Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of the metaverse appear to have been replaced by a new vision: a social feed powered by AI. On a earnings call Wednesday, Zuckerberg reiterated his belief that AI will become the next big medium, making feeds “more immersive and interactive.”
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“We started with text and then moved to photos when we got camera phones and then moved to video when mobile networks became fast enough. Soon, we will see an explosion of new forms of media that are more immersive and interactive, and only possible thanks to advances in Artificial Intelligence,” he said.
Zuckerberg added that apps right now “are like algorithms that recommend content.” But that’s about to change, as Meta’s apps will welcome users with AI that “understands” users, can offer content they like, and “create great personalized content.”
Last year, Zuckerberg had similarly mentioned an AI-powered social network, saying that Meta would “add a huge body of content” to its recommendation system as AI makes content “easier to create and curate.” Meta has already implemented part of that plan, launching a new “Vibes” feed in the Meta AI that allows browsing through a stream of short videos generated by AI.
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During the conference call, Zuckerberg also hinted at a new format that would allow users to create a world or game using a prompt and then share it with friends, adding that videos could also become interactive. “There’s definitely a version of the future where any video you see, you can tap on it and go into it and experience it in a more meaningful way,” Zuckerberg said.
As the conference call progressed, Zuckerberg did not mention any goals for the metaverse, instead saying that the company’s investments in virtual reality (VR) and Horizon Worlds will “blend well with these advances in AI,” helping to bring these experiences to people “through mobile.” Meta’s Reality Labs, which includes a metaverse division, reported an operating loss of $6.02 billion in the last three months of 2025.
Earlier this month, Meta laid off at least 1,000 employees in the division, while closing three of its VR studios.
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Meta reported revenue of $59.9 billion in the last quarter of 2025 and net income of $22.8 billion. It appears that the company plans to open up more revenue streams through the commercial exploitation of its Meta AI chatbot, as Zuckerberg told investors that there will be opportunities for “subscriptions and advertising” with Meta AI, in line with reports that the company plans to place premium AI features behind a paywall.
