Muting the Meta AI Chat: A Guide for Facebook and Instagram Users

Social media giant Meta’s recent integration of AI functionalities across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, has sparked a wave of user reactions. While some find the AI assistant, Meta AI, a helpful tool, others find its constant presence intrusive.

The current iteration of Meta AI doesn’t offer a complete opt-out option. However, there’s a way to silence the notifications from the AI chat function, which seems to be a major source of annoyance for many users.

Here’s a quick guide on how to mute the Meta AI chat on both Facebook and Instagram:

On Facebook:

Locate the search bar at the top of your Facebook homepage. You’ll notice the magnifying glass icon might have been replaced by a blue-gradient circle.

Click the small arrow pointing right next to the search bar.

This will open the Meta AI chat window. Look for the information icon (“i”) in the top right corner and click on it.

From the options that appear, select “mute.”

Choose your preferred muting duration. The “until I change it” option offers permanent silencing of notifications from the Meta AI chat.

On Instagram:

Similar to Facebook, navigate to the search bar at the top of the Instagram app. The magnifying glass icon might be replaced by a circle here as well.

Click the arrow located to the right of the search bar.

This will launch the Meta AI chat window. In the top right corner, tap the information icon (“i”).

Select “mute” from the available options.

Use the slider at the bottom labeled “mute notifications” to choose your desired muting duration. As with Facebook, select “until I change it” for permanent silencing.

Additional Considerations:

While these steps mute notifications from the Meta AI chat, it’s important to note that AI functionality might still appear within your Facebook and Instagram experience.

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You might encounter AI-suggested searches alongside regular search results.

While scrolling through your feed, you might see AI functions appear as full-screen advertisements or cards. Additionally, you might see prompts like “ask Meta AI” or “tell me more about…” under regular posts.

Currently, there’s no way to disable these entirely. However, you can simply avoid clicking on them and continue browsing as usual.

In the case of WhatsApp and Messenger, you can simply delete the Meta AI chat thread to remove the conversation and its notifications entirely.

By following these steps, you can effectively silence the Meta AI chat and regain some control over your social media experience. Remember, you can still access the “search” functions on both platforms normally, albeit with some potential AI influence in the results.