Meta AI will use its ‘memory’ to provide better recommendations

Meta is widely launching the ability for its AI chatbot to “remember” certain details about you, such as your dietary preferences or your interests, the company said in a blog post on Monday. It will then use your past conversations, in addition to details from Facebook and Instagram accounts, to provide more relevant recommendations.

Meta first started rolling out a memory feature for its AI chatbot last year, but now it will be available across Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp on iOS and Android in the US and Canada. Though you can tell Meta AI to remember certain things, like that you love traveling, it will also “pick up important details based on context.”

For example, if Meta AI provides you with a recipe that contains meat, and you respond that you’re vegan, the chatbot will adjust its future responses to account for your preference.

Meta says its AI will only remember things in one-on-one conversations, not in group chats, and that you can delete its memories “at any time.” Chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini already have a similar feature.

Along with these “memories,” Meta AI on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram will now deliver “a greater level of personalization” using information from your accounts. As noted by Meta, if you ask its chatbot for something fun to do with family, Meta AI could use your home location listed in your Facebook profile, as well as recently-viewed reels showing live country performances, to recommend a local country music show.

Meta doesn’t specify the other kinds of data its AI chatbot will glean from your Facebook and Instagram accounts, and the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information.