Meta AI Expands To Europe After Regulatory Delays

Meta is launching its AI chatbot across Europe, nearly a year after regulatory concerns forced the company to delay its rollout.

The AI assistant, already available in the U.S., U.K., and India, will now be integrated into WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger for users across 41 European countries and 21 overseas territories.

“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 on Thursday.

Meta AI was initially set to launch in Europe last year, but the Irish Data Protection Commission halted the rollout over concerns about the company’s plan to use Facebook and Instagram users’ data to train its language models, as noted by Euronews.

Its delayed launch comes amid mounting regulatory scrutiny. Recently, the Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta €251 million for a 2018 data breach that compromised sensitive data from 29 million users, including 3 million in the EU.

To comply with regulators, Meta is launching a text-based version of its chatbot that does not rely on first-party EU user data.

For now, the chatbot will function as a virtual assistant, helping users brainstorm ideas, plan trips, and answer general questions using web-sourced information. It will also help users find content relevant to their interests on Instagram.

However, features available elsewhere—such as image generation and editing—will not be included in the European version at this time.

Meta says the AI will initially support six languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. The company plans to expand its capabilities and work toward “parity with the U.S.” over time.

Despite regulatory hurdles, Meta executives have expressed concerns over Europe’s approach to AI oversight. Joel Kaplan, the company’s head of global policy, recently stated that strict regulations are hindering Europe’s role in AI development, as reported by Euronews. He stressed the importance of fostering competitiveness and economic growth through open innovation and closer collaboration between the U.S. and Europe.

Meta’s AI assistant has already seen widespread adoption, with over 700 million monthly active users globally. The European launch marks the company’s largest expansion of the technology to date, as it continues its push to integrate AI across its platforms.

Meanwhile, Meta is also facing backlash over its AI-generated character profiles on Instagram and Facebook. The resurfacing of profiles from a 2023 experiment, including “Liv” and “Carter,” reignited concerns about AI’s role in social media.

Some users reported being unable to block the accounts, while critics questioned their design and potential misuse. Following public outcry, Meta confirmed it had deleted the AI profiles.