I'm a bit puzzled by Meta's current approach to AI chatbots. Last September, during its Connect Conference, the company unveiled its plan to create celebrity-themed chatbots, allowing users to interact with them via direct messages. However, it seems that Meta is now shifting focus from using celebrities' likenesses to utilizing their voices instead.

This means you could send messages to a bot designed to mimic Snoop Dogg's voice and receive responses that sound like him. Of course, these replies won't actually come from Snoop Dogg himself; they’ll be generated by an AI character inspired by the rapper, and the bot won't even carry his name.

So, you could send a message to a bot called “Dungeon Master,” and it would respond in Snoop Dogg’s voice. It's puzzling why Meta thought this would intrigue users. Sure, some have found value in these bots—like the chef bot inspired by Roy Choi, which offers solid recipe tips. But honestly, would it have made much difference if the bot didn’t have a celebrity profile? Does it really matter if a bot is modeled after a celebrity if it’s not actually that celebrity responding?

Are we so caught up in celebrity culture that even a hint of a famous voice is enough to excite us about interacting with bots? Apparently not, since Meta has begun phasing out its celebrity-based chatbots due to lack of user engagement.

This shift isn’t too surprising, especially in light of a recent Bloomberg report stating that Meta is offering Hollywood stars millions for the rights to use their voices in AI projects. Celebrities like Judi Dench, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key are in talks with the company, though the specifics remain confidential.

So, celebrity-faced bots didn’t catch on, but will celebrity-voiced bots fare any better? It feels like Meta is missing the bigger picture about the true value of bots, opting instead for gimmicks they think will attract users.

Perhaps they believe that by associating AI bots with well-known personalities, they’ll draw in fans and encourage broader adoption over time. But it seems like a hefty investment for what amounts to a novelty—something that may grab attention initially but likely won't sustain it for long.

This strategy could work for Meta, as igniting initial adoption and interaction is crucial for building momentum. However, it’s worth noting that CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed just last week that their Meta AI chatbot is “on track to become the most used AI assistant in the world.” 

This isn’t surprising, considering Meta has prominently integrated the Meta AI prompt across all its platforms. Users essentially can’t navigate Facebook or Instagram without encountering it, often leading to unintentional engagement.

You can imagine that millions of queries funneled through Meta AI come from puzzled Facebook users who are bewildered by the lengthy responses they receive. Nevertheless, the statistics reveal that more people are engaging with Meta AI than ChatGPT.

This raises the question: does Meta really need celebrity-driven gimmicks to promote its AI tools?

Perhaps I’m missing the mark. Maybe users will indeed be more inclined to interact with Meta’s AI if responses come in the dignified voice of Dame Judi Dench. However, it still feels somewhat misguided. I haven't yet encountered a genuinely valuable use case for AI chatbots within social media apps, aside from aspects like ad creation, targeting, and, to some extent, search functions. 

It seems that bot interactions aren’t something users of platforms designed for human connection are actively seeking. Additionally, generating artificial AI images of oneself only invites the kind of misrepresentation that has turned off many social media users.

While celebrity-voiced AI bots may offer a bit more novelty than simply celebrity faces, I’m skeptical about their long-term appeal.