Meta plans to launch more standalone consumer apps as large language models help its teams design, test and release software more quickly. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said new products were coming soon after the company recently introduced apps for photo sharing, Facebook Groups and Marketplace sellers.
During Meta’s second-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg said AI was improving product development while strengthening recommendations and advertising across the company’s existing services.
Recent Launches Test Smaller Social Experiences
Meta launched Instagram Instants in May as both an Instagram feature and a separate app in selected countries. It allows users to send unedited photos to close friends or mutual followers, with images disappearing after viewing and becoming unavailable after 24 hours.
The company has also released Forum, a standalone app connected to Facebook Groups, and Seller, an app for frequent Marketplace merchants. Zuckerberg said Meta expects AI-assisted development to make it easier to experiment with more focused products and then promote successful ideas through its recommendation systems.
Meta has attempted similar app incubators before. Its former Creative Labs and NPE Team produced products including Slingshot, Rooms, Paper, Moments, Tuned and BARS, but none developed into a lasting large-scale platform.
Threads Provides a More Successful Model
Threads has become Meta’s strongest recent example of expanding beyond its established apps. The service reached 500 million monthly active users during the second quarter, while Instagram reached two billion daily users and Meta’s wider family of apps averaged 3.6 billion daily users.
Threads benefited from its connection to Instagram, which made it easier for users to create accounts and find people they already followed. Meta has also promoted Threads across Instagram and Facebook while using AI-generated recommendations to populate its feeds.
Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said large language models are improving how Meta understands content, generates training data and evaluates recommendation changes. Every Feed and Reels post on Instagram is now processed by an LLM that analyses its subject and tone, according to the company’s earnings remarks.
Meta Plans More AI-Assisted Products
Meta is also expanding its consumer AI offerings through the standalone Meta AI app and AI features across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.
The company believes LLM-native recommendation systems could help new apps find suitable audiences more quickly. Meta has not disclosed what its next standalone products will be or provided specific launch dates.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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