Meta AI is Meta's free AI assistant, available on the web, on iOS and Android, on Mac in beta and inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook. What decides whether it suits you is how heavily you will use its compute-intensive features, since usage limits are being tested on them and extra usage comes through paid Meta One bundles rather than a standalone AI plan.
What is Meta AI?
Meta AI is made by Meta and powered by Muse Spark from Meta Superintelligence Labs. It needs an existing Meta account, with no separate account to create, and it runs on Meta's servers.
You reach it on meta.ai, in the iOS and Android apps, in a Mac app that is in beta, and inside WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook. It is also available on Meta's AI glasses.
What you can do with Meta AI
The app offers modes rather than a model picker. Instant gives quicker responses and suits everyday questions, while Thinking gives in-depth responses for more complex questions or reasoning, and there is a Shopping mode as well. The model behind the app is Muse Spark, and Muse Image is the image model. Muse Spark Open is the open-weight release of Muse Spark, but it is not the model the app itself runs.
Web search is built in, with answers integrated with real-time web information. Deep research builds research plans, searches across sources and drafts structured reports with citations, so you get an in-depth report on a topic in minutes.
You can upload a lease, drop in a spreadsheet or compare product photos side by side, and you can add several files at once. Meta AI also generates images, and image generation is free, though image and video creation get more usage on Meta One.
Voice mode is a conversational way to talk to Meta AI through your day and supports 13 languages. Meta AI can also complete tasks for you, such as creating presentations, writing docs and building training plans.
Memory lets Meta AI remember details about you while you chat on Facebook or Messenger. For apps it can read from, you can connect your email and calendar to get personalized daily briefings. You can also link an Instagram professional account, Meta Ads Manager and Google Workspace so Meta AI can analyze your content and ad performance.
Incognito Chats are processed in a secure environment that no one, including Meta, can access.
Business links and the developer API
For business use, Meta AI connects to an Instagram professional account, Meta Ads Manager and Google Workspace, as covered above. Meta also runs a separate developer platform at dev.meta.ai. Its Meta Model API is an inference API for Meta's latest models, including Muse Wonder, Muse Spark, Muse Image, Muse Voice Transcribe and SAM 3.1, and it is pay-as-you-go. Muse Voice Transcribe costs $0.18 per hour.
Meta AI pricing: what each plan gives
Meta AI is free for everyday use with a Meta account. Meta has started testing daily or monthly usage limits on some of its more compute-intensive features, and people who reach a limit have the option to buy a subscription.
The paid tiers are Meta One bundles. Meta One Core costs $7.99 a month and combines Instagram Plus, WhatsApp Plus and Facebook Plus with more AI usage, including generating and editing images and creating and transforming videos. Meta One Premium costs $19.99 a month, also bundles Instagram Plus, WhatsApp Plus and Facebook Plus, and gives expanded AI usage. Pricing varies by country and plan, and Meta One is not available in all regions. Each is a flat monthly subscription per account.
Single-app plans such as Instagram Plus at $3.99 a month and WhatsApp Plus at $2.99 a month are not Meta AI plans.
Muse is a separate product: Meta's personal AI agent, sold as its own subscription. Power costs $20 a month for 500M tokens a week, and Max costs $100 a month for 3B tokens a week. The developer API is pay-as-you-go and is not a consumer plan.
Privacy and security
Meta uses your interactions with its AIs to improve AI at Meta. If you do not want your information used to develop and improve AI at Meta, you can submit an objection to Meta, so training on your chats is on unless you opt out.
Incognito Chats are the exception to ordinary chats, as they are processed in a secure environment that no one, including Meta, can access. Support is through the Help Centre articles on meta.com and facebook.com.
Who Meta AI suits
Meta AI suits people who already live in WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or Facebook and want an assistant inside those apps at no cost. It also suits anyone who wants web search, deep research reports with citations, file analysis, image generation and a voice mode in a free assistant, and small business owners who want it to look at an Instagram professional account or Meta Ads Manager.
It suits less well anyone who wants to pay for AI usage alone, because the paid tiers are bundles with Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook features, and Meta One is not in every region. It also suits less well people who do not want their interactions used to improve Meta's AI, since that needs an objection submitted to Meta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Meta AI free?
Yes. Meta AI is free for everyday use with an existing Meta account. Usage limits are being tested on some of the more compute-intensive features, and people who reach a limit can buy a subscription. The paid Meta One Core plan costs $7.99 a month and Meta One Premium costs $19.99 a month.
What do the Meta One plans add?
Meta One Core and Premium are bundles of Instagram Plus, WhatsApp Plus and Facebook Plus with more Meta AI usage. Core gives more AI usage and image and video generation, and Premium gives expanded AI usage. Pricing varies by country and plan, and Meta One is not available in all regions.
Which model does Meta AI use?
Meta AI is powered by Muse Spark from Meta Superintelligence Labs. The app offers Instant, Thinking and Shopping modes rather than a model picker, with Thinking aimed at complex questions or reasoning.
Does Meta AI train on my chats?
Yes, unless you object. Meta uses your interactions with its AIs to improve AI at Meta, and you can submit an objection to Meta if you do not want your information used that way. Incognito Chats are processed in a secure environment that no one, including Meta, can access.
