India Emerges as the Largest Market for Meta AI

Meta Announces India as Largest Market for Meta AI Usage

India's extensive 500 million WhatsApp user base has significantly boosted Meta’s AI endeavors. On Wednesday, Meta CFO Susan Li announced that India now leads in Meta AI usage, a noteworthy achievement considering the product's recent launch in the country.

Meta AI's Rapid Adoption in India

During Meta’s second-quarter earnings call, Li highlighted that Meta AI has handled billions of queries since its inception. “We’re observing particularly promising retention and engagement trends on WhatsApp, coinciding with India becoming our largest market for Meta AI usage,” Li remarked.

Initially launched in the U.S. last year, Meta AI spans Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and the web. The service was upgraded with the new Llama 3 model in April and expanded to over a dozen countries. Meta began testing Meta AI in India around the same time, but it became widely available only in June, post the general elections.

Cultural Adaptations and Challenges

Meta has encountered cultural hurdles in tailoring AI for the Indian market. Reports in May indicated that Meta AI-generated images of Indian men frequently depicted them with turbans. Additionally, in July, users on X noted inconsistencies in Meta AI's handling of religious jokes, leading to algorithm adjustments for fair representation across all religions.

Last month, Meta expanded language support beyond English to include French, German, Hindi, Hindi-Romanized Script, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Meta AI is now accessible in 22 countries, with recent additions like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico.

Future Prospects and Expansion

CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the need for increased computing power to develop future AI models. “Training Llama 4 will likely require almost 10 times the computing power used for Llama 3, and future models will continue to demand even more,” Zuckerberg noted during the call.

Beyond AI, Meta is witnessing growth in its social networks. The company reported that Threads now boasts “almost” 200 million users, with Zuckerberg adding that Facebook usage among young adults in the U.S. shows promising trends.