Influencers can now build their own chatbots on Instagram

The US company Meta has announced its intention to test user-generated AI chatbots on its social network Instagram. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this in an interview with social media influencer Kane Kallaway. So far, only some influencers like Kallaway and social media brands like Wasted have had access to the new technology; in the coming weeks, all Instagram users in the US will be able to start interacting with the chatbots and prominent users will be given the opportunity to build their own chatbots.

AI as customer contact or art form?

The basis for the personalized chatbots is the Large Language Model Llama developed by Meta. The chatbots are intended to enable influencers and large accounts on Instagram to interact with their fans without actually having to waste time doing so themselves. Later, all company accounts on the platform will have the opportunity to use the chatbots, Zuckerberg continued in the interview. This should enable companies to stay in better contact with "their community". He emphasized that it should always be clearly marked that you are talking to an AI.

However, Zuckerberg also says that one of his other goals is that users will eventually be able to create completely fictional people who can then talk to users on the platform (or other AIs?). This is reminiscent of the recently launched social network Butterflies, which was designed from the outset for interaction between humans and AIs. Zuckerberg predicts that such AI avatars will develop into a kind of art form in the future.

Users in Germany will not be able to enjoy the new chatbots for the time being. Two weeks ago, Meta halted the training of its Llama AI in Europe due to the data protection regulations in force here and at the same time canceled the launch of the new chatbot technology in Europe, as the US news site Bloomberg reported.

When The Rock doesn't have time

Companies using AI-controlled chatbots as support contacts is no longer a new idea. The fact that Meta now wants to establish this on Instagram is actually obvious. At least when it comes to classic company accounts. However, the attraction of social platforms such as Instagram lies precisely in the fact that normal people can get closer to their idols than ever before - or at least have the illusion of being able to do so. You get an insight into the lives of the stars. But of course, people like The Rock with his almost 400 million followers don't have time to answer or even read all the comments. Chatbots are now supposed to step into the breach and help out.

However, it is unclear how this is supposed to work. The fans who dream of getting an answer from -- let's say -- The Rock won't be able to do much with an answer from a Rock chatbot. In this case, it's not about getting information that isn't available anywhere else, but about an emotional connection with an idol -- and an AI won't be able to replace that. Zuckerberg himself doesn't seem to know whether and how the whole thing will work, which is probably why he emphasizes several times in the interview that the project is purely an experiment and that they first want to see what Instagram users end up using the new technology for.

(mki)