Meta Taps Celebrities to Voice AI Chatbots

Meta is ramping up its AI chatbot plans by enlisting a roster of high-profile celebrities. 

The company is looking to secure the voices of renowned actors such as Judi Dench and Awkwafina, according to the New York Times. The star-studded chatbots would engage users across Meta’s major platforms, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

Meta previously brought in big-name stars to front a series of AI personas for its social media apps including Tom Brady, Mr. Beast and Kendall Jenner.

However, the persona-focused chatbots have been shuttered in favor of a revamped chatbot offering for Meta AI.

Meta’s first attempt at celebrity-fronted AI chatbots has now been cut | Credit: Meta

Meta hasn’t given up on keeping celebrities at the forefront of its AI services.

The Times reported that Meta is attempting to negotiate with every top talent agency in Hollywood, offering “millions of dollars” to big-name stars to lend their voices for its AI. 

The company is reportedly trying to move fast to secure names it can showcase at its annual Connect event in September.

All contracts would reportedly be temporary, with the celebrities given the option to renew upon completion.

The celebrity voices are being sought for “a digital assistant product called MetaAI.”

Meta AI has been the blanket name for Meta’s chatbot services. It’s also the name of the AI powering its smart glasses, which the company has been iterating for some time. Meta’s engineers have been developing a conversational AI assistant that generates information about what the wearer sees.

Related:Meta Launches AI Studio That Lets Anyone Create Custom Chatbots

The news of the celebrity-voiced AI follows Meta recently unveiling AI Studio, a new platform where anyone can create their own AI text-led chatbot, including celebrities and influencers, for social media.

Meta isn’t the only company tapping celebrities to voice its AI assistant.

OpenAI tried to court Scarlett Johansson to lend her voice for ChatGPT, but she refused, only for OpenAI to create a voice that sounded eerily similar to the “Black Widow” star.

The company had to remove the voice, named Sky after Johansson threatened legal action.