Meta AI chatbot arrives in Threads DMs, completing cross-platform rollout

Meta announced Monday that it is rolling out its Meta AI chatbot within Threads' direct messaging feature, giving users a way to chat with the AI assistant directly in their DMs.

The update extends Meta AI to Threads, complementing its existing presence on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Threads users can now invoke Meta AI in DM conversations for Q&A, information lookup, and casual chat.

Meta AI, built on Meta's Llama model family, has been gradually integrated across the company's social platforms. Threads was the only major Meta platform that had not yet received the AI assistant, making this release the final piece of a cross-platform rollout.

Since launching in July 2023, Threads has evolved from a text-focused social app into a more feature-rich platform with DMs, trending topics, and a web experience. Adding Meta AI is the latest step in deepening user engagement and platform stickiness.

Meta said the feature will roll out to users globally in phases, with additional capabilities planned for future updates. Users can start conversations with Meta AI directly within the Threads DM window without switching apps.

For Meta, embedding the AI assistant across all its social properties is a strategic move to build consumer AI adoption at scale. Threads now has over 300 million monthly active users, giving Meta AI a massive new distribution channel.

Privacy and data handling remain key considerations. Meta AI collects interaction data during conversations for model improvement, and users should review their privacy settings to manage data usage preferences.

Looking ahead, the key question is whether Meta AI on Threads will eventually match the full feature set available on Instagram and Facebook, including image generation and web search capabilities, which will determine the depth of the AI assistant experience Threads users can access.