Key Takeaways
- Meta’s AI Studio tool allows US Instagram users to create their own AI chatbots.
- Bots may even act as doppelgangers, using content from the past as source material.
- All bot interactions are clearly identified.
Meta is rolling out its AI Studio tool to more US Instagram users this week, giving them the chance to create their own AI chatbots. The bots can be used for the user’s own entertainment, but can also act as doppelgangers accessible to followers and the general public, depending on their privacy settings. In fact, Meta is promoting the idea of chatbots as a tool for creators, offering quick answers to frequently asked questions, linking to past content, and customization options like who to reply to and what topics to avoid.
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You don’t have to be a creator, though: anyone in the United States can customize their bot’s name, personality, tone, avatar, and tagline. If you want to save time, there are a variety of prompt templates available, but if your bot serves a niche purpose, like teaching people how to cook, you’ll need to put in some effort.
All of the bots are based on Meta’s Llama 3.1 AI model, which was just released as an open source project last week. The model has already caused some controversy because it’s only available for free for commercial use to up to 700 million users, a policy that may be aimed at preventing rivals from beating the company to its own game.
How do I know if I’m talking to a bot?
Bots will be clearly identified with AI labels, though Meta hopes the doppelgangers will be close to the real thing. Creators can also use past comments, captions, and even Reels transcripts as source material. The company has experimented in the past with bots that imitate celebrities like Snoop Dogg, with little success.
Some creators may be wary of adopting AI due to the risk of it being impersonal and upsetting fans. Indeed, AI Studio’s disclaimer warns that messages generated by AI “may be inaccurate or inappropriate,” suggesting that generative AI is prone to hallucinations, or fabrications if it interprets data improperly. Such mistakes could tarnish the reputations of many celebrities and influencers on Instagram.
