Meta AI Launches in Europe: Streamlining Communication Across 41 Countries Amid Regulatory Challenges

Meta is launching its AI assistant in 41 European nations, including EU member states, starting this week. Additionally, it will be accessible in 21 overseas European regions. In their announcement, Meta explained that the lengthy process of introducing its AI technology to European users was due to the challenges in navigating the «complex regulatory landscape.»

The firm intended to roll out its AI technology in the area last year; however, plans had to be postponed when the Irish Data Protection Commission requested a pause in training for its Large Language Models on content shared by adult users in Europe on Facebook and Instagram. A month following this request from the Irish regulator, Meta announced that it would not be releasing its new multimodal Llama models in the region, citing the unpredictable characteristics of the European regulatory framework.

Meta’s AI rollout in Europe will begin by integrating the technology into its messaging platforms across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, which will soon display a blue circle on their user interfaces. It will support six regional languages and will initially have limited functionality focused on text inquiries, though the company aims to broaden its AI capabilities over time until it achieves «parity with the US.»

European users will have the ability to mention Meta AI in group chats by typing @MetaAI followed by their question or prompt. They will also be able to interact with the chatbot to retrieve related posts and Reels by entering requests like «show me content about Vancouver Island.» Furthermore, they will be able to search for information from across the internet within the chatbot.