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If you use Facebook<\/a>, WhatsApp or Instagram, you\u2019ve probably noticed a new character pop up answering search queries or eagerly offering tidbits of information in your feeds, with varying degrees of accuracy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Meta AI<\/a>, and it\u2019s here to help, at least according to Meta Platforms\u2019 CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who calls it \u201cthe most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.\u201d<\/p>\n The chatbot can recommend local restaurants, offer more information on something you see in a Facebook post, search for airline flights or generate images in the blink of an eye. If you\u2019re chatting with friends to plan a night out, you can invite it into your group conversation by typing @MetaAI, then ask it to recommend, say, cocktail bars.<\/p>\n Meta\u2019s AI tool has been integrated into chat boxes and search bars throughout the tech giant\u2019s platforms. The assistant appears, for example, at the top of your chat list on Messenger. Ask it questions about anything or to \u201cimagine\u201d something and it will generate a picture or animation.<\/p>\n As with any new technology, there are, of course, hiccups, including\u00a0bizarre exchanges<\/a>\u00a0when the chatbots first started engaging with real people. One joined a Facebook moms\u2019 group to talk about its gifted child. Another tried to give away nonexistent items to confused members of a Buy Nothing forum.<\/p>\n Meta AI hasn\u2019t been universally welcomed. Here are some tips if you want to avoid using it:<\/p>\n Some Facebook users don\u2019t like the chatbot, complaining in online forums that they\u2019re tired of having AI foisted on them all the time or that they just want to stick with what they know. So what if you don\u2019t want Meta AI butting in every time you search for something or scroll through your social feeds? Well, you might need a time machine. Meta and other tech companies are in an AI arms race, churning out new language models and persuading \u2014 some might say pressuring \u2014 the public to use them.<\/p>\n The bad news is there\u2019s no one button to turn off Meta AI on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp. However, if you want to limit it, there are some (imperfect) workarounds.<\/p>\n On the Facebook mobile app, tap the \u201csearch\u201d button. You may get a prompt to \u201cAsk Meta AI anything.\u201d Tap the blue triangle on the right, then the blue circle with an \u201ci\u201d inside it. Here, you\u2019ll see a \u201cmute\u201d button, with options to silence the chatbot for 15 minutes or longer, or \u201cUntil I change it.\u201d You can do the same on Instagram.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, muting doesn\u2019t get rid of Meta AI completely. Meta AI\u2019s circle logo might still appear where the search magnifying glass used to be \u2014 and tapping on it will take you to the Meta AI field. This is now the new way to search in Meta, and just as with Google\u2019s AI summaries, the responses will be generated by AI.<\/p>\n I asked the chatbot about searching Facebook without Meta AI results.<\/p>\n \u201cMeta AI aims to be a helpful assistant and is in the search bar to assist with your questions,\u201d it responded. Then it added, \u201cYou can\u2019t disable it from this experience, but you can tap the search button after writing your query and search how you normally would.\u201d<\/p>\n Then I asked a (human) Meta spokesperson.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can search how you normally would and choose to engage with a variety of results \u2014 ones from Meta AI or others that appear as you type,\u201d the spokesperson said in a statement. \u201cAnd when interacting with Meta AI, you have access to real-time information without having to leave the app you\u2019re using thanks to our search partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n Like an over-eager personal assistant, Meta AI also pops up under posts on your Facebook news feed, offering more information about what\u2019s discussed in the post \u2014 such as the subject of a news article. It\u2019s not possible to disable this feature, so you\u2019ll just have to ignore it.<\/p>\n Tech websites have noted that one surefire way to avoid Facebook\u2019s AI assistant is to use the social network\u2019s stripped-down mobile site, mbasic.facebook.com. It\u2019s aimed at people in developing countries using older phones on slower internet connections. The basic site has a retro feel that looks crude compared to the current version, and it looks even worse on desktop browsers, but it still works on a rudimentary level and without AI.<\/p>\n Meta AI is so far only available in the United States and 13 other countries including Australia, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. So if you don\u2019t live in any of those places, you don\u2019t have to worry about the chatbot because you don\u2019t get to use it. At least not yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nCan I turn it off?<\/h2>\n
Mute\u2026sort of<\/h2>\n
Use old school Facebook<\/h2>\n
Other countries<\/h2>\n
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