As of this week, Meta launched its new in-app AI chatbot tool: Meta AI. Here’s a rundown on why this is important, how it’s different from other AI tools, and why, now more than ever, you should prioritize SEO for your blog and social media content.
What Is Meta AI?
If you log into Instagram, you’ll notice something like this on your explore feed:
If you click on one of those prompts, Meta AI takes you off-page to a messenger-like chat. Similar to ChatGPT and Gemini, this is Meta’s own AI chatbot that you can access directly in-app through all of Meta’s platforms: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
What Makes Meta AI Different?
What makes Meta AI unique from other large language models (LLMs) is its integration with social media, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
For example, say you’re talking with friends in a WhatsApp chat about where to have a picnic. You can ask Meta AI directly in your group chat: “@Meta AI, show us the best picnic spots in the area.” It answers as though it’s a member of the group chat too. See this example in real-time on TechCrunch here.
The Cons So Far
As of today, April 26, Meta AI definitely has some bugs to work out. The chatbot freezes, glitches, and even fails to answer questions. Throughout my 5-minute chat, I received this error message multiple times.
But UX is only one part of the problem. Many users are reporting factual inaccuracies, with some branding the bot “useless” and “dumb.”
Another issue that users are taking up with Meta AI? You can’t turn it off. Some are saying that this is the equivalent of Apple forcing U2’s album on iTunes back in 2014.
Any launch is bound to have errors, but these ones are pretty stark. Either way, given Meta’s size, it’s likely these won’t be around for long.
How Does SEO Play a Part in This?
Like all chatbots, AI is pulling its information from the internet. So while this might impact organic search results, this doesn’t mean that brands should stop posting blog content.
The better your site’s SEO, the more likely chatbots will pull from it. And if the searcher asks for sources, you want your brand to be one of the first ones that these bots feature.
Ultimately, if you don’t keep your SEO up-to-date, your site might get left in the digital dust.
And Don’t Forget About Social Content
This is another reason why Meta AI stands out.
Unlike other tools, Meta AI has direct access to millions of social accounts… and billions of social posts. Not only can it pull information from these posts, but it can help feature creators in its chats.
So if you aren’t already writing social content with SEO in mind, this is your time to start.
Say, I’m on Instagram and I want to find creators who can help improve my writing. I might ask Meta AI to show me some creators I’d like, such as this conversation below. (Note the glitchy UI and the fact that it didn’t originally show me any...)
But beyond the errors, Meta AI makes finding creators and content a whole lot easier—you, as a creator, just need to be aligning your content with your audience’s searches.
This doesn’t mean you should start keyword stuffing or adding 30 hashtags in every post. It does, however, mean you should take SEO into consideration—particularly with your username, bio description, and captions.
SEO Isn’t Dead
Because even with the development of AI, SEO is here to stay. And beyond blog content, it’s becoming increasingly relevant for social media, too.
My top tips? Don’t be scared of AI, and don’t let it stop you from publishing your content. Instead, leverage it. Use AI tools to update existing content for SEO, ensure you’re findable on blog and social, and keep on creating!