DUBAI: Meta on Sunday announced the official launch of its AI assistant Meta AI in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Powered by the company’s latest Llama 3.2 large language model, Meta AI is available across all Meta platforms and products, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
“The rollout is gradual, so while many users can already see Meta AI on their apps, some users will be getting it in the coming weeks,” Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director, told Arab News in an exclusive interview.
Meta first announced the AI assistant at its Connect event in 2023 before launching it the following year in select markets. Today, it is expanding its reach across the region, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, and extending its “support for Arabic,” Akkad said.
He added that Meta AI is already available via desktop devices and some countries might get access sooner than others, “but rest assured, we’re working to make sure millions of users in the Middle East can be part of this growth.”
Although businesses in the region have access to Meta’s AI-powered advertising, they will not have access to the new platform at this time.
Fares Akkad, Meta’s regional director. (Supplied)
Akkad said Meta is “actively exploring opportunities to introduce it in the future,” but did not specify a date.
AI chatbots are growing in popularity, and are used for everything from relationship advice to resume writing. Nearly a billion people use AI chatbots today, according to some reports, and the number is only expected to grow.
With several chatbots now available to users — some, like Google’s Gemini, even integrated into their phone — Akkad believes the biggest and most important highlight of Meta AI is its accessibility.
“It’s already built into our apps, so there is no need to download or sign up for anything new — and it’s completely free and will stay that way,” he said.
That Meta AI is device agnostic and built directly into Meta’s apps is a “game-changer for AI adoption” because “it democratizes access to advanced AI tools, reaching not just the tech-savvy but also everyday users” in areas “where newer hardware may not be as widely available,” Akkad said.
Despite its many benefits, generative AI has been the subject of scrutiny over the spread of misinformation. Akkad said Meta is aware of the “concern around the risks of generative AI, especially when it comes to misinformation” and has “built Meta AI with safeguards to make it as helpful and responsible as possible.”
Some of measures include built-in filters that prevent the AI from generating harmful or misleading content. These are based on extensive tests conducted by Meta and the company is updating its AI models based on feedback and training every two weeks, he said.
Generative AI’s ability to manufacture realistic but fake images exacerbates its threat to truth and accuracy.
Akkad said that Meta makes sure “people can tell when something (an image) was created or edited using Meta AI by adding clear watermarks, hidden markers and metadata embedded within image files to ensure no one is trying to pass off the AI-generated images as real.”
The company is also working with regulators and policymakers to fulfill its goal of giving “people a tool they can trust — one that helps them create, learn, and connect with the things and people they care about — all while keeping safety and accuracy at the core,” said Akkad.
These countries are “where the main FAST channel platforms have been building audiences,” and now “these platforms are starting to get traction in MENA (Middle East and North Africa), and the growth of FAST channels will naturally follow,” Black said.
