Meta to expand AI efforts with standalone app: report

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is planning to launch an independent artificial intelligence app as it plans to expand it suite of standalone offerings which include social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, a report by CNBC revealed on Thursday.

The report comes as the tech giant's competition heats up with rivals like Amazon, OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. Meanwhile, Meta has been integrating AI technologies across its platforms since unveiling is AI chatbot in 2023.

The new independent app aligns with Meta CEO's vision of creating the most utilised AI assistant globally.

CNBC cited people familiar with the matter as saying Meta plans to debut a standalone AI app by the middle of this year.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman fired off a post on X, formerly Twitter, with a link to the CNBC story, writing: "OK, fine maybe we'll do a social app."

Meta is also planning to test a paid subscription tier for its AI platform, in a revenue generating tactic used by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, according to the report.

Meta declined to comment for this story.

The tech giant recently reported surging profits and revenue for 2024, announcing ambitious plans to expand its AI infrastructure in the year ahead.

"I expect this is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalised AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading Assistant," Zuckerberg said on the earnings call.

The rise of Chinese startup DeepSeek's more economical AI model has reportedly prompted Meta to establish war rooms to study and potentially adapt the innovations for its own Llama AI models.