Meta Unveils AI-Powered Voice Chat Feature Across Its Social Media Platforms

The introduction of a new voice chat feature powered by artificial intelligence marks an exciting development for users of various Meta platforms. This enhancement, which allows for seamless conversational interactions without the need for typing, is designed to enrich the user experience across social media applications like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The AI voice chat feature was officially launched on Wednesday, following buzz that circulated earlier in the week. During Meta Connect 2024, the company unveiled several innovative AI tools for its in-house chatbot, with the voice chat option standing out as a key element. This addition enables users to engage in two-way dialogue with the AI effortlessly, eliminating the necessity to read or type messages. However, the voice used lacks emotional inflection, resembling typical text-to-speech applications.

In a corporate announcement, details regarding this feature were outlined, and it was prominently featured during the live event. Meta confirmed that the voice chat functionality will be available on Messenger, Facebook, Instagram direct messaging, and WhatsApp, enhancing interaction possibilities on these platforms.

Essentially, this feature acts as a spoken interface for the AI, paralleling similar offerings by organizations such as OpenAI and Google in the chatbot domain. However, in contrast to ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode, which utilizes a conversational human-like voice capable of real-time responses, the Meta AI voice chat is more akin to a recitation of generated text.

The demonstration provided by the company indicates that while the voice is somewhat more natural than a typical robotic tone, it does exhibit minimal voice variation. A significant advantage of this feature is that it can be accessed by all users at no cost. Furthermore, Meta has plans to introduce a variety of voice options, featuring five celebrity voices, which include Awkwafina, Dame Judi Dench, John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, along with Kristen Bell.

Earlier reports highlighted Meta's intention to incorporate celebrity voices into this service. The company has reportedly finalized agreements with these individuals to utilize their vocal likenesses in the AI’s responses, suggesting that additional celebrity voices could be integrated in the future.

To activate the voice chat functionality, users must navigate to the Meta AI interface on any supported platform. Within this interface, they will observe a waveform icon adjacent to the text entry area. By selecting this icon, a new window will appear featuring the Meta AI icon centrally displayed, accompanied by controls for speaker, mute, and messaging options at the bottom. From this point, users can articulate their questions and commands, with the AI responding vocally in the selected celebrity voice.