Meta is bringing its Meta AI chatbot into Threads DMs, expanding how people can use the assistant inside the company’s social apps. The change gives Threads users a private place to ask questions and explore posts, images, links, and videos without moving the conversation into another app.
What Is Changing In Threads DMs
Meta on Monday said it is rolling out Meta AI within Threads’ DMs. The update gives users a direct way to chat with the AI assistant privately, rather than interacting with it only in visible Threads posts.
Some Threads users in select markets could already interact with Meta AI in public posts. That public interaction works in a similar way to how people can interact with Grok on X. The new Threads DM integration changes the setting: users can now talk to Meta AI one-on-one.
The assistant can receive more than plain questions. Meta says users can share Threads posts, images, links, and videos directly with Meta AI. From there, they can ask follow-up questions and go deeper into a topic.
Why Meta Is Putting AI Inside The App
The move makes Threads a more complete place for information and recommendations. Instead of leaving Threads to ask a chatbot about something they saw, users can keep the post or media in context and bring it directly into a DM with Meta AI.
That matters for Meta’s broader product strategy. By making the chatbot easier to reach inside Threads, Meta is looking to keep users within its ecosystem. The company is also trying to discourage people from turning to third-party assistants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google Gemini.
Meta AI is already available within DMs on Meta’s other platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Adding it to Threads makes the experience more consistent across Meta’s apps and gives the company another place to put its assistant in front of users.
Private Chats And Public Feed Tests
The Threads DM rollout is separate from Meta’s tests of Meta AI in public feeds. Meta noted that it is continuing to test Meta AI in Threads’ public feeds in a handful of global markets. The company is considering feedback before expanding availability more broadly.
That distinction is important. In DMs, the interaction is private. In the public feed, Meta AI replies can appear as part of visible Threads activity, which may not be what every user wants to see.
Meta has outlined several controls for users who want fewer Meta AI replies in their feed:
- Mute @meta.ai.
- Use the “Not interested” option on any Meta AI post.
- Hide Meta AI replies that appear on their post.
Those controls do not remove the broader push to integrate AI into Threads, but they give users some ways to reduce the presence of Meta AI in public areas of the app.
What Users Can Do With The Integration
The clearest use case is asking about something already inside Threads. A user can send a post, image, link, or video to Meta AI and continue the conversation from there. The assistant can then be used for follow-up questions or for exploring the subject in more detail.
This creates a different workflow from copying a link, opening another chatbot, and starting over. Threads becomes both the place where a user finds something and the place where they ask for more information about it.
Meta’s framing also points to recommendations. By further integrating Meta AI into Threads, Meta is positioning its X rival as a place where users can get information and recommendations without leaving the app.
Global Rollout Starts Monday
The new integration will be rolled out globally starting Monday, according to the company. That means Threads users should begin seeing Meta AI become available in DMs as the update reaches them.
For Meta, this is another step in placing Meta AI across its major apps. For Threads users, the practical change is simple: the chatbot is moving from a public-post experience in select markets into private messaging, where it can be used alongside the content people already share and discuss.