Meta AI: a case study on how not to introduce a gimmick

April 24, 2024

I honestly wanted to like Instagram, but the latest update is actually annoying me, and it impacts a feature I rarely ever use.

Screenshot of a search bar

See this, it's just a search bar. Nothing fancy about it, right? You're correct, there is nothing fancy about it. But a few days ago, that changed. Meta introduced Llama 3, a new chatbot AI model that does something. But Meta is a social media company, not an AI company. So, how could Meta make people discover their brand new party trick? Make it the search bar:

Screenshot of a search bar with the Meta AI assistant. Below the search bar are suggested prompts.

You type in what you want to ask the assistant, press enter, and then it asks the assistant. You can still search, although it is a little more confusing:

Screenshot of suggested search queries, AI prompts, and suggested users

Because pressing enter prompts the AI, this means that you can only search the autosuggestions. So if the thing you're trying to search doesn't appear as a suggestion, you just cannot search it.
Edit: As of April 28, 2024, hitting enter once again does a regular search, instead of asking Meta AI.

This affects more than just the main app search. This new crappy omnibox also appears in DMs, where it makes less sense:

Screenshot of a search bar with the Meta AI assistant, located above a carousel of status messages.

The Meta AI assistant actually appeared on the DM searchbar first, less intrusive originally, instead just being a button instead of taking over the entire bar. But now it's on both the search bar on the explore page and the DM search bar.
By the way, you cannot currently turn this feature off. You're forced to put up with it. It's integrated into Facebook Messenger and Facebook. I know WhatsApp has the assistant, but I don't know if it has taken over the search bar over there.

So, what is so bad about this? Well, it's just really bad design. If you have never used Instagram before, you would not even know you can search. The search bar now has no indication that it can be used to search, it only says "Ask Meta AI anything". This will especially mess up old people.
The other thing that is bad about it is there is no reason for it to exist. Why do I need to be generating recipies on a social media app? I don't hate AI features, but I feel like not everything needs them. And usually when they're added, they're all the exact same.

But hey, at least I can generate "girl wearing headphones" no matter what app I'm in.