Nearly a year after pausing its European rollout, Meta is ready to bring its artificial intelligence chatbot, Meta AI, to the region. Starting this week, the virtual assistant will be available on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in 41 European countries—and 21 overseas territories. However, for now, its functionality will be limited to text-based features, leaving aside more advanced capabilities already available in other places like the US.
This move is an important step for Meta. The company had planned to expand its AI assistant to Europe shortly after launching it in the United States (around 2023), but was forced to halt its rollout due to regulatory concerns raised by Ireland’s privacy watchdog. The watchdog requested that Meta postpone training its model on content posted by Facebook and Instagram users in the region.
A regulated launch
The launch of Meta AI in Europe has not been a straightforward process. According to Ellie Heatrick, a Meta spokesperson, this deployment is the result of nearly a year of intensive dialogue with various European regulators. “ For now, we are only offering a text-based model in the region, which has not been trained on first-party data from EU users,” she explained in a statement to The Verge. Furthermore, the company has assured that it will continue collaborating with European regulators to ensure that users in this region have access to Meta’s AI innovations, which are already available in other parts of the world.
This collaborative approach reflects the growing importance of privacy and data protection in Europe, where regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set standards for the use of personal information. Meta has had to adapt to these demands, which has delayed the arrival of its artificial intelligence technology in the region.
Limited but very interesting features
For now, Meta AI in Europe will primarily operate as a text-based chatbot. Users will be able to use it to brainstorm ideas, plan trips, or answer specific questions using information available on the web. Additionally, the assistant will also allow users to discover certain types of content in their Instagram feeds (or other Instagram tools). However, more advanced features, such as generating or editing images, as well as the ability to ask questions about a photo, will not be available in this initial phase.
This limitation is partly due to the fact that the model has not been trained with data from EU users, which restricts its ability to offer more complex features. Despite these restrictions, Meta has made it clear that it is not abandoning its plans to further expand Meta AI’s functionality in Europe. The company has stated that it will work to ” find parity with the features available in the United States and expand our offering over time .”
The future of Meta AI in Europe
Although the current launch is modest, it represents an important step in Meta’s strategy to integrate artificial intelligence into its platforms globally. The brand’s long-term goal seems clear: to bring artificial intelligence to every corner of the world, including Europe, in a way that respects local regulations and privacy concerns. This approach helps the company comply with laws while building trust among users, who increasingly demand transparency and control over how their data is used.
On the other hand, it’s important to understand that the launch of Meta AI in Europe also has broader implications for the competitive landscape of artificial intelligence. With tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI vying for leadership in the AI market, Mark Zuckerberg’s company can’t afford to be left behind. The expansion of its virtual assistant to Europe is a strategic move to maintain its relevance in the AI solutions segment.
