Meta Platforms is set to trial a paid subscription service for its AI-driven chatbot Meta AI, following in the footsteps of OpenAI and Microsoft. The source, familiar with the matter, shared with Reuters that the testing will commence in the second quarter of this year. However, significant revenue generation from the subscription service is not anticipated until next year at the earliest.
Meta AI, introduced in September 2023, functions as a virtual assistant utilizing extensive language models for reasoning tasks. Meta declined to provide a comment in response to Reuters' inquiry.
This initiative aligns with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's strategy to fortify the company's competitive edge against rivals like Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google in the AI industry. Zuckerberg articulated in January that Meta intends to invest up to $65 billion this year to enhance its AI infrastructure.
Moreover, Meta is forming a division within its Reality Labs segment to create AI-driven humanoid robots capable of aiding in physical tasks, according to a recent report by Reuters.
Reports indicate that Meta is gearing up to introduce a standalone Meta AI application, expanding its offerings beyond Facebook and Instagram during the second quarter. Tech giants, spurred by the success of ChatGPT, have been funneling substantial investments into AI infrastructure development.
In similar maneuvers, Microsoft announced intentions to allocate around $80 billion towards data center development in fiscal 2025. Meanwhile, Amazon.com projects higher expenditure for 2025 compared to the estimated $75 billion in 2024.