WhatsApp is testing an expanded version of its AI summaries
Meta is expanding the tests of its AI-powered chat summaries to iOS, according to a WABetaInfo report. In the app’s latest TestFlight build, users can see new summaries of all unread messages across multiple chats.That new feature builds on the currently available AI summaries for individual chats. The whole process is handled by the Private Processing system, which Meta says allows Meta AI to process the messages without the company seeing them.
The new summary option will likely be launched soon, as it’s currently being tested on both Android and iOS. The feature will be available from a new “Get a summary” button above your chats when you’ve selected the “Unread” filter.
Like the single-chat AI summaries, their extended version will probably be limited only to some markets and languages at launch.
Not the updates people want
The new AI summary feature. | Image by WABetaInfo
Adding AI slop to my personal chats is among the last things I’d ever want from my chat app. It’s down there at the bottom of my wish list alongside a subscription tier for an app that was free for over a decade.
I understand Meta’s desire to make its AI efforts worthwhile, but pushing them on innocent users who just want to chat with their friends is not the way. Even if the company’s privacy claims are true, and I believe they are, I don’t trust AI to correctly understand and deal with my conversations.
AI works best when things are perfectly aligned, but real life doesn’t work that way. My personal conversations are a mix of slang-riddled English, Spanish, Bulgarian, and inner-circle jokes that no AI could ever understand.The few work-related chats I’m in are usually used as a backup for other communication channels. Those conversations often consist of disconnected messages and shared files that add up to an offline conversation. Another thing that no AI could ever summarize well.
I don’t think people will skip those summaries once they see them in their app, but my opinion of their quality is based on the poor experience I’ve had with this type of feature before. AI could be good at some things, but producing reliable summaries is not among them, and pushing such features to users is a waste of resources.
Focus on something useful, Meta
Meta could easily keep the billions of WhatsApp users happy if it just left the app alone. I’d rather have the same experience as today than see it deteriorate into a paywalled, AI-powered chaos.Unfortunately, the company has billions of users who are unlikely to switch apps and investors eager to see how much those users use AI. If there’s one thing we can hope for, it’s that the downfall is quick and painless.
