Meta is preparing to launch a paid tier for its Meta AI assistant, joining the ranks of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the plan during the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call, hinting at the potential for “a premium service for people who want to unlock more compute or additional functionality.”
Meta AI Goes Standalone
Earlier this week, Meta launched a standalone Meta AI app, making it easier for users to chat with the assistant and generate AI-powered images. Previously, Meta AI was only available within Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
With nearly 1 billion users already, Meta AI is one of the most widely adopted AI assistants globally. The app now gives Meta a stronger platform to compete with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot, all of which already offer premium subscription models for access to more powerful tools and models.
Why Introduce a Paid Tier?
Meta sees an opportunity to monetize its AI assistant by offering advanced features through a Meta AI paid tier. This could include:
- Access to more powerful compute resources
- Advanced image or text generation features
- Priority access or faster response times
Meta earned $42 billion in revenue last quarter and has increased its planned AI investment to $72 billion, up from the $65 billion previously announced. The move suggests Meta is betting heavily on AI to drive its future growth.
Ads Could Also Be Coming
Zuckerberg also hinted at another potential revenue stream: ads inside Meta AI. While it’s still early, he said Meta may incorporate “product recommendations or ads” in the assistant at some point. However, he emphasized that the company will spend the next year focusing on scaling and deepening engagement before building out the business model.
“I expect that we’re going to be largely focused on scaling and deepening engagement for at least the next year before we’ll really be ready to start building out the business,” Zuckerberg said.
With a standalone app and nearly a billion users, Meta AI is gaining traction fast. The upcoming Meta AI paid tier could unlock new tools for power users and put Meta in direct competition with the biggest names in generative AI. While there’s no confirmed launch date, expect to see new monetization features roll out in the next year.