Meta is doubling down on artificial intelligence across its platforms, unveiling a new "AI Mode" for Facebook on Monday that the company says will reshape how its billions of users search for information, create content, and engage with the app. The centerpiece feature lets people ask questions in plain language and receive synthesized answers pulled from public posts across Facebook, including content from Groups and Reels, rather than scrolling through traditional search results. The rollout comes as the Menlo Park-based company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, races to keep pace with rivals like OpenAI, Google, and xAI in the increasingly competitive AI assistant market.
The launch builds on Meta's quiet release last month of Forum, a Reddit-style standalone app that includes its own AI-powered "Ask" tab surfacing answers from Facebook Groups discussions. Both features, however, raise questions about reliability. Because the AI is summarizing content from everyday users rather than vetted sources, outdated or misleading information could easily slip through — a concern that has already plagued Google's similar AI Mode integration with Reddit. Facebook, which still counts roughly three billion monthly active users, has not detailed what guardrails it plans to put in place.
Beyond search, Meta is pushing AI deeper into the creative side of the platform. The company introduced new video editing tools that let users experiment with collage cutouts and transition effects for their montages, alongside AI-powered photo presets that can transform a user's appearance with different outfits, hairstyles, and accessories. Sports fans can virtually try on their favorite team's jersey by tapping the "AI Edit" icon in Stories and selecting "Wear It," or by heading to their profile picture and choosing "Restyle profile picture with AI" followed by "Wardrobe."
These features join a steady drumbeat of AI rollouts on Facebook in recent months. In February, Meta launched animated profile pictures that can add a wave or place a virtual party hat on a user's image. In March, it introduced an AI auto-reply tool for Facebook Marketplace sellers, and earlier this month the company shipped a creator-focused AI assistant that recommends optimal posting times and provides audience summaries. The pace of releases underscores how heavily Meta is betting that AI-driven engagement tools can revitalize a social network that has spent years searching for its next big growth catalyst.