What is Meta AI and Llama?
Meta AI is a virtual assistant integrated across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tool aims to enhance user experience by providing a range of AI-powered capabilities directly within these popular social media platforms.
It runs on a large language model (LLM) called Llama, which was first released in February 2023.
The model was developed by a research division of Meta (formerly Facebook), which also focuses on augmented reality technologies such as smart glasses.
Is Meta AI available in the UK and how to get it?
Following its initial launch in the US in September 2023, Meta AI rolled out in the UK and other countries in October 2024.
Initially, the AI model was only accessible through Meta’s social networking apps.
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However, the company later launched a standalone website meta.ai, which allows you to use the chatbot without a Meta account.
There is also a separate Meta AI app available on both Android and iOS.
What can Meta AI do?
Powered by the company’s latest model Llama 4, the Meta AI app and website include a Discover feed, where users can share and explore how they use the tool with others.
Unlike most chatbots, where the user interaction is isolated, this creates a whole new dimension of AI experience, similar to social media.
The AI model’s integration within Facebook and Instagram brings some more unique features such as generating images for your feeds, stories and profile pictures.
You can also interact with Meta AI through a chatbot interface, where the assistant can answer your questions, brainstorm ideas and help bring them to life.
Over time, the chatbot automatically learns about you by saving certain parts of your chats to its memory to give you more relevant responses. You can also ask Meta AI explicitly to “remember this”.
Another feature is the voice command capability, enabling users to speak with the AI model in real time.
How to remove Meta AI from WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger?
The Meta AI button first appeared in the company’s social media apps as part of its wider roll-out in autumn 2024.
Since then, the blue circle with pink and turquoise splashes has become a permanent part of the app interface, which has resulted in mixed feelings among users.
While the AI tool is described as “optional” by Meta, there is no way to turn it off, block or disable it.
Some users have shared their frustration on Reddit, calling the feature “annoying”.
Meta has been approached for a comment regarding this issue.
Meanwhile, all you can do is muting the Meta AI chat, which prevents it from being @mentioned in a group chat and sending you notifications.
Is Meta AI free to use?
As of October 2025, Meta AI is completely free to use with no limitations.
This puts the AI model in a unique position in comparison to its rivals like ChatGPT or Gemini which keep certain features for premium subscribers only.
Is Meta AI private?
According to Meta, its AI model can only see messages you share with it and it cannot read any other messages in your personal chats.
You can also opt out of having your posts used for AI training and being shown AI-generated content in Meta apps.
However, you cannot restrict your interactions with AI tools from contributing to the refinement of Meta’s AI models.
In other words, you do not have to pay for the feature, but your data from using it is provided to the company in return.
What is the difference between LLama and ChatGPT?
Like OpenAI‘s GPT-3, the Llama series of LLMs are built on a neural network architecture called the transformer, which processes one word at a time to predict the next best word.
While both are advanced programmes working in a similar way, they use slightly different ingredients.
The key difference is that Llama is open-source, which means its ‘recipe’ is publicly available and can be customised.
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You can download and run the model on your own computer, which gives you full control over data privacy, but this requires certain technical knowledge.
On the other hand, ChatGPT is often considered the highest-performing general-purpose AI model, with its advanced reasoning and impressive ability to adjust to its user.
