Meta is making a significant move to expand its business beyond online advertising, and it’s utilizing artificial intelligence to achieve this. The company has just launched a new AI-powered chatbot called “Business AI,” which it’s pitching to companies to use on their own websites.
The idea is simple: the Business AI assistant can interact with customers, offer personalized product recommendations, and assist them in making purchases more quickly, all through a straightforward chat interface. Companies can use the new tool on their Facebook and Instagram pages, but crucially, they can also integrate it into their own websites, especially those powered by Shopify.
This is a significant part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s multi-billion-dollar bet on generative AI. It’s also part of a larger trend in the tech world, as companies like Amazon are also offering their own AI “agents” to help businesses automate tasks.
So how will it work? Meta says the new AI assistant will be free for companies to use within their Facebook and Instagram ads. However, if a business wants to host the chatbot on its own website, it will have to pay a fee, although Meta claims it will be more cost-effective than other options on the market.
Meta is partnering with prominent companies like Salesforce and Microsoft to make this happen, enabling its new AI to integrate with other popular customer service tools. The new “Business AI” will be available later this month in Mexico and the Philippines, with additional countries to follow soon.
