WhatsApp is rolling out a generative AI tool to some users in South Africa. (SOPA Images/Getty Images)
- WhatsApp generated AI tools are being rolled out to some users in South Africa.
- This tool helps you answer questions, generate images, and come up with ideas.
- WhatsApp warned users not to tell the tool anything they don't want it to know.
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Meta has begun rolling out its WhatsApp-generated AI tool to select users in South Africa ahead of a wider release.
The Meta AI tool can respond to written questions, chat with users, generate ideas, and create images through WhatsApp.
The search bar at the top of your WhatsApp chat page is usually converted into an AI tool that can generate answers to your questions. It also provides a number of suggested questions for the user to type. Users are then directed to chat with her MetaAI tool. This is similar to chatting with any other contact, but the tool responds instead of a person.
Meta began rolling out the tool to a limited group of users in some countries last September. In recent days, some people in South Africa have started accessing this tool. Users reported some troubles, including not being able to archive chats or search for contacts via the AI search bar.
WhatsApp is still rolling out the tool, so not all WhatsApp users will have access to it at this stage. According to the WhatsApp FAQ information page, the full release date is unknown and the tool is currently only available in English.
The Meta-owned company claimed that private messages sent to friends and family will not be read by the AI tool.
“The most important thing to know is that personal messages with friends and family are off-limits. AI can read what is sent, but private messages are “It remains encrypted at the end so no one else can read it, including Meta,” the FAQ page says.
However, WhatsApp warns against telling the AI tool anything you don't want it to know, as the AI tool uses information entered directly to improve its models.
Read | ChatGPT anyone? South African startup is building AI language models for African languages
“What you send…may be used to provide accurate responses or improve our models, so don't send messages containing information you don't want us to know.” FAQ page Please read.
Meta's AI tools join a long list of large-scale language model AI tools released in 2022 and beyond. OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Elon Musk's Grok tools have all been released and experimented with.
South African startup LelapaAI is locally building AI language tools available in African languages such as isiZulu and Sesotho.
