A series of leaked internal documents has revealed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is significantly upgrading its AI chatbot technology. The new strategy will see Meta’s chatbots not only remembering past conversations with users but also initiating chats themselves and employing advanced tactics to keep users engaged for longer periods. The revelations have sparked both excitement and concern about the future of AI-powered social interactions and user privacy.
Unlike current chatbots, which typically wait for users to initiate contact, Meta’s new AI bots will be able to message users first. This means you might soon receive a friendly “hello” or a relevant suggestion from a Meta chatbot, even if you haven’t interacted with it recently.
The chatbots will be trained to remember details from previous conversations. This enables more personalized interactions, as the AI can reference past topics, preferences, or even specific questions you’ve asked. For example, if you discussed travel plans last month, the chatbot might follow up with new recommendations or ask how your trip went.
Meta’s AI is being designed to keep conversations going for as long as possible. The bots will use advanced natural language processing and engagement strategies to encourage users to keep chatting, whether it’s by asking open-ended questions, suggesting new topics, or offering interactive content.
Meta’s move is part of a broader strategy to increase user engagement across its platforms. As competition in the social media and AI assistant space heats up, Meta is betting that smarter, more proactive chatbots will boost the time users spend on its apps and deepen their reliance on Meta’s ecosystem.
Storing and recalling user conversations means Meta’s AI will need to keep detailed records of your chats, potentially increasing the risk of data misuse or breaches. It’s unclear how much control users will have over what the chatbot remembers or how proactive it can be. Will users be able to opt out of proactive messages or memory features?