Meta Platforms introduced Meta Ai to Italy, a virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence, integrated into the popular WhatsApp messaging platform. This launch marks a significant expansion for Meta technology, already available in the United States since 2023 and used by a vast number of monthly users. The introduction to Italy took place after a waiting period due to the need to conform to rigorous European privacy regulations. Meta Ai is configured as a “digital helper” designed to enrich the user experience by providing answers to questions, offering suggestions and assisting the organization of activities, all without requesting the installation of additional applications. Based on the large linguistic model Llama 3, destination to exploit advanced automatic learning and processing of natural language technologies to understand and generate complex content.
Access to Meta Ai Su on WhatsApp in Italy is made possible through different ways. Users can interact with the virtual assistant through a new dedicated icon, usually identified by a blue or multicolored circle, positioned in the application interface. Alternatively, it is possible to recall destination ai within individual or group conversations simply by mentioning “@metaai” followed by your question or request. The initial features of Meta Ai in Italy focus mainly on the textual chat. Users can ask questions about a wide range of topics, obtaining responses in real time directly within the conversation.
The virtual assistant is able to provide personalized suggestions, help in planning activities and offer support to writing. At the time of launch in Italy, some advanced features present in the US version, such as the generation and modification of images through text controls, are not yet available. Meta has declared its intention to gradually expand the skills of destination to Europe, working in collaboration with the regulators to introduce further features in the future. Meta Ai in Europe supports six languages, including Italian, guaranteeing an effective interaction for local users.
A fundamental aspect in the implementation of Meta Ai concerns privacy and the protection of user data, in line with Italian and European regulations. Meta has ensured that the conversations with Meta Ai are separated from the other personal chats and that the virtual assistant can only access the messages shared directly with it through the mention “@metaai” or the interactions started through the dedicated icon. The other conversations on WhatsApp remain protected by end-to-end encryption. Users have the opportunity to delete chats with a destination and to manage preferences relating to the use of their data for improving the service.
Although destination to share some similarities with other virtual assistants based on artificial intelligence such as chatgpt and Google Gemini, its native integration within Whatsapp, a platform widely used in Italy, represents a distinctive element. This integration offers immediate accessibility to a vast public of Italian users. Despite the potential, some users have expressed concerns about the management of privacy and the lack of an option to completely disable destination ai within WhatsApp.