Sorry New York, You Can’t Disable the New AI Tool on Social Media

When New Yorkers get riled up about something, the whole world hears about it on social media. This week, people are mad about the fact that they can’t figure out how to turn off the Meta AI feature that has randomly popped up on their Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The reason that people can’t figure out how to turn off the AI tool feature is that you can’t. There is no turning it off, according to Facebook.

You’ve probably seen posts on social media with tips on different steps you can take to turn off the feature and some people say they work while others say that they don’t. According to Life Hacker, Meta says that turning off the AI tool on your Facebook or Instagram account is not possible – it’s here to stay.

Meta's Response to AI

According to Life Hacker, Meta says that turning off the AI tool on your Facebook or Instagram account is not possible – it’s here to stay. Meta confirms that users cannot disable the AI tool on their Facebook or Instagram accounts. This has left many users feeling frustrated as they are subjected to random prompts and suggestions generated by the AI integration.

What is Meta AI?

The Meta AI integration, known as Llama 3, offers users the ability to interact with an AI assistant within various functions of whatever social media platform they’re using. Clicking on the search bar or chat button in a Meta app will now display a rainbow circle with a prompt stating, "Ask Meta AI anything." The assistant can generate responses, suggest searches, and even provide real-time search results from Google or Bing.

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What is the Problem with Meta AI?

The problem is that they've mixed AI and non-AI features, and it's all getting jumbled up. In the Facebook app, you'll see search results that are AI-powered, labeled with the Meta AI logo. As you scroll through your feed, you might come across random AI-generated cards or a footer giving you AI info about certain posts. It's a big mess of AI and non-AI stuff, and it’s confusing to tell them apart. Plus, it's AI which a lot of people are very against.

How to Avoid Meta AI on Facebook

Even though you can't fully disable the Meta AI tool on Facebook and Instagram, there are a few tricks to navigate around it. One tip is to keep an eye out for the Meta AI logo. If you see content without that logo, it's probably generated by real people or older bot systems. And if you happen to be chatting with the Meta AI assistant, you can rate, remove, pin, or copy specific answers to have a bit more control. Plus, if you're an admin of a Facebook group, you can remove Meta AI from your posts by going into group settings and axing the integration.

How to Avoid Meta AI on Instagram

Instagram has a slightly different story. The Meta AI integration on Instagram is less in-your-face. When you click on the search bar, the AI prompts might sneak up on you. Just like on Facebook, the Meta AI suggestions will be marked with the logo, while non-AI suggestions will have a humble magnifying glass icon. So, while you can't disable Meta AI entirely on Instagram either, you can at least identify and avoid it by keeping an eye on the suggested searches with the logo.

How to Avoid Meta AI on Messenger or WhatsApp

The Meta AI integration on Messenger or What’sApp is pretty light. It's more like treating the chatbot as just another contact. So, if you delete the conversation, poof, the AI presence disappears from your contacts list. But if you ever need it, there might still be a small icon for starting a new conversation.