Generative AI is an electrifying, powerful, controversial up-to-date technology and if Mark Zuckerberg Is there anything that can go away, it won’t go away anytime soon. If you exploit any of Meta’s mobile apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp, you’ve probably already noticed the up-to-date Meta AI integration built into them recently. This is all part of a up-to-date rollout of Meta AI’s latest multi-language model, Llama 3. While Llama 3 is more powerful than previous versions, these up-to-date buttons and prompts make it harder than ever to ignore the feature.
Let’s say you’re not yet sold on AI and want to continue searching and scrolling the old-fashioned way. Can you disable the up-to-date Meta AI integration and how to do it?
What is MetaAI?
First, know your enemy. Since then, Meta AI Assistant has been on the market September 2023But latest update puts it directly into search fields and sometimes even into app feeds, including Facebook and Instagram. Integration varies slightly from app to app, but generally speaking, clicking the search box (or sometimes the chat button) in the Meta app will bring up an iridescent rainbow circle with a prompt next to it saying: “Ask Meta AI anything.”
Meta AI is now automatically integrated into the search box in Meta mobile apps.
Source: Meta
If you take advantage of the Meta offer, you will be able to write Meta AI responses or generate images, which are classic AI assistant functions. The app will even give you some suggestions, and with Llama 3 it can now generate gifs and return search results in real time from Google or Bing.
The problem with these features is that they are mixed in with non-AI features, so it can be a bit confusing to tell them apart. Here’s how to disable Meta AI, and if not, at least how to ignore it.
How to disable Meta AI on Facebook
The Facebook app has one of the most eminent Meta AI integrations. Opening the app and clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner will still take you to the search bar, but it will now display the Meta AI logo, sample prompts asking what to ask Meta AI, and a tiny command to “Ask Meta AI anything.”
Don’t panic. Your regular search function hasn’t disappeared. Search for a friend’s name, a specific event, or even “Modern York Yankees fans” and you’ll get the same results as always. The difference is that in combination with these results, you will now receive AI-powered search suggestions, marked with the Meta AI logo on the left (non-AI suggestions will instead be marked with a magnifying glass). Clicking on a reply with the Meta AI logo will take you from search to the chat window with Meta AI, where you can interact with it like any chatbot or return to search by pressing the “X” button in the upper left corner. Pressing Enter without clicking on any of the suggested searches will also continue the search as usual.
The results provided by Meta AI will be marked with an iridescent circle logo next to them
Source: Meta
Likewise, scrolling through your feed may also prompt you to exploit Meta AI, either through a general tab placed between posts, or through a petite footer at the bottom of certain posts, offering to exploit the AI to tell you more information about that post.
Because AI is so integrated into the typical app experience, it makes sense that some users might not want to be interrupted.
Meta AI can also integrate with your Facebook feed
Source: Meta
Unfortunately, there is no uncomplicated way to turn this off for now. Facebook’s support page offers no such solutions, and Meta AI’s question on how to disable them gives conflicting answers, none of which worked in our tests.
However, this does not mean that there is no longer hope. Fortunately, all Meta AI integration is now branded with the Meta AI logo, so if you don’t see it, you know your content is coming from a real person (or at least a more old-fashioned bot). Additionally, when you’re chatting with Meta AI, you can hold a reply to rate, delete, pin, or copy it. Group owners can also prevent Meta AI from pinning on their posts by going to their group, tapping the three dots in the upper right corner, clicking “Add features”, scrolling to Meta AI and clicking “remove” in the settings tab next to “Aid members get information”.
How to disable Meta AI on Instagram
Instagram’s Meta AI integration is more tolerant than Facebook’s, as it only appears when you click the search bar and works in a similar way to its sister app. Search suggestions will be mixed with more conventional ones and marked with an iridescent Meta AI logo, while non-AI search suggestions will instead be marked with a magnifying glass. Clicking on Meta AI’s suggestions will open the chat – essentially the same chat log from Facebook or any other Meta app – where you can rate or delete your replies.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to completely disable Meta AI here either, which can be doubly frustrating since I’ll probably be searching for “how to peel an onion” or “how to cut an avocado” more often here than on Facebook itself. Just pay attention to the icon next to suggested searches and you should be able to avoid the AI for now.
How to disable Meta AI in Messenger and WhatsApp
Messenger and WhatsApp have the simplest integration with Meta AI – here the chatbot is simply treated as another person in your contacts. Clicking on a conversation with him will open the chatbot, which will again remember any questions you may have asked it in other Meta-owned apps.
Meta AI appears as a normal contact in both Messenger and WhatsApp
Source: Meta
Other than that, the only other integration is a petite icon in the lower middle or upper right corner of the screen, depending on the app. Clicking the icon will also open a conversation with Meta AI, which is critical if you delete the chat.
That’s right, there is a way to “remove” Meta AI from these applications. Just delete your conversation with him like you would any other conversation and it will disappear from your contact list. A petite icon will remain elsewhere in the app’s interface, presumably to allow you to start a up-to-date conversation if you accidentally delete yours, but otherwise the AI presence here is completely unobtrusive.
