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Meta AI Bot Used a Billion Times Monthly, Says Mark Zuckerberg

23 May 2025, Saxony, Dresden: The logo of the AI software Meta AI from the Facebook group Meta is displayed on the screen of a laptop and iPhone. (dpa)
23 May 2025, Saxony, Dresden: The logo of the AI software Meta AI from the Facebook group Meta is displayed on the screen of a laptop and iPhone. (dpa)
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Meta AI Bot Used a Billion Times Monthly, Says Mark Zuckerberg

23 May 2025, Saxony, Dresden: The logo of the AI software Meta AI from the Facebook group Meta is displayed on the screen of a laptop and iPhone. (dpa)
23 May 2025, Saxony, Dresden: The logo of the AI software Meta AI from the Facebook group Meta is displayed on the screen of a laptop and iPhone. (dpa)

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg touted the tech firm's generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant on Wednesday, telling shareholders it is used by a billion people each month across its platforms.

Zuckerberg noted the milestone anew at Meta's annual gathering of shareholders and as the social media behemoth vies with Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and others to be a leader in Gen AI.

It was not clear how much Meta AI use involved people seeking out the chatbot versus passive users of Meta AI, as it is built into features in its family of apps.

Since Google debuted AI Overviews in search results a year ago, it has grown to more than 1.5 billion users, according to Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"That means Google Search is bringing Gen AI to more people than any other product in the world," Pichai said.

Google's AI Overviews are automatically provided summaries of search results that appear instead of the previous practice of simply showing pages of blue links to relevant websites.

Pichai said last week that Google's dedicated Gemini AI app has more than 400 million monthly users.

Tech rivals are rapidly releasing new AI products despite ongoing challenges with preventing misinformation and establishing clear business models, and little sense of how the tech will affect society.

Meta unveiled its first standalone AI assistant app on April 29, giving users a direct path to its Gen AI models.

"A billion people are using Meta AI across our apps now, so we made a new standalone Meta AI app for you to check out," Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted on Instagram at the time.

Zuckerberg said the app "is designed to be your personal AI" and would be primarily accessed through voice conversations with the interactions personalized to the individual user.

Use of Meta AI is growing fastest on WhatsApp, according to chief financial officer Susan Li.

"Our focus for this year is deepening the experience and making Meta AI the leading personal AI," Zuckerberg said when Meta announced quarterly earnings at the end of April.

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US May Target Samsung, Hynix, TSMC Operations in China

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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US May Target Samsung, Hynix, TSMC Operations in China

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

The US Department of Commerce is considering revoking authorizations granted in recent years to global chipmakers Samsung, SK Hynix and TSMC, making it more difficult for them to receive US goods and technology at their plants in China, according to people familiar with the matter.

The chances of the United States withdrawing the authorizations are unclear. But with such a move, it would be harder for foreign chipmakers to operate in China, where they produce semiconductors used in a wide range of industries, Reuters said.

A White House official said the United States was "just laying the groundwork" in case the truce reached between the two countries fell apart. But the official expressed confidence that the trade agreement would go forward and that rare earths would flow from China, as agreed.

"There is currently no intention of deploying this tactic," the official said. "It's another tool we want in our toolbox in case either this agreement falls through or any other catalyst throws a wrench in bilateral relations."

Shares of US chip equipment makers that supply plants in China fell when the Wall Street Journal first reported the news earlier on Friday. KLA Corp dropped 2.4%, Lam Research fell 1.9% and Applied Materials sank 2%. Shares of Micron, a major competitor to Samsung and SK Hynix in the memory chip sector, rose 1.5%.

A TSMC spokesman declined comment. Samsung and Hynix did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials did not immediately respond, either.

In October 2022, after the United States placed sweeping restrictions on US chipmaking equipment to China, it gave foreign manufacturers like Samsung and Hynix letters authorizing them to receive goods.

In 2023 and 2024, the companies received what is known as Validated End User status in order to continue the trade.

A company with VEU status is able to receive designated goods from a US company without the supplier obtaining multiple export licenses to ship to them. VEU status enables entities to receive US-controlled products and technologies "more easily, quickly and reliably," as the Commerce Department website puts it.

The VEU authorizations come with conditions, a person familiar with the matter said, including prohibitions on certain equipment and reporting requirements.

“Chipmakers will still be able to operate in China," a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement when asked about the possible revocations. "The new enforcement mechanisms on chips mirror licensing requirements that apply to other semiconductor companies that export to China and ensure the United States has an equal and reciprocal process.”

Industry sources said that if it became more difficult for US semiconductor equipment companies to ship to foreign multinationals, it would only help domestic Chinese competitors.

"It’s a gift," one said.