Meta has launched a paid subscription service for its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot "Meta AI." The company expects to generate revenue from users of its platforms WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. The move is interpreted as targeting the medium- to long-term business market, including creators producing Reels and merchants selling through platforms such as Instagram.
According to Bloomberg and TechCrunch on Thursday, Meta is launching the paid subscription service for Meta AI users first in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia.
The Meta AI pricing plans are expected to be tailored to Meta's social network services (SNS) such as Instagram, where photos and videos are the main content. The basic plan, "Meta One Plus," is priced at $7.99 per month (about 12,000 won) and targets users who frequently generate photos and videos using Meta AI or use advanced reasoning features, Bloomberg reported.
The pricing undercuts rivals. Competing models such as ChatGPT and Gemini offer plans costing up to $200 per month (about 300,000 won). In contrast, "Meta One Premium" is priced at $19.99 per month (about 30,000 won), one-tenth that level. According to Meta, Premium offers the same features as Plus but with significantly higher usage limits. Free use of Meta AI within existing limits remains available.
A latecomer to the AI market, Meta sought to catch up with its large language model (LLM) "LLaMA" series but failed to gain market traction, prompting a pivot toward AI integrated with its existing SNS business. "Muse Spark," first released last month by Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) — which recruited Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as Chief AI Officer (CAIO) — drew market expectations not only for its performance improvements but also for its synergy with SNS. Meta shares, which had been trading lower, closed up 3.7% from the previous session on news of the subscription rollout. However, the stock remains down 4% year-to-date.
The launch of the subscription plans could reshape Meta's revenue structure, which has been heavily reliant on advertising. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to invest at least $600 billion in AI infrastructure by 2028. During its earnings announcement last month, Meta also raised investor concerns by signaling that capital expenditures this year would be higher than expected.
Meta's product subscriptions will be reorganized under a unified brand called "Meta One." Subscription services for the SNS platforms WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook will also be operated, with new services for businesses and creators planned. "We also plan to sell access to AI agents," said Helen Ma, Head of Subscription Business at Meta, referring to autonomous AI that performs tasks without user intervention.
