Instagram tests a feature that allows content creators to have their own ‘chatbots’

Meta has begun testing in the United States a functionality for Instagram content creators that allows them to have their own ‘chatbots’, with which they can interact through direct messages (DM).

These new personalized assistants will be based on the AI ​​Studio platform, which first reached companies and has been extended to content creators to offer them the necessary tools to create your own AI software.

The company announced in September last year that it planned to implement generative AI (GenAI) on its platforms to introduce a touch of fun into users’ communication with AI agents, the Meta AI in-house assistant, and the EMU sticker generator.

It was then that he unveiled AI Studio, designed so that developers could create your own ‘chatbots’ by integrating them into the messaging applications it offers. This platform will now be the one that content creators must use to take advantage of a new feature that is being tested on Instagram.

This is what Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced on his Instagram channel, where he revealed that Meta is in the first phase of a test that allows interaction with ‘chatbots’ developed by the content creators themselves.

These assistants, which will be extended over the next few weeks, will be included in the direct messages section and will be “clearly labeled as AI,” as shared in a demonstration of this format.

When starting a conversation with a user compatible with this beta test, the platform will indicate that the messages are generated with this technology and that “it is possible that some of them may be inaccurate or inappropriate.”

This is a feature currently only available in the United States, for about 50 content creators. As is usual in these cases, it is unknown if an official version of the function will be formalized and in which regions it would be available.

Regarding the objective of this type of tools, Zuckerberg commented in a recent interview that “it is necessary that many different APIs be created to reflect people’s different interests”, as reported by media such as TechCrunch.

In this regard, he said that “a large part of Meta’s focus” will be on allowing each creator “and eventually also each small business on the platform to create an AI to help them interact with their community and their customers.”

The manager has acknowledged that he does not believe that Meta still knows “what will be the most attractive and entertaining formula that generates confidence for this“, so he hopes that, with these tests, users can experiment “and see that it ends up working well.”