# How to use Meta AI: a beginner guide to the assistant inside Meta's apps

> Meta AI is the AI assistant from Meta. You use it inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, on the web at [meta.ai](https://www.meta.ai/) and in its own app. It answers questions, searches the web and social posts, helps with messages, and makes and edits pictures. A paid option adds higher usage limits. It is a different product from Muse, Meta's newer agent.

Mindket editors · Published 2026-11-06 · Updated 2026-11-06 · https://mindket.com/learn/tools/meta-ai

## In short

- Meta AI lives inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook as well as at meta.ai and in its own app, so you can ask without leaving the app you are in.
- Wikipedia says the stand-alone app has optional paid subscriptions with higher usage limits, and a September 2026 tutorial says everything it shows is free to access.
- Muse, announced on 8 September 2026, is a separate personal AI agent. This page covers the Meta AI assistant.
- Check facts and pictures before you share them, and read the privacy settings of the account you use.

## What Meta AI is

Meta AI is the name of the virtual assistant that Meta's AI team developed. According to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_AI), Meta introduced the assistant in 2023 on its Llama models and built it into its products as a chatbot. It is also available as a stand-alone app, with optional paid subscriptions that give higher usage limits.

Meta AI is also the name of Meta's research division, founded in 2013 as Facebook AI Research. This page is about the assistant. You can open it in a browser at meta.ai, in the Meta AI app, or inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. The [Learn With Shopify tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jLkh1-vxg8) from 14 September 2026 describes it as running in all of those places.

The models behind it are changing. Wikipedia says Meta Superintelligence Labs introduced Muse Spark in April 2026 as the first model of the Muse family, and that it is also used for other Meta AI products and services. A Muse Spark 2.0 release in September arrived as a feature of WhatsApp and Instagram, according to the [Meta Platforms article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms).

## What Meta AI is good for

- **Quick answers inside your apps**: ask in WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook without switching to another app.
- **Message help in WhatsApp**: [WhatsApp's own tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaFC445N0H0) from February 2026 shows message summaries, Writing Help to rephrase or proofread, custom chat themes and voice conversations with Meta AI.
- **Pictures and short videos**: Meta AI creates, edits and explains images in WhatsApp. [A Learn With Shopify tutorial from October 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPfMTd2KB0) covers its Creative Studio and Vibes tab for pictures, looping GIFs and short AI videos.
- **Web and social search**: [TheAIGRID's May 2026 tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEv18sGAML8) shows searching the web and social media with Meta AI, and a mode that uses several agents for harder questions.
- **Questions about a photo or a file**: the same tutorial covers asking about an image, a PDF or an Excel file.
- **Meta glasses**: Wikipedia says the assistant came pre-installed on the second generation of Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses and is available on Quest 2 and newer headsets.

## When to use Meta AI, and when to pick another

| Your job | Use Meta AI? | Or try |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A quick question while you are already chatting in WhatsApp or Instagram | Yes. It sits inside those apps | ChatGPT or Gemini, in their own apps |
| A casual picture from a short prompt | Yes, in the chat or in its creative tools | Ideogram, if the picture needs readable words |
| A short AI video clip | Yes, through Vibes | Kling |
| A long report with sources | Not first | Perplexity or Gemini Deep Research |
| Write or fix code in your editor | No | GitHub Copilot, Cursor or Claude Code |
| Private or confidential material | Not until you have read its privacy settings | Ollama or LM Studio, to run an open model on your own computer |

## How to use Meta AI, step by step

Menus differ between the web, the app and each social app, and they change often. These steps name the parts that stay put and ask you to follow the names on your screen for the rest.

1. **Choose where to open it.** Go to [meta.ai](https://www.meta.ai/) in a browser, install the Meta AI app, or find Meta AI inside WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook. The Learn With Shopify tutorial says it runs in all of those.
2. **Sign in.** Follow the sign-in options on screen, and notice which account it uses.
3. **Check the settings first.** The Learn With Shopify tutorial has a chapter on the settings to turn on before your first prompt. Read each one before you switch it on.
4. **Ask in plain words.** Type or speak your question and say what the answer is for. In WhatsApp, a voice note or a voice conversation works too.
5. **Pick a chat mode for harder questions.** TheAIGRID's tutorial shows several chat modes, including a Contemplating mode that uses multiple agents. Look near the message box for the mode choice and follow the names on screen.
6. **Make a picture.** Describe it in a sentence or two and ask Meta AI to create it, or open its creative tools. The tutorials show Vibes and Creative Studio for pictures and short videos.
7. **Add a photo or a file.** Attach an image, a PDF or a spreadsheet and ask about it. TheAIGRID covers all three.
8. **Check what matters.** Open the sources behind any fact, and read every word of a picture before you share it.

1. Go to [meta.ai](https://www.meta.ai/) and press **Log in** at the top right. Follow the sign-in options on screen, and notice which account it uses.
   ![An illustration of Meta AI's home page with a gold ring around Log in at the top right.](https://mindket.com/blog/screens/meta-ai-1-log-in.webp?v=7160daedf41d)
2. Type or speak your question in the **Message Meta AI** box and say what the answer is for.
   ![An illustration of Meta AI with a gold ring around the Message Meta AI box.](https://mindket.com/blog/screens/meta-ai-2-message-box.webp?v=36a2bc2c3e12)
3. For a harder question, pick a chat mode from the menu in the message box. **Contemplating** has several agents work on it together.
   ![An illustration of Meta AI's open mode menu, listing Fast, Thinking and Contemplating, inside a gold ring.](https://mindket.com/blog/screens/meta-ai-3-chat-mode.webp?v=5b0834fcd129)
4. Describe a picture in a sentence or two, then press **Create an image** to have Meta AI draw it.
   ![An illustration of Meta AI with a picture request typed in the box and a gold ring around Create an image.](https://mindket.com/blog/screens/meta-ai-4-create-image.webp?v=759f7245349e)

*AI-made illustrations of Meta AI's screens, drawn on 6 November 2026 to match these steps. They are not screenshots, so the real app may look different: follow what you see.*

> The tutorials at the top of this page show these steps on screen. Meta changes its menus often, so if a name differs, follow the one you see.

## An example to try

Paste this into Meta AI and ask for a picture. It names the subject, the style, the light and a space for the title, in the order the Learn lesson on image prompts teaches.

````text
A square picture for a weekend farmers market poster: a wooden stall with baskets of red tomatoes and green herbs, morning light, flat illustration style, warm colors.
Leave empty space at the top for a title. No text in the picture.
````

- A good result shows the stall, the tomatoes and the herbs in a flat illustration style, with warm colors and soft morning light.
- The top of the picture is empty, so you can add the title yourself in any editor, and no stray letters appear.
- Change one thing per try, such as the light or the color, and compare. Then ask Meta AI for three short captions for the poster.

## Tips for better results

- Say where the answer will be used: a reply to a friend, a post caption or a note to yourself.
- For news, open the original article. Meta AI may only summarize it.
- Ask for pictures in a square, wide or tall shape on purpose, because TheAIGRID's tutorial covers changing the aspect ratio.
- Use a photo of yourself, or of someone who agreed, if you ask Meta AI to put a face in a picture.

## Limits and privacy

Muse is a different product. Wikipedia says Meta announced [Muse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse_%28AI_agent%29) on 8 September 2026 as a personal AI agent that carries out long-running tasks for a user, released in the United States on iOS, Android and the web. This page covers the Meta AI assistant, so the steps here are not Muse's steps.

Since May 2024, Wikipedia says, the chatbot has summarized news from various outlets without linking directly to the original articles. Open the original article before you repeat a news claim.

This page does not say what Meta AI keeps or trains on, because Meta's own privacy pages are not among the sources read for it. For Muse, Wikipedia reports that Meta uses queries for model training by default and that users can turn this off. Look for a similar setting in Meta AI, and read the [lesson on AI privacy](https://mindket.com/learn/ai-basics/ai-privacy) first.

## YouTube tutorials

- [The COMPLETE Meta AI Tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jLkh1-vxg8) (Learn With Shopify)
- [Meta AI Tutorial - How To Use Meta AI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEv18sGAML8) (TheAIGRID)
- [Latest Meta AI features on WhatsApp | Meta AI Tutorial | WhatsApp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaFC445N0H0) (WhatsApp)
- [How to creates images & videos with Meta AI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPfMTd2KB0) (Learn With Shopify)

## Learn more about Meta AI

- [Which AI model should I use for my task?](https://mindket.com/learn/ai-basics/choose-an-ai-model)
- [AI image prompts: how to get the picture you meant](https://mindket.com/learn/ai-images-video/ai-image-prompts)
- [Is it safe to use AI chatbots with personal data? What the apps keep](https://mindket.com/learn/ai-basics/ai-privacy)

## Frequently asked questions

### What is Meta AI?

It is the AI assistant from Meta. It works inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, on the web at meta.ai and in its own app, and Meta introduced it in 2023 on its Llama models.

### Is Meta AI free?

You can use it without paying. A September 2026 tutorial by Learn With Shopify says everything it shows is free to access, and Wikipedia says the stand-alone app has optional paid subscriptions with higher usage limits.

### Where can I use Meta AI?

At [meta.ai](https://www.meta.ai/) in a browser, in the Meta AI app, and inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Wikipedia adds Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses and Quest headsets.

### Is Meta AI the same as Llama?

No. Llama is the family of language models Meta has released since February 2023, and Meta AI is the assistant. Wikipedia says the assistant was first based on Llama, and that the newer Muse family now also serves Meta AI products.

### Is Meta AI the same as Muse?

No. Muse is a personal AI agent that Meta announced on 8 September 2026 for long-running tasks. Muse Spark is also the name of a model in the Muse family, which Wikipedia says other Meta AI products use.

### Can Meta AI make pictures and videos?

Yes. WhatsApp's own tutorial shows creating and editing images, and Learn With Shopify shows pictures, looping GIFs and short AI videos in its Vibes tab and Creative Studio.

### Does Meta AI use my chats to train its models?

This page cannot say, because Meta's own privacy pages were not read for it. For Muse, Wikipedia reports that queries are used for training by default and users can turn that off. Check the settings in the app.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Meta AI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_AI) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Wikipedia: Muse Spark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse_Spark) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Wikipedia: Muse (AI agent)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse_%28AI_agent%29) (read 2026-11-06)
- [Wikipedia: Meta Platforms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_Platforms) (read 2026-11-06)
- [YouTube: Learn With Shopify, The COMPLETE Meta AI Tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jLkh1-vxg8) (read 2026-11-06)
- [YouTube: TheAIGRID, Meta AI Tutorial - How To Use Meta AI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEv18sGAML8) (read 2026-11-06)
- [YouTube: WhatsApp, Latest Meta AI features on WhatsApp | Meta AI Tutorial | WhatsApp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaFC445N0H0) (read 2026-11-06)
- [YouTube: Learn With Shopify, How to creates images & videos with Meta AI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPfMTd2KB0) (read 2026-11-06)

[Start the lesson](https://mindket.com/learn/ai-basics/choose-an-ai-model)