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Meta Debuts Stand-Alone AI Assistant App To Rival ChatGPT
The dedicated AI assistant app taps into user data from its platforms to offer more personalized responses than ChatGPT or Claude.
Meta is entering the AI assistant race with a stand-alone app that puts its generative AI tool — Meta AI — directly in users’ hands, independent of WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, or Messenger. The app was officially unveiled at the company’s recent LlamaCon event and is clearly positioned as a direct competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.
What sets Meta’s AI app apart? The tech giant is banking on its existing ecosystem. Unlike newer players in the space, Meta already has years of user data across its platforms—from what you like to who you interact with. The company says this contextual advantage allows the AI to deliver more relevant, personalized responses by “drawing on information you’ve already chosen to share on Meta products”.
For now, this deeper personalization is only available in the U.S. and Canada, but it offers a preview of how AI assistants might evolve. Users can even feed the app additional personal details — like dietary restrictions or travel preferences — which Meta AI can then remember to tailor future suggestions. This could mean fewer mismatched recommendations and more practical support in day-to-day interactions.
However, the rollout also raises the usual data privacy concerns. Meta has built its empire on targeted advertising, and its AI product is no exception. The assistant’s effectiveness hinges on how much data users allow it to access — and how Meta uses that data behind the scenes remains a crucial question.
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The app also includes a social twist. A new “Discover” feed lets users share how they’re interacting with the AI. In one example, someone asks the AI to describe them in emojis and then shares the result with friends. Sharing is optional, but the feed could amplify AI trends, from emoji summaries to stylized avatar transformations, echoing viral moments like the Barbie or Ghibli filters.
Still, not every feature may resonate. Meta’s decision to layer social sharing onto an AI assistant might feel unnecessary to some, especially as the market matures and users begin to seek more utility than novelty.
Whether the app becomes a serious rival to ChatGPT or just another experiment remains to be seen — but it’s clear Meta is determined to shape the future of personal AI with its own data-rich approach.
News
AltoVolo Opens Orders For Limited Edition Sigma eVTOLs
Early buyers can now reserve build slots for AltoVolo’s 500-mile hybrid aircraft through a new online configurator.
AltoVolo has started taking pre-orders for its first electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the Sigma, moving the startup closer to commercial rollout. Customers can now secure a build slot with a £860 deposit and customize every detail online — from paintwork to seatbelt stitching. It’s the first configurator of its kind for a civilian eVTOL, mirroring how luxury car brands let clients tailor performance models before production.
The Sigma runs on a hybrid-electric tilting jet system built for long range and low noise. It can travel up to 500 miles at a 220-mph cruise, and is over 80% quieter than a helicopter. The three-seater weighs just 980kg and can maintain stable flight even if one jet fails. Safety systems include triple-redundant controls, thrust-vectoring stability and a ballistic parachute.
“We will be delivering an ultra-refined hybrid electric aircraft,” said founder and CEO Will Wood. “We believe there are thousands of customers for this type of cutting-edge technology”.
The first 100 units will come with exclusive materials and finishes. AltoVolo is also setting up a global service and maintenance network, with early planning for overhaul schedules already underway. The company’s focus on ownership experience echoes its ambition to anchor itself alongside established aviation brands rather than pure tech ventures.
To help new owners train, the company has built a full-scale simulator that replicates the Sigma cockpit in carbon fiber and leather. Pilots can log time toward a license using the system, aligned with the new US MOSAIC rules that ease certification for powered-lift aircraft. Certification work in Europe and the UK continues in parallel, signaling growing international alignment around light sport and eVTOL regulation.
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Noise inside the cabin has become another design focus. Engineers are refining internal vibration levels and developing a responsive soundscape that shifts with each jet’s power load — part feedback, part theatre.
Urban air mobility projects across the Gulf and elsewhere are pushing regulators and manufacturers to meet in the middle. Dubai, Riyadh and Doha have each outlined plans for air taxi corridors this decade. AltoVolo’s hybrid Sigma, sitting between electric promise and aviation realism, looks built for that middle ground.
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