To use Meta AI, tap the Meta AI icon in WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or Facebook, or open meta.ai or the Meta AI app, then type or say your question. In the Meta AI app, tap Ask Meta AI at the bottom and choose a mode: Instant for quick answers or Thinking for harder questions.
Meta AI is Meta's free AI assistant, and it's already built into the apps most people use every day. It answers questions, writes and edits text, generates images, reads photos, helps with shopping and runs research. You don't need a separate account: Meta says your existing Meta account is enough. Here's how to use it in each place, and what to know about your data before you do.
Where you can use Meta AI
| Where | How to open it |
|---|---|
| Tap the Meta AI icon, or start a new chat with Meta AI | |
| Tap the Meta AI icon in your DMs, or use it from search | |
| Facebook and Messenger | Built into the apps |
| Meta AI app | Download it on iPhone or Android |
| Web and Mac | Go to meta.ai, or install the desktop app on a Mac |
Meta says Meta AI and some features aren't available everywhere yet, and some features may not have reached your area even if others in your country can use them. On Instagram, the Meta AI help page notes the feature isn't available on computers.
How to use the Meta AI app
- Open the Meta AI app.
- At the bottom, tap Ask Meta AI and type your prompt.
- Tap the current mode in the bottom right and pick the mode you want.
- Send your prompt and Meta AI replies.
The modes change how it answers. Meta lists Instant for quicker replies to everyday questions, Thinking for in-depth answers to complex questions, and Shopping, a dedicated shopping assistant based on your interests.
Copy this prompt
I run a small bakery and want to post on Instagram three times this week. Give me three post ideas for a rainy autumn week, each with a caption under 40 words and a suggestion for the photo.
How to ask Meta AI about a photo
In the Meta AI app, tap the camera option, then take a picture or choose one from your photo library, and type or speak your question. Meta's examples are questions like what breed of cat is this, or where can I find this hat. It's useful for identifying a product, reading a sign or getting ideas from a picture.
How to use Meta AI on WhatsApp
Tap the Meta AI icon or start a new chat with Meta AI, then type your question.
WhatsApp adds two extras:
- Voice: you can have a spoken conversation with Meta AI. It replies with voice and text, and you'll see a transcript. You need to give WhatsApp access to your microphone. WhatsApp lists the supported languages for voice as English, Arabic, Bengali, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese.
- Writing help: Meta AI can suggest ways to draft, edit or rephrase a message in different tones before you send it. It uses a feature called Private Processing, which you turn on in Settings under Private Processing features. WhatsApp lists English, Indonesian, Portuguese and Spanish for writing help.
If you'd rather not see Meta AI at all, my guides on turning off Meta AI and removing Meta AI from WhatsApp show what you can and can't switch off.
What Meta AI can do for a small business
- Draft captions, replies and short posts in your tone.
- Generate images and animations for social posts.
- Run research: Meta says it builds research plans, searches across sources and drafts reports with citations.
- Cite public posts from Instagram, Facebook and Threads, to show what people are talking about now.
- Analyse your content and ad performance if you link your Instagram professional account and Meta Ads Manager, according to Meta.
What Meta does with your chats
This is the part most people skip, and it comes from Meta's own help page:
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
- Meta uses your interactions with its AIs to improve AI at Meta.
- If Meta AI can't answer, Meta says it shares the messages you send to the AI, plus general information such as your region, with select partners to get you better results.
- Meta AI uses your location and information from your profile, such as your age, gender and interests based on your activity, to personalise its answers.
- Meta warns that AI responses may be inaccurate or inappropriate and shouldn't be used to make important decisions.
On WhatsApp, your personal messages stay end-to-end encrypted. But WhatsApp says that when you choose to interact with Meta AI, Meta receives your prompts to generate responses and improve its AI, and you can delete those interactions.
Is Meta AI free?
Meta says Meta AI is free for everyday use. It has started testing usage limits on some of its more demanding features, and people who hit those daily or monthly limits can buy a subscription for more use before the free limit resets.
For a different free assistant, see whether Qwen is free.
My advice
Meta AI is handy for quick ideas inside the apps you already have open. Keep customer details, prices you haven't announced and anything confidential out of it, given what Meta says it does with your chats. If you want ready-made ideas, my list of Meta AI prompts has ones you can copy.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate account for Meta AI?
No. Meta says no separate account is needed beyond your existing Meta account. You can use it at meta.ai, in the Meta AI app or inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook.
What's the difference between Instant and Thinking in Meta AI?
Instant gives quicker responses for everyday questions. Thinking gives in-depth responses for more complex questions or reasoning.
Can I talk to Meta AI with my voice on WhatsApp?
Yes, if voice is available to you. WhatsApp needs microphone permission, and Meta AI replies with voice and text, with a transcript in the chat.
Does Meta read my WhatsApp chats with Meta AI?
WhatsApp says personal messages stay end-to-end encrypted, but when you interact with Meta AI, Meta receives your prompts to respond and to improve its AI. You can delete those interactions.
Why can't I see Meta AI?
Meta says Meta AI and some features are only available in some countries, and might not reach you yet even if others in your country have access.
