Meta finds new ways for influencers to annoy us

Want free Samsung credits? Here's $50 worth to get you started.

Reserve your interest in Samsung's new Galaxy lineup with your email—no purchase required. Enjoy up to $1,250 savings and a chance to win $5K in Samsung credit.

Reserve Now

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Instagram’s new AI Studio feature lets creators build AI chatbot versions of themselves. Because who doesn’t want to discuss protein powder with an AI pretending to be a fitness model?

The tool is currently in early testing in the US. These AI chatbots will be clearly labeled so you’ll know when you’re interacting with a bot.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared examples of how these chatbots can answer questions and engage in conversations. It’s early days, but the goal is to let creators and, eventually, small businesses build AIs representing themselves for a more dynamic experience. Think personalized AI butlers minus the butlers.

The possibilities are endless: AI celebrities, AI life coaches, even AI pirates. But as with any AI feature, there are concerns about accuracy and Meta’s ability to prevent these chatbots from going off the rails. The company includes notices about potential inaccuracies, which is reassuring?

As Instagram expands this feature, it’ll be interesting to see how creators and users respond. Will it change influencer marketing, or just be another way to sell stuff?

While the technology is undoubtedly impressive, it raises questions about the future of influencer marketing and online discourse.

On one hand, AI chatbots could make interactions with our favorite creators more accessible and personalized. On the other hand, it opens the door to new forms of automated advertising and potential misinformation.

As the platform expands this feature, it’ll be crucial for Meta to implement robust safeguards to ensure these AI chatbots enrich the user experience rather than detract from it. Otherwise, we might find ourselves yearning for the good old days of traditional sponsored posts.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Zuckerberg’s AI dreams sound like a sci-fi movie no one asked for
• ChatGPT lands on Mac, bringing AI-powered chats to your desktop
• Google’s building celebrity chatbots. Will anyone use them?
• Claude’s huge update makes it the best ChatGPT rival (so far)

Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com.