KINGSTON, Jamaica — In April, Meta AI made its debut on popular social media platforms WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger.

Among the notable updates was the introduction of a built-in search box positioned prominently at the top of each platforms’ interface.

For regular social media users, the addition was likely to have caught their attention. But amidst the changes, questions and uncertainty still linger. So what exactly is Meta AI, and how can its newfound presence on these platforms be effectively leveraged?

On the surface, Meta AI is an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant like any other AI tool such as ChatGPT or Open AI. Except, it’s much more than that.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at META, “We believe that Meta AI is now the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use. To make Meta AI even smarter, we’ve also integrated real time knowledge from Google and Bing right into the answers.

“We’re also making Meta AI much easier to use across our apps. We built it into search box that’s right at the top of WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Messenger so any time you have a question, you can just ask it right there,” Zuckerberg said in a video shared on social media announcing the launch of the AI tool which he noted is built with Meta Llama 3.

“We’re also releasing a bunch of unique creation features. Meta AI now creates animations and it now creates high quality images so fast that it actually generates and updates the images for you in real time as you’re typing,” he added,

Meta said users can ask Meta AI to answer questions, organise a night out, recommend restaurants or destinations, and even assist with studying. It can also create animations and generate images.

It’s as simple as typing in your request in the search bar or even directing a question to “@MetaAI” in a WhatsApp private or group chat.

But what Meta AI ultimately grants you is the convenience of not having to leave the app you are using to access a search engine. With Meta AI you can access real time information while chatting with loved ones or while scrolling through your Instagram and Facebook feed.

For instance, you may be planning a family trip in a WhatsApp group chat. Instead of having to switch apps, you can utilise Meta AI to find hotels or flights and discover activities and destinations to be explored – without having to leave the app or your chat.

For Jamaican Researcher and CEO of Bluedot Insights, Larren Peart, the introduction and integration of Meta AI was a brilliant move.

“Integrating Meta AI with Meta’s vast user base of 3.5 billion across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp was a brilliant move. This strategic decision has made generative AI tools accessible to a massive audience, paving the way for widespread adoption across diverse socio-economic backgrounds, age groups, and stages of life,” Peart told Observer Online.

“Personally, I’ve found it incredibly useful, leveraging Meta AI daily within my WhatsApp conversations to quickly find information or substantiate my points,” he said.

Even further, Meta AI can imagine aesthetics and generate inspiration photos for decorating a space. With its imagine feature, users can prompt Meta AI by saying “@MetaAI imagine…” to bring their imagination to life or simply use the feature to create images that will make your conversations more colourful and engaging such as “@MetaAI imagine a waterfall”.

More so, you can then ask Meta AI to animate your image or turn it into a GIF to share with friends.

What makes Meta AI particularly special is that not only is it able to process Jamaican patois as one of the many languages it can interpret, but it can also speak to you in the creole.

So next time you’re chatting with Meta AI, ask it “Wah gwaan?” or “@MetaAI Wah mi fi wear as a goodie when mi touch road tonight?”

Though Meta AI may not give the best fashion advice, it is interesting to see the way the AI interacts and responds in the dialect.

Meta AI was first introduced in beta at Meta’s Connect event in September. It can now be accessed in the United States, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.