Meta has introduced a major update to its AI assistant, adding task automation, calendar integration and advanced research capabilities as the company expands its focus on AI-powered productivity tools.
The rollout began on July 24, with the new features becoming available through the Meta AI app and meta.ai in select markets. Meta said the capabilities will gradually expand to additional regions and platforms, including WhatsApp.
The update enables Meta AI to perform a range of scheduled and recurring tasks, including:
Deliver daily briefings using information from a connected calendar.
Identify scheduling conflicts and upcoming appointments.
Create recurring reminders and automated tasks, such as weekly meal plans or regular news updates.
Generate research reports by combining information from the web and public online content.
Meta also introduced steerable deep research, allowing users to modify an AI-generated report while it is being created instead of waiting until completion. Users can adjust the focus, tone or structure of the response during generation.
Alongside the Meta AI update, the company launched Seller, a standalone iPhone application for Facebook Marketplace sellers. The app uses Meta AI to generate product titles, descriptions and price suggestions from uploaded images while helping users manage buyer conversations in a single inbox.
Meta said users will be able to manage or delete information the assistant remembers and can use Incognito Mode for conversations that are not saved or used for future personalisation.
The update marks Meta's latest effort to compete with AI assistants such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude, all of which have expanded into task automation and multi-step AI workflows.
Meta AI is already integrated into the company's platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, giving it access to billions of users worldwide. The latest update reflects Meta's strategy to expand the assistant's role beyond conversational AI into everyday productivity tasks.
