Meta AI answers now may include Google Search results, making this the first AI assistant to include search results from both Google and Microsoft.
That said, I’ve yet to find a query that triggered Google Search results. Meta AI launched with Microsoft Bing integrated in September.
Why we care. Gartner predicted search traffic will fall due to the rise of AI chatbots, virtual agents and AI answer engines providing direct answers, as opposed to having to click on a website to find an answer. However, the models (like Meta’s Llama 3) don’t have access to real-time data – so it makes sense for Meta to incorporate information from search engines.
How Meta AI works. You can now enter searches in the search bar in the Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps. When Meta AI includes search results, those will appear as a tappable link beneath the answer, as Sources. Tapping on that link will bring you to the web, but keep you within the Meta app.
Meta AI will also appear in the main Facebook feed.
What it looks like. Here’s an image Meta shared of the search experience:
The deal. “There’s not a “ton of money” flowing either way, Zuckerberg told tech rag the Verge. He was also asked about Google outsourcing search to another AI assistant, despite having Gemini:
“I guess I wouldn’t have been surprised if they didn’t want to do it. But it seems like they are building up a whole model around this, so it makes sense. It’s good for Google. It shows Google prominently and links to Google. They pay Apple a ton of money for distribution. They’re not paying us. So, I think it’s good for them on that.”
Meta.ai website. Meta also announced the launch of meta.ai, which makes Meta AI available on computers for the first time.
