Facebook is Wooing the Kids With Chatbots

People have been saying it for a while now and a new Pew Research study has confirmed it: Facebook has gone gray.

Yep, used to be that every young social-media fan had a constant connection to Facebook, but the teens are now sprinting away faster than a herd of gazelle in a brush fire. According to the report, some 71% of 13 to 17-year-olds were Facebook-connected in 2014 and 2015, but this year that number is down to 32%. And dropping. What’s left? The oldies.

The teens have headed on to “cooler” social grasslands such as TikTok, YouTube and Twitch; sites that tend to focus on active videos and shorter attention spans. I recently saw a Fortune article that quoted a young adult named Devin Walsh who moved on from Facebook, saying: “It’s the branding, right? When I think of Facebook, I think ugh, like cheugy, older people, like parents posting pictures of their kids, random status updates and also people fighting about political issues.”

And that kind of sums it up. I mean, cheugy, right?

Now, that’s not to suggest that Facebook is ready for a Monty Python death cart. (A reference that would only fly on Facebook. ‘Cause its users are, you know, old enough to remember Monty Python.) No, Facebook still has some 3 billion users worldwide. But if all the youthful energy drains away, what will the future hold?

Facebook has been wondering that very thing.

Its parent company, Meta, is making an effort to draw kids back to where (Meta believes) their money, er, their hearts really belong. And they’ve turned to artificial intelligence as their siren of choice.

Meta recently hosted its first in-person, post-COVID pandemic event, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked about the company’s efforts to create an AI chatbot called “Meta AI,” an advanced conversational assistant. But he also pointed to the fact that the one-size-fits-all approach isn’t going to cut it for the youngsters. The young crowd needs fresh, they need sassy, they need something personalized.

Wall Street Journal has reported that Meta has dozens of different AI personas in the hopper for this very purpose. That includes a “sassmaster general” that’s referred to as having a “superior intellect, sharp wit, and biting sarcasm.” You know, the sort of stuff that is definitely not cheugy.

Facebook has also reported that it has made deals with a range of influencers and celebrities who will lend their personalities to different types of chatbots. People such as Snoop Dogg, Kendall Jenner and Tom Brady are on that list.

Meta’s AI announcement also assures people that their chatbot creations aren’t just about answering questions. They’re designed as an interactive form of entertainment—AI you can have fun with.  

“We’ve been creating AIs that have more personality, opinions, and interests, and are a bit more fun to interact with. Along with Meta AI, there are 28 more AIs that you can message on WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. You can think of these AIs as a new cast of characters—all with unique backstories.”

Of course, all those great characters are there so that Meta can make sure people stay engaged and, well, keep hanging around. This Facebook push may be focused on younger users, but young or old, more engaged time equals more opportunities to serve up more personalized ads. And you can bet those entertaining chatbot personas will be really great at personalized ads.

So, if you were wondering where the next AI shoe might be dropping, well, this feels like it’s a good-sized loafer. And, of course, it will be well polished and ready to appeal to the kids in your family.

We’ll keep you up to date on what’s next.