WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
How exactly Meta’s new AI Mode is sourcing its search results. The company says it will “give you answers grounded in what people are saying publicly across our apps like in Groups and Reels,” but doesn’t address exactly how its algorithm is weighing sources or how it will combat misinformation, which has plagued Facebook for years. Forbes has reached out to Meta for more information.
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Key background
Meta has been embedding its Meta AI assistant across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger for years, but Monday’s launch is the first time the company has positioned AI as a direct replacement for Facebook’s own search bar—putting it in more direct competition with Google. It was first reported in October of 2024 that Meta was working to develop its own search engine, but this is the first time that work has landed in front of everyday Facebook users. In the larger artificial intelligence landscape, Meta has fallen behind its peers after the flop of the flagship Llama 4 family of AI models, which caused Meta to largely abandon its open-source AI strategy. The company instead invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI (which included recruiting Wang) and launched its proprietary, closed-source AI system, Muse Spark. Investor sentiment in Meta has lagged despite the company’s massive AI investments, but Nowak has argued the new AI search tool could turn things around.
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further reading
ForbesTech Industry Loses 123,000 Jobs This Year—AI Is The Most Cited Reason For LayoffsBy Mary Whitfill Roeloffs
ForbesMeta Layoffs Underscore The Real Price Of The AI RaceBy Dan Runkevicius
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