Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled new AI products during the company's Connect developer conference. The products include smart glasses that can answer questions and stream on Facebook, bots that create photo-realistic images, and an updated virtual-reality headset. The conference took place at Meta's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, and was attended by developers, employees, and journalists. Zuckerberg emphasized Meta's focus on building the future of human connection, envisioning a near-future where people interact with hologram versions of their friends and AI bots. He described the products as blending the virtual and real worlds and highlighted that Meta offers low-cost or free AI integration into daily routines.

The Quest 3, the next version of Meta's virtual-reality headset, was also unveiled during the conference. Priced at $499, it will be available for shipping on October 10. Zuckerberg introduced an AI personal assistant that can be interacted with through any of Meta's messaging apps, along with AI characters like "Max the sous chef" and "Lily, a personal editor and writing partner." The Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses, which allow users to record videos, take photos, livestream, and interact with the Meta AI assistant, will launch on October 17 and cost $299.

Meta is undergoing a corporate transformation to become a dominant power in the virtual-reality world known as the metaverse. However, this transformation has been slower than expected and has resulted in billions of dollars in costs. Meta's main business remains advertising on its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, and it faces competition from TikTok. To address this challenge, Meta is focusing on chatbots, AI-driven personalization, and other engagement strategies.

The company has made efforts to enhance its AI capabilities. In July, Meta released the next generation of its large language model, Llama 2, for free research and commercial use. During the conference, Meta unveiled an AI image generator called Emu, which creates images based on user prompts. Meta has a research team dedicated to advancing AI technology, but it has been overshadowed by tech peers like Google and Microsoft. However, Meta aims to make its new AI models available for download directly or through a partnership with Microsoft's Azure platform.

During the conference, Zuckerberg also announced enhancements to Meta's signature social media apps, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. These enhancements aim to compete with rival bots like ChatGPT and utilize AI personas to assist users with various tasks and entertainment.

Meta's stock price remained unchanged following the announcement of the new products. The company has undergone layoffs due to a slump in online advertising and competition from TikTok. However, Meta's shares have seen a 120% surge since January, driven by improved financial results and investor enthusiasm regarding the company's budget-tightening plan.