WhatsApp has recently launched a new AI message summary feature, allowing users to get intelligent summaries of their personal chat records through Meta AI. This feature is currently available in English in the United States and is planned to be expanded to more countries and languages later this year.
Users can access this feature by clicking the button to expand all unread messages in a chat. Instead of displaying the original messages directly, WhatsApp uses Meta AI to generate a bullet-point summary of the content users have missed, avoiding the burden of reading long messages.
Meta specifically emphasizes that this feature employs "privacy-preserving" technology, creating a "secure cloud environment" to hide the interaction process between users and the AI model, claiming it can prevent Meta itself and other third parties from eavesdropping on user messages. Other members in group chats cannot see the personal message summaries.
WhatsApp stated that the AI message summary feature is completely voluntary and is turned off by default. Users can also use WhatsApp's "Advanced Privacy" settings to block the use of AI features in group chats. This design reflects the platform's respect for users' right to privacy choices.
It is worth noting that the accuracy of the AI-generated summaries is still unclear. Previously, when Apple introduced AI-generated message and notification summaries, issues with accuracy were exposed. Whether WhatsApp's feature will face similar challenges remains to be verified over time.
In the past year, Meta has continuously integrated various artificial intelligence features into WhatsApp, including asking Meta AI questions within chats and real-time image generation functions. However, these changes have sparked mixed reactions from users. Some users expressed dissatisfaction with the newly added Meta AI button in the bottom-right corner of the application, which cannot be closed or removed. More controversially, Meta also introduced advertising features into the app, which contrasts sharply with the company's founder's previous statement that "they had never considered doing so."
The AI message summary feature introduced by WhatsApp reflects the direction of functional evolution for instant messaging apps in the AI era. However, how to balance technological innovation with user experience, especially in terms of privacy protection and functional accuracy, remains a key area that Meta needs to continue focusing on and improving.
