Look out Google —Meta AI is developing its own search engine

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In an effort to stay competitive in AI development, Meta is reportedly creating its own search engine. The move, reported by The Information, is intended to reduce dependence on Google and Microsoft Bing, which currently feed Meta AI with news, sports and stocks. According to a Meta insider, this initiative could serve as a backup in case the partnerships with the tech giants shift.

Led by senior engineering manager, Xueyuan Su, over the last year, Meta has been quietly advancing its web-crawling and indexing technologies by gathering and organizing web data into searchable indexes. The ultimate aim is for Meta AI to deliver live, conversational answers independently, enabling the platform to address user questions without reliance on any outside search platform.

Meta has even expanded its reach with a recent partnership with Reuters to enhance Meta AI’s responses to topical queries. This multifaceted approach to minimizing reliance on competitors comes from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has previously voiced concerns about Meta’s reliance on other major firms. This includes Apple, whose changing data-sharing practices on iPhones impacted Meta’s ad revenue streams.

Meta’s AI chatbot, which now reaches 185 million weekly users, signifies the solid footing within its social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Though still trailing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, this figure highlights Meta AI’s appeal to a broad audience.

As more people turn to AI tools like ChatGPT for fast, conversational answers, Meta aims to adapt to user behaviors by developing AI solutions within its own ecosystem and integrating its chatbot across social platforms. The goal is to keep users engaged while laying the groundwork for more advanced AI functionalities in the future.