Meta rolls out AI tools in EU, despite previous regulatory problems

US tech giant Meta announced on Thursday that it will roll out its AI chat function tool across the EU, despite the plan sparking regulatory questions across Europe.

“It’s taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system - but we’re glad we’re finally here,” Meta said in a blog post published Thursday. 

MetaAI rolled out in the US in September 2023, followed by India in June 2024, and in the UK in October. Its plan to continue expansion in Europe was halted last summer due to “regulatory unpredictability”.

The company paused the launch of its AI assistant in Europe after the Irish Data Protection Commission told Meta to postpone its plan to use data of adult users of Facebook and Instagram to train large language models (LLMs). 

Meta now says that over the coming weeks it will “take the first step in making Meta AI’s chat function available in six European languages - English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and German - with a view to find parity with the US and expand our offering over time.”

MetaAI will be available within Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger. It will allow users for example to ask a question in WhatsApp group chats, or to “discover content that is relevant to their interests”.

In total, the tool will begin rolling out across 41 European Countries, including those in the EU, as well as 21 Overseas Territories, the company said.

Meta’s new global policy chief, Joel Kaplan, last month criticised Europe’s regulatory action against US tech companies, claiming it is “pushing the continent to the sidelines”. 

Kaplan argued that while a global AI revolution is unfolding, it’s important to drive competitiveness and economic growth to open innovation and transatlantic cooperation, and for Europe to look for stronger collaboration with the US and its companies.

His comments fit the recent company narrative. In January, CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the US election result, claiming that Meta would work with incoming US President Donald Trump to push back on countries that are trying to rein in social media platforms.