Tech giant Meta is reportedly planning to launch a standalone AI app in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
According to CNBC, the new app could launch as early as the company’s next fiscal quarter (April–June).
Currently, Meta AI is integrated into the company’s platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, as well as accessible via a website. The move to a dedicated app signals Meta’s broader ambitions in the AI space. This comes as the company prepares to invest a staggering $200 billion in a new data center for its AI initiatives.
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In addition to the standalone app, Meta is planning to test a paid subscription service for Meta AI, which will offer users unspecified premium features. However, pricing details for this service remain unknown.
With over 700 million monthly active users, Meta AI is a key part of the company’s AI strategy. Meta has also been investing heavily in open-source AI models like Llama, aiming to build an ecosystem that could rival OpenAI. The company is set to host its first AI-focused developer conference, LlamaCon, in late April, and will hold a dedicated AI event on April 29th.
“This is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalized AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people, and I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in January.
In response to Meta’s launch of a standalone AI App, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman jokingly remarked, “ok fine maybe we’ll do a social app.” Unlike rival generative AI tools, Meta AI is currently available to users via a website and the company’s apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
The company’s finance chief Susan Li told analysts in January that while the company’s AI efforts are focused on “building a great consumer experience,” there are “pretty clear monetization opportunities here over time, including paid recommendations and including a premium offering.”
Notably, Meta’s plan to roll out a standalone AI chatbot follows similar efforts by Google and Elon Musk’s xAI. The two recently released individual apps for their respective digital assistants Gemini and Grok.
In February 2025, reports revealed that Google pulled its AI assistant Gemini from the main Google app for iOS devices, a move to encourage users to download the standalone app instead. This move would allow Google to more directly compete with other consumer-facing AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity. The tech giant alerted customers to the change via an email that warned “Gemini is no longer available in the Google app.”
On the other hand, Elon Musk-owned xAI debuted an official Grok iOS app along with a dedicated website, expanding the digital assistant beyond Musk’s social media service, X.
Meta’s AI Expansion: What It Means for the Chatbot Space
Meta’s move to launch a standalone AI app and test a paid subscription service signals a significant shift in the chatbot space.
Here’s what it could mean:
Increased Competition Among AI Chatbots
By introducing a dedicated Meta AI app, Meta is positioning itself as a direct competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. This move could intensify the race to dominate the AI assistant market, forcing competitors to innovate faster and enhance their offerings.
Monetization of AI Assistants
The planned paid subscription service suggests that Meta sees a viable revenue model in premium AI features. This could push other AI companies to explore similar monetization strategies, possibly leading to a new wave of AI-powered paid services.
Looking Ahead
Meta’s aggressive push into AI signifies a major transformation in how chatbots are positioned in the market.
Overall, the company’s expansion into standalone AI signals a more competitive, monetized, and ecosystem-driven chatbot space, likely reshaping how AI assistants are used and commercialized.