Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is set to announce this week that it has partnered with well-known actors like Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, and John Cena to lend their voices to its Meta AI chatbot. A source familiar with the plans revealed this information on Monday.
The new audio feature will allow users to choose a voice for Meta's digital assistant from a selection of five celebrities, which also includes Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key, along with several standard voice options.
The announcement of these audio capabilities will take place at Meta's annual Connect conference, beginning on Wednesday. During the event, the company is also expected to introduce the first version of its augmented-reality glasses and share its plans for other hardware, including the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which were the first to incorporate an audio version of the Meta AI chatbot.
The celebrity voices will begin rolling out this week in the U.S. and other English-speaking markets across Meta's apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Earlier this summer, it was reported that Meta was in talks with celebrities to use their voices for AI projects. Recently, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a promotional video featuring Cena on Instagram, showcasing the two along with others performing stunts while wearing Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
As competition heats up in the generative artificial intelligence space, Meta is eager to release innovative AI products for its billions of users. This includes enhancing its chatbot capabilities to make it a more integral part of its app experience, competing directly with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet's Google.
In May, OpenAI demonstrated a similar audio feature for its chatbot but faced backlash when actress Scarlett Johansson accused the company of making a voice that sounded "eerily similar" to hers, despite her refusal to participate.
Currently, Meta's assistant can conduct text conversations and generate images based on user prompts. Last year, the company attempted to boost interest by launching text-based "character" versions of the chatbot inspired by celebrities like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg, although these did not resonate with users.
Meta is now focusing on an AI Studio product that allows content creators to develop chatbot versions of themselves on its platforms.
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