(Credit: JOSH EDELSON / Contributor / AFP via Getty Images)
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is a big fan of smart glasses, but how do you get more people to try these futuristic specs? Step one: A new "Meta AI" app that will help people move more seamlessly between their glasses and other smart devices, and get them hooked on the company's version of an AI assistant.
The standalone Meta AI app will merge with the Meta View companion app, which is currently needed to set up the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses.
"In some countries, you’ll be able to switch from interacting with Meta AI on your glasses to the app," Meta says. "You’ll be able to start a conversation on your glasses, then access it in your history tab from the app or web to pick up where you left off. And you can chat between the app and the web bidirectionally." (You can't start in the app or web and pick up on your glasses.)
Built with Llama 4, the Meta AI app will "bring you responses that feel more personal and relevant, and more conversational in tone," Meta says. "And the app integrates with other Meta AI features like image generation and editing, which can now all be done through a voice or text conversation with your AI assistant."
As part of integrating Meta AI into your daily routine, the app will work in the background as you multitask on your device. An icon will "let you know when the microphone is in use."
Meta also teased a Discover feed that will show you what friends are asking the AI. But this won't blast out all your weird AI queries to your Facebook and IG friends; Meta says, "Nothing is shared to your feed unless you choose to post it."
Personalized responses are available now in the US and Canada, and they can tap into your Facebook and Instagram accounts if they're all linked in the Accounts Center.
The Meta AI app is available on iOS or Android. Rival services like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, and Google's Gemini already have their own standalone AI apps.
Meta is also giving consumers a glimpse of its future voice tech, which it calls "full-duplex speech technology." It generates voice as a standalone output, rather than simply reading written responses from the AI. Users can toggle on a demo in the Meta AI app, but it may be buggy to start, Meta warns. It's available now in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Meta's current vision of the future is glasses-wearing consumers who interact with its AI models through voice, though text will remain an option. The company is also reportedly prepping a higher-end version of its Ray-Ban glasses.
Apple is reportedly racing to develop its AI glasses, potentially a pared-down, mass-market version of the expensive Vision Pro. CEO Tim Cook tasked Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell with developing the company's AI-enhanced Siri, and all signs point to Rockwell putting that tech inside the new glasses. Apple is also reportedly putting cameras into its AirPods and Apple Watches, which could offer similar capabilities to users without needing glasses.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.