Meta AI Finally Arrives in Europe, Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles
Meta AI finally arrived in Europe on Thursday, overcoming regulatory hurdles that had delayed its launch for eight months after being announced by the Facebook owner. The delay was due to regulatory issues, but Meta AI is now set to roll out in 41 European countries and 21 overseas territories, making it the most significant international expansion for the service so far.
Meta AI is already available in the UK through platforms like Instagram, and now it will also be accessible on the popular messaging service WhatsApp. This multimodal, multilingual AI assistant is integrated into Meta's apps, allowing users to utilize it for various tasks, such as curating content for trips or collaborating in group chats. As part of the EU expansion, Meta AI's chat function will support six new European languages.
European users have been eagerly anticipating Meta AI since its launch in the US in September 2023. The wait has been significant, but Meta is not the only company facing challenges with AI tool rollouts in Europe. Apple Intelligence, for example, is still unavailable in EU countries, although a Europe-wide release is planned for April.
Both Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg have expressed frustration with the slow pace of EU regulators in approving Meta AI for Europe. Despite the challenges, Meta has persisted in its efforts and is now confident in its ability to launch the service in the region while adhering to regulatory requirements.
A Meta spokesperson stated, "We have worked diligently to bring Meta AI to the EU in compliance with Europe's regulatory system, which can be fragmented and unpredictable. Currently, we are offering a text-only model in the region that was not trained on EU user data. We will continue to engage with regulators to ensure that European users have access to Meta's AI innovations."
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