Instagram may be looking into ways of thinking instead of its users

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms. What started out as a photo-sharing outlet turned into a fully-fledged social hub, with chat and call support. Still though, the platform has a long way to go in terms of features. But Meta is quite familiar with expanding properties, so there is always something interesting cooking.This time around, we’ve got a rather unexpected feature: an AI chatbot. The rise of ChatGPT has opened the floodgates, and after Microsoft and Google showcased what they’ve been working on, it now feels like everyone else is just playing catch-up.

And, interestingly enough, Instagram may be looking to join the race. This one came from a developer through Twitter, who shared a screenshot that seems to be teasing the new feature called “Chat with an AI”.

So, after examining the shared screenshot, it would appear that this bot may be different from the rest. While “answering questions” is pretty general, “find the best way to express yourself” sounds like the AI will be able to help users reach more followers and grow on the platform.

Or we may be reading into it too much and it might just mean that the AI will be able to help you smart-compose messages, just as Bard is capable of drafting up emails for you. Which is still pretty cool, but it isn’t exactly groundbreaking. 

The other interesting bit here is the mention of “over 30 personalities”. AI, by nature, is capable of analyzing, understanding and then imitating numerous styles of expression, so this isn’t anything novel. Ultimately, it may have something to do with helping users find the right tone for their online persona.

Overall, this is a pretty expected set of features, phrased in a more interesting way. But that may be a good thing. After all, these are the capabilities, with which AI has had the most experience up until now, so this might translate into a bit more safety.

All that being said though, let’s keep in mind that this is just a screenshot on Twitter as of now. Instagram hasn’t come forward with an official announcement — or comment — so only time will tell if this is even a real concept. But it turns out that it is, in a way, it only makes sense.