Hey, everyone: Instagram really wants you to start using its AI tools.
Between Mark Zuckerberg's recent appearance on a podcast (in his new chain look, of course) about Meta's latest AI tools, and Instagram's booth at this year's VidCon, the premiere creator conference, it's fairly obvious that Meta is on a charm offensive to kickstart its generative AI plays.
"A big part of the approach is going to be enabling every creator, and then eventually also every small business, on the platform to create an AI for themselves to help them interact with their community and their customers if they're a business," Zuckerberg said on a recent episode of the "Blueprint" podcast hosted by YouTuber Kane Sutter, better known online as "Kallaway."
The AI Studio product will let creators make their own AI-powered characters in the app. The feature, still a test, is a continuation of Meta's chatbot characters it began to roll out last year.
On top of Zuckerberg's appearance on the podcast, he also took to his Instagram Broadcast channel to share the news and examples of messaging creators' AI chatbots.
Meanwhile, on the ground in Anaheim, CA, Instagram is showcasing its AI features at the creator economy's biggest event.
The platform's booth at VidCon 2024 consists of activities like making magnets with Instagram's AI-generated stickers, and a photo opp that utilizes the platform's AI background tool available in the stories feature.
Many of Instagram's AI tools are accessible within the DM feature, such as stickers in chat and the creator chatbots.
This isn't a coincidence.
DMs have been a crucial part of Instagram's roadmap of late with features like notes, which have been gaining popularity, particularly among younger users.
"If you look at Instagram, DMs is one of the fastest growing parts of the system," Zuckerberg said on the "Blueprint" podcast. "That's part of what I'm excited about here with Creator Studio and AI Studio, is basically, we're making it so that people are going to be able to craft a persona for an AI version of themselves that's going to help them interact with all the incoming DMs that your community is sending you."
