Meta is in the process of creating a new artificial intelligence (AI) search engine, aiming to establish a foothold in the competitive landscape dominated by companies like Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and DuckDuckGo. Reports indicate that Meta is planning to leverage AI technology for this search engine, which could potentially feature an avatar similar to that of Perplexity. However, specific implementation details remain undisclosed. The initiative appears to be part of Meta’s strategy to lessen its dependence on external search engines for data utilized by its AI chatbot services. Additionally, Meta recently introduced NotebookLlama, an open-source tool designed for audio-based podcast generation, aimed at rivaling Google’s NotebookLM.
The Information has detailed that Meta has commenced development on an internal AI search engine, having assembled a dedicated team for this purpose. This report aligns with previous findings suggesting that Meta’s web crawlers have been actively scouring the internet, a crucial activity for collecting pertinent data to categorize websites and content effectively in response to search queries.
The concept of an AI-driven search engine is not unprecedented. Perplexity has emerged as a notable competitor in this area, offering a platform that synthesizes information from various sources to deliver concise and relevant results. While the specifics of Meta’s AI search engine implementation were not disclosed in the report, it is likely to operate in a similar fashion.
At present, Meta’s AI chatbot retrieves web information for user inquiries through Google Search and Microsoft Bing. This reliance on external APIs can be costly, especially since Meta has yet to monetize its AI chatbot offerings.
Questions remain about whether Meta intends to launch a distinct search engine or if the project is primarily focused on decreasing its dependency on Google and Microsoft for web search functionalities. Clarity on this matter may emerge when the company issues an official statement. The report did not mention a specific timeline for the rollout of the AI search engine, although it noted that team members have been engaged in the project for the past eight months.
