Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has introduced its artificial intelligence assistant in the UK, along with AI-enhanced sunglasses endorsed by Mark Zuckerberg. The Meta AI assistant, capable of generating both text and images, is now available on its social media platforms in the UK and Brazil, following its previous launches in the US and Australia. Delays in the UK launch were attributed to regulatory concerns and product testing, while Meta’s AI services remain inaccessible in the EU due to the "unpredictable" regulatory landscape. Users of Facebook and Instagram in the UK can now engage with the Meta AI chatbot by tapping an icon within their app or by purchasing a pair of £299 Ray-Ban Meta frames from a local retailer, which allows access to the voice assistant. Zuckerberg, co-founder of Meta, showcased a pair of Ray-Bans at a recent company event where he also revealed that Meta AI would respond to voice commands and utilize the voices of celebrities such as Judi Dench, John Cena, and Keegan-Michael Key; however, this feature will not be available in the UK. According to Meta, this latest launch, which also includes the Philippines, "will help individuals obtain answers to their inquiries, brainstorm content, and bring their ideas to life in ways that can be easily shared with their local network and our broader global community. " The company’s AI offerings, powered by its Llama 3. 2 AI model, have faced backlash from social media users seeking to prevent Meta from using their posts for AI training. A viral message, “Goodbye Meta AI!” was circulated by various actors and sports figures, including James McAvoy and Tom Brady, though it was later revealed that sharing the post provided no legal privacy or copyright protections. To prevent Meta from utilizing their Facebook and Instagram posts for training purposes, UK users must complete an objection form found in their app’s privacy settings.

However, users of Meta’s AI features cannot prevent their interactions with the AI tools from being used for training and fine-tuning the Llama model, unlike their actual posts on social media.