU users will initially have access to text-only responses, Meta AI can provide detailed answers by integrating web searches.

According to Meta, the bot aims to enhance user engagement enabling users to "deep dive on topics of interest, or get help with a 'how-to' or a problem that needs solving" such as planning a trip.

Developing "large language models" (LLMs) like Meta AI requires vast reserves of data, which is heavily regulated in the European Union where it relates to individual users.

Meta's bot available in the EU was not trained on data from EU users.

Until now, the company had held off on introducing its AI in the bloc, saying it was unclear how authorities might interpret overlapping rules on data protection, AI and digital markets.

Europe suffers from a "fragmented regulatory structure riddled with inconsistent implementation," chief executive Mark Zuckerburg said in an August op-ed piece for the Economist newspaper co-written with Spotify chief Daniel Ek.

41 European countries

Meta now appears to have overcome those hurdles for the 41 European countries and six languages it operates in.

AI is an overriding priority for Meta as for other Silicon Valley giants.

The group plans to invest $60-65 billion this year, with much of the cash going into data centres, servers and network infrastructure necessary to develop AI models.

"This is a massive effort, and over the coming years it will drive our core products and business, unlock historic innovation, and extend American technology leadership," Zuckerberg said in January as he announced Meta's 2024 financial results.

For now, Meta claims around 700 million monthly active users for its AI assistant — still somewhat shy of the one billion Zuckerberg said was needed to secure "a durable long-term advantage".