Meta wants AI-generated bots to become your new friends on Instagram and Facebook

Meta sees AI bot accounts coexisting with real users on Facebook or Instagram and driving engagement, according to a report by the Financial Times (FT).

In the next few years, Meta’s platforms, with billions of real users, might become much more synthetic as the company introduces tools to create AI characters and content.

Meta’s AI studio already allows the creation of an AI ‘extension of you’ that sounds like a user based on the user’s Instagram content and information. These bots can respond to messages from “an audience you select.” Meta advertises the tool as a way to connect with more people, save time, and provide fans with quicker responses.

Thousands of characters have already been created using the tool. However, most of them are kept private. Connor Hayes, vice president of product for generative AI at Meta, told FT that they “expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do.”

She added that AIs on the platform will be able to generate and share content, and will have bios and profile pictures.

While Meta platforms currently use AI tools to enhance content and photo editing, next year’s plans include adding text-to-video generation for creators. Previously, Meta experimented with AI avatars mimicking real people in video calls.

According to Hayes, a ‘priority’ for Meta is to make its apps ‘more entertaining and engaging’, including making interaction with AI more social.

Instagram users can distinguish AI responses as they’re marked with “AI” and the original creator's name.

Meta is not alone in rushing to introduce new AI features in its social media platforms. Snapchat rolled out “My AI” or “AI Lenses” features, while TikTok is piloting an AI tool for advertising.

The trend is raising concerns about potential AI misuse for misinformation and other risks. Some Dead Internet Theory supporters argue that the AI “paperclip apocalypse” has already been set in motion, but instead of paperclips, AI overlords are replacing the world with listicles, clickbait, and other cognitive injection attacks.