WhatsApp users can now do real-time voice interaction with Meta AI

Meta hosted its annual Meta Connect event at its Menlo Park campus on Wednesday. Besides the hero device of the event, the Orion AR glasses, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced that WhatsApp users can now interact with Meta AI in real-time, hands-free, using voice commands. The feature also includes the ability to choose the Meta AI voice modelled after a celebrity or public figure. This feature will initially be available in English, with plans to expand to other languages over time.
To use the feature, users can now press a waveform button and speak to Meta AI, receiving responses through voice. Additionally, Meta AI now allows users to send photos for real-time insights, such as translating menus or offering tips on plant care. It can even assist with photo editing, removing unwanted objects and adjusting lighting for a more polished look.
Another significant update comes for businesses, where selected companies can now integrate AI into WhatsApp Business to handle customer inquiries. The AI will be able to respond to questions about business hours, product availability, pricing, and more. This AI-powered feature can also recommend products and answer questions about discounts and shipping, although there may be occasional inaccuracies in AI-generated responses.
These new features are part of Meta’s broader efforts to bring AI to everyday interactions, with voice chat already available to select users on WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, Orion AR glasses look set to revolutionise how we interact with the digital world, merging real-world visuals with cutting-edge augmented reality elements. Unlike previous Ray-Ban smart glasses, Orion’s advanced AR capabilities are poised to offer a more immersive and futuristic experience, blurring the line between the physical and digital realms.
These AR glasses use a silicon-carbide architecture that enables holographic projections to seamlessly blend into the physical world. Showcasing Orion’s capabilities, Zuckerberg highlighted that the glasses will come equipped with AI voice assistance, hand-tracking, eye-tracking, and even a wrist-based neural interface, allowing users to control functions with brain signals. The introduction of Orion hints at a future where these AR glasses could potentially replace smartphones, offering an entirely new way to interact with digital content.
Meta’s vision for the future — both through AI and AR — is clear: a world where technology seamlessly integrates into our daily lives, enhancing both productivity and creativity in unprecedented ways.