Meta Connect 2023 has come and gone. What is it exactly? This two-day event was Meta’s annual developer conference where new technology and ideas are introduced. This year, the big focus was on AI and Meta’s VR/AR applications including Meta Quest 3 and Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Did you miss the livestream? Well, we caught it so you didn’t have to. Hang in there for our breakdown of the most important parts.
While their major announcements on AR/VR don’t relate to marketing per se, we do expect the technology to eventually progress and advance to the point where they converge. Therefore, we like to keep our eyes on it for future social media strategies.
Meta Connect 2023 Announces New Technology
Zuckerberg’s goal is for Meta to build “the future of human connection”. Hence the introduction of new ways for people to connect with technology and each other.
Before we get into everything AI, let’s take a quick look at the two biggest products announced at Meta Connect 2023. Meta Quest 3 and the next-generation Ray-Ban smart glasses. Both of which show how much more immersive our technology is becoming.
Meta Quest 3
Meta is taking its AR/VR product line to the next level with Meta Quest 3. Its focus, mixed-reality. Aiming to provide users with an endless array of experiences and possibilities, this new hardware definitely turned the heads of the tech community. Some features Meta Quest 3 users can expect moving forward:
- Meta Connect for Business: Releasing this October. Compatibility with enterprise applications such as Microsoft 365 will offer new ways for businesses to connect teams together.
- Xbox Cloud Streaming: Expected to release this December. Xbox gamers will find some games supported on the headset via a movable and resizable screen. From what we’ve heard at least.
Meta Quest 3 Specs:
Double the graphic processing power with Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform.
Amazing resolution with the 4K+ Infinite Display with 25PPD and 1218 PPI
Better optics with a pancake lens for a slimmer optic profile. Sharpness increased by 25% FOV and less scattered light artifacts.
Six outward-facing cameras show your real-world surroundings in full color & track your hand movements.
Yes, the specs and technology behind Meta’s AR/VR headset are impressive. However, we are more interested in watching this tech advance and merge with the marketing industry. Meta already supports some ads in the AR/VR space, but as these products grow in popularity it could be a great way for marketers to reach new audience members.
Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
The next generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses is here! Meta has integrated AI technology into them which means these new immersive glasses offer some great features, particularly for creators. With over 150 custom frame and lens combinations, the capabilities of these Ray-Bans include:
- Capture moments and experiences around you with photos and 1080p videos up to 60 seconds.
- Voice command allows you to call and message people anytime and anywhere.
- Livestream directly from the glasses to Facebook or Instagram and show your followers exactly what you see and do.
- “Hey Meta”. Engage with Meta AI, an advanced conversational assistant.
- Features that are coming in the future; the ability to translate text and the ability to identify landmarks.
AI Invasion at Meta Connect 2023
Artificial intelligence is all the rage. No, seriously. All of the major platforms are developing and integrating new ways for AI to function in our everyday lives. You already know about the AI component of the Meta and Ray Ban collaboration, but there were numerous other AI announcements at Meta Connect 2023.
Behind all of them, Meta’s Llama 2. This language learning model (think GPT-3) is even open source and can used by other people and companies to develop AI-powered applications. In fact, it is one of the first of this size/capability to be publicly available. Now, let’s get to the fun part.
Meta AI Assistant
Meta officially joins the AI chatbox game with its announcement of an AI-powered virtual assistant that can help answer questions and more. Better yet, a partnership with Microsoft Bing also allows your AI assistant to provide real-time web results, making it one of the first with this ability.
Supposedly, its not your typical AI chatbox. Meta’s team has put in a lot of time into refining the code to make your AI assistant familiar and friendly. Basically, they don’t want you to feel like you are talking to a robot.
A large part of this familiarity will come from the 28 AI characters that you can choose to speak to, all with their own personalities, facial expressions, and conversational tones. Most of them are based off of celebrities you likely already know too, with even more characters are on the horizon.
Meta’s AI assistant will be available on all of company’s platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and even the Quest 3. We are both excited and interested to watch how this technology takes off. The different characters and personalities could definitely intrigue users.
Emu
Meta introduces Emu, a new image-generation model developed by Meta AI that can create high-quality images from text prompts. Emu underwent a thorough training process, utilizing 1.1 billion image-text pairs for pre-training followed by a carefully selected set of high-quality images for further fine-tuning. This enables it to generate aesthetically pleasing and high-quality imagery.
It will be integrated into multiple areas of Meta’s platforms allowing you to create and engage in new ways. Users will eventually be able to create AI stickers, in chats and stories, turning text prompts into unique and high-quality stickers in seconds. Additionally, users will also be able to edit and transform images with two new features that will soon be released:
- Restyle: Application of new visual styles. For example, turn your image into a watercolor or give it a newspaper vibe. Prompts will work with simple and even more complex requests.
- Backdrop: Change the scene or background of your image.
AI Studio
The last major announcement from Meta Connect 2023 we wanted to mention is the release of AI Studio. It is a platform that allows businesses to build their own AI chatbots, using Meta’s API, for use on Meta’s messaging services. Currently, this means Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, but it will become available on WhatsApp in the future.
Businesses and creators could benefit from this new feature. Mostly, it will allow developers to create AIs that reflect a company’s, or a person’s, brand and voice. Meta states that these AIs will be able to “reflect their brand’s values and improve customer service experiences”.
Finally, Meta is expected to release a sandbox that will enable anyone to experiment with creating their own AI. As it seems, Meta is ready to change the way access to AI coding and programming is available to people. Something that will likely lead to the creation and introduction of new AI capabilities.
Closing Thoughts
Meta Connect 2023 shows that the company is still keeping up with some of the other major players like Google and Microsoft. We saw new technology, new products, and new ways to interact with both people and the digital world. It will be interesting to watch how Llama 2, Emu, and all of Meta AI evolves and fine-tunes overtime.
For now, we know that AI is as hot a topic as ever and will likely continue to be part of major tech announcements in the near future. Bring on 2024, we can’t wait.
THE FUTURE IS HERE
Take Advantage of AI
AI is the future of marketing. In fact, whether you want to believe it or not, it is our current world. That being said, businesses that learn and implement strategies that combine AI power with human expertise and experience will be able to take advantage of the numerous benefits it offers.
cyberlicious® is not ashamed to say that we use AI technology in almost all of our strategies. Are you ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level?