MENLO PARK, USA — Meta on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 unveiled a new standalone app powered by its in-house Llama artificial intelligence model, marking the tech giant’s latest push into the generative AI space.
The app, described by CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a “personal AI,” is designed to evolve through voice-driven interaction and deeper integration with users’ preferences and habits.
In a blog post announcing the launch, Meta said the app offers a conversational AI experience centred on real-time voice exchanges.
Unlike traditional chat-based assistants, the app opens directly into a voice interface, allowing users to speak with the AI about anything from news and personal dilemmas to curiosity-driven learning.
“It’s designed to be your personal AI,” Zuckerberg said.
“We’re starting off really basic, with just a little bit of context about your interests, but over time, it’s going to become more intuitive as it learns from how you use Meta’s services.”
The app also includes a “social feed” component, which showcases how other users are creatively engaging with Meta AI — such as generating poems, songs, or video ideas — and allows for collaborative experimentation with the technology.
Initially, the app will have limited knowledge of user preferences, but Meta plans to connect it with the broader Meta ecosystem — including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and future AI-driven hardware — to enhance its contextual understanding and personalisation capabilities.
“You’re going to be able to use the app to manage your Meta glasses and all kinds of AI devices that we’re going to be building in the future,” Zuckerberg added, alluding to Meta’s ambitions in wearable technology and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The move places Meta’s new app in direct competition with other generative AI leaders, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude.
Unlike its competitors, however, Meta is leaning into its social DNA by introducing community elements and potential hardware integration from the outset.
Meta first introduced its AI assistant in September 2023 and expanded its reach in April 2024 by embedding it in the search functions of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
The new standalone app represents a more focused bid to establish Meta as a serious player in the rapidly evolving consumer AI market.
While Meta has not disclosed when or where the app will be globally available, analysts expect it to roll out gradually in phases, starting with select markets in North America and Europe.
