Meta pivots AI strategy with productivity-focused chatbot update
The social media giant moves away from its previous emphasis on entertainment, aiming to compete directly with rivals in the personal assistant space.
Meta has deployed a significant update to its Meta AI chatbot, introducing a suite of productivity features powered by the newly released Muse Spark 1.1 model. The upgrade marks a strategic shift for the technology company, enabling the assistant to access user calendars to generate daily briefings, plan events, and conduct in-depth research. This development positions Meta to compete more directly with established rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude.
The update represents a notable reversal from the company’s previous internal directives. According to reports by Alex Heath, Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox previously instructed employees to focus on entertainment and connection with friends, rather than obsessively pursuing productivity tools. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has now framed this new capability as a “next step toward personal superintelligence,” signalling a broader ambition for the artificial intelligence division.
Under the new system, users can set recurring tasks for the assistant to handle autonomously, such as weekly meal plans or product restock updates. The chatbot can also browse Facebook Marketplace for items based on specific criteria and budget, search for restaurants for upcoming events, and check calendars to identify suitable dates. These functions allow the AI to summarise information from across the web into reports, presentations, or plans without requiring repeated prompting.
A key feature of the update is the ability for users to steer the AI’s direction mid-response, a functionality similar to that offered by competing services. The Muse Spark 1.1 model is designed to facilitate these complex interactions, moving beyond the chatbot’s existing capabilities of answering questions, generating images, and drafting documents. This enhanced interactivity aims to make the assistant a more integrated part of daily workflow and planning.
The productivity-focused update is currently available in select markets via the Meta AI app and web interface. Meta has confirmed that the rollout will expand to WhatsApp and additional countries in the coming weeks, though specific regions and exact timelines for the broader release have not been disclosed.
