Meta AI comes to Threads private messages, starting today
The chatbot already works in Threads public posts in some countries. Now every user worldwide can have a private conversation with it inside the app.
Key points
- Meta began rolling out Meta AI inside Threads direct messages globally on Monday, 28 July 2026.
- Users can share posts, images, links and videos directly with the chatbot inside a private chat.
- Meta AI already works inside direct messages on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Users who want less Meta AI in their public feed can mute @meta.ai or tap "Not interested" on any of its posts.
Meta is bringing its AI chatbot, Meta AI, into the private messages of Threads, the social network the company launched to rival X (formerly Twitter). The rollout began Monday and is global from day one.
Until now, Threads users in a small number of countries could tag @meta.ai in public posts, the same way people tag Grok, the AI assistant built into X. Private conversations were not an option. That changes today.
What can you actually do with it?
You can now open a direct message with Meta AI the same way you would message a friend. Send it a Threads post, a photo, a link or a video, and ask it questions about what you shared. Ask follow-up questions and keep the conversation going without leaving the app.
The idea, as first reported by TechCrunch AI, is to give people a reason to stay inside Threads rather than switching over to a standalone AI assistant like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, a general-purpose AI chatbot.
Does this affect what you see in your public feed?
Separately, Meta is still testing Meta AI replies in public Threads feeds in select markets, and it is watching user feedback before widening that programme. If you find those public AI replies annoying, you have four options: mute @meta.ai, tap "Not interested" on any Meta AI post, hide Meta AI replies that appear on your own posts, or simply ignore them.
None of that affects the new private-message feature; the two are controlled independently.
What does this mean for ordinary Threads users?
In practice, it means you now have a built-in research and recommendation tool sitting inside your messages. Ask it to summarise an article you saw, explain a post you did not understand, or suggest where to eat based on a photo someone sent you. No separate app needed.
Meta AI in private messages is already live on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, so the company is extending a feature its existing users already know into its newest platform. For Threads users, the main practical change is that conversations with the chatbot stay private, not visible to your followers.
