The artificial intelligence tool uses the fourth iteration of Meta’s Llama model, which Meta has touted as being more cost-efficient than competitors like ChatGPT and Gemini.

The standalone app comes as Meta looks to boost the AI assistant's usage, apart from being available within the company's family of social platforms.

Facebook parent Meta Platforms on Tuesday launched a separate app for its Meta AI assistant, similar to those offered by Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet's Google.

Meta raised its capital-expenditure forecast, but it’s also posting strong enough revenue growth to support that spending.

America's tech giants aren't showing signs of slowing AI spending plans despite a stretch of economic uncertainty that has meant tough times for technology shares. After Meta Platforms (META) late Wednesday reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings,

Meta reported first-quarter sales of US$42.31 billion ($66.2 billion), beating Wall Street estimates of US$41.4 billion, with earnings per share of US$6.43 versus US$5.28 expected, according to LSEG data.