Meta has begun rolling out its artificial intelligence assistant in Europe after a long process shaped by the continent’s strict regulations. Mark Zuckerberg’s company has integrated Meta AI into WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, allowing European users to access advanced AI features directly from their usual apps, without the need to install additional software.
According to The Verge, the launch began on October 15 in the United Kingdom and will gradually expand to the rest of Europe in the coming weeks. This rollout comes months after Meta introduced its alternative to ChatGPT in the United States, where it already competes with the leading AI assistants on the market.
Meta AI is powered by Llama 3, the company’s language model, and offers two key functions: answering questions on any topic and generating images using the “/imagine” command, similar to tools like DALL-E or Midjourney, though with certain restrictions for the European market.
The assistant also features celebrity voices like John Cena and Kristen Bell to make interactions more personalized, along with automatic translation tools for Instagram content. These capabilities complement the photo-editing features Meta had previously launched in other regions.
The biggest challenge for its European rollout has been complying with local regulations. The Irish Data Protection Commission prohibited Meta from using European citizens’ data to train its models, forcing the company to implement significant technical adjustments to meet regulatory requirements.
In Spain, users will be able to access these AI features for free through their usual communication apps. With this move, Meta aims to bring AI technology closer to the general public, setting itself apart from competitors that require additional downloads or paid subscriptions to offer similar services—though this could change in the future.
