A Scaled-Back AI Assistant Rolls Out Across the Pond
After nearly a year of waiting, Europe’s finally getting in on the Meta AI action. The company’s officially launching its AI assistant in 41 European countries and 21 overseas territories, hitting WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger this week. But don’t get too excited—compared to what’s live in the US, this version’s got some serious handcuffs.
💬 Text-Only for Now: What Can Meta AI Do in Europe?
European users can start chatting with Meta AI via text starting this week. Here’s what it’s packing:
- Trip planning help—like figuring out your next getaway
- Inspiration on tap for whatever you’re brainstorming
- Answers to specific questions, pulling from web data
Unlike the US version, though, you won’t be generating or editing images, asking about photos, or tapping into any fancy multimodal tricks. It’s text-only territory for now.
🛑 Why the Delay?
Meta had big plans to drop this in 2023, but Europe’s regulators—especially Ireland’s Data Protection Commission—slammed the brakes. The sticking point? Training AI on EU users’ Facebook and Instagram data. Meta’s sidestepped that by rolling out a version that skips “first-party” EU user data entirely.
🧠 A Regulated AI Future?
Ellie Heatrick, Meta’s spokesperson, said it’s been a slog: “This launch comes after almost a year of intense talks with European regulators. Right now, we’re only offering a text-based assistant not trained on EU user data. We’ll keep working with regulators to bring the full experience users get elsewhere.”
👓 Ray-Ban Smart Glasses? Still Half-Baked
Back in November 2024, Meta brought some AI perks to its Ray-Ban smart glasses in Europe. But don’t expect them to wow you—they can’t handle multimodal stuff like recognizing what you’re looking at yet.
🔍 What’s Next?
Meta’s not planning to keep Europe in the slow lane forever. They’re aiming to level up to US-style features over time, expanding what the AI can do for users across the region.
The Bottom Line
Sure, Europe’s Meta AI debut isn’t the full package yet, but it’s a start. By playing nice with GDPR and keeping things transparent, Meta’s laying groundwork—not just for itself, but for how generative AI might evolve in Europe down the road.
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Source: The Verge
March 2025