The social network Threads, owned by Meta, has received a significant update: a built-in chat with the Meta AI artificial intelligence has been integrated into the app. Now, users can communicate with the neural network not only in the public sphere but also in direct messages. This was announced by Threads CEO Connor Hayes.
Transition from public to private
Until now, the assistant's functionality was limited to public posts. Users could interact with the bot similarly to how it works with Grok in the X social network (formerly Twitter). The new integration radically changes the format: communication is moved to the private sphere of personal chats.
Now users can ask clarifying questions, request detailed explanations, or dive deep into any topics without leaving the conversation. The developers have set a clear goal — to turn Threads into a convenient tool for finding information and receiving personalized recommendations.
The battle for user attention
Integrating a chatbot into its own ecosystem is a strategic move by Meta. The company aims to keep users within its own loop, reducing the need to turn to third-party AI services, such as ChatGPT by OpenAI or Gemini by Google.
It is worth noting that a similar function is already successfully working in the direct messages of other company products: Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Threads is the next step in the unification of the Meta ecosystem.
Settings and content control
Alongside the chat update, Meta continues to test the presence of Meta AI in the public Threads feed in select markets. The company is actively gathering feedback and offering tools for those who do not wish to see the bot's answers in the general news feed.
For those who want to minimize the number of posts from the assistant, special settings are provided. The global rollout of Meta AI in private Threads chats began on July 27.
